Thanksgiving Wedding- A No-No, or a Great Idea?

thatweirdgirl

Hey all,

 My name is Elle, and it's very nice to meet all of you digitally My fiancee and I just got engaged like 2 weeks ago, and we are very excited!

Our wedding planning needs to start ASAP as we will be getting married in Israel. My fiancee's entire family lives there, and I have a lot of family there as well. We will be visiting Israel in January and hope to find a venue for an October-November wedding.

I obviously understand that with a destination wedding in a place like Israel (far away, expensive to get to, etc), a lot of my friends will not be able to come. 

My question is: If we plan on a Novemeber wedding, should we plan it over Thanksgiving? On one hand, Thanksgiving is a holiday where a lot of people want to be at home/are expected to be at home. On the other hand, it's a time when a lot of people have off, perhaps maing it easier for people to come.

What do y'all think? Keep in mind that I'm from the South--so many of my friends come from traditional families (for my family, as they are immigrants, Thanksgiving was not as big of a deal).

Thanks so much!

Elle

RailWayWife

I personally hate when people have weddings on any kind of holiday or long weekend. People have traditions they like to stick to each year during those times.Choose another weekend. If they are willing to travel that distance to attend your wedding I am sure they are willing to take some holidays.

thatweirdgirl

Thank you! I really appreciate your opinion I am leaning against the idea...I think you're right that if people want to come, they'll take a holiday.

balletdawn

I would say no, don't do it. Thanksgiving is a time for family for a lot of people, and while you will be with yours, being at your wedding means they're not with theirs.

anssett

I'd say it depends on the holiday. I put my wedding over July 4th weekend because most of my family is on the east coast and they'll be taking long flights and can only miss so much work. Thanksgiving, however, is a very tradition-heavy holiday. I'd avoid that one. Same with Christmas. 

FluffyGumDrop2

Keep in mind that flights might be more expensive or harder to find around the holidays and I'm sure the airport will be a zoo. A lot of people also don't have off other than Thanksgiving day since everyone who works at a company probably wants that time off so it's not a guarantee that just because it's a holiday people will have a week off to do nothing.

I've worked at different places that have done everything from a rotating shift where half the company gets Thanksgiving off, and the other half gets Christmas or the company simply has a rule denying any time off requests after November due to the holiday sales season starting. 

Do most of your friends work 9-5 office jobs or are they in school, working part time sales jobs? I doubt a lot of people outside of immediate family would be willing to take a trip to another country over Thanksgiving; have you asked your friends to see what they think? 

You shouldn't change your date if it's something you really want but you do need to understand that not everyone you invite or want there will be able to attend and it doesn't mean they don't love you enough. The economy, holiday season travel stress, family traditions, limited vacation time, work seniority are all factors that could work against them being able to attend. 

Good luck with your plans!

Gustafson28

I'm Canadian so thanksgiving isn't quite as huge here as it is in the states. With that said, it would still be difficult to make it work. You could maybe do a Friday evening wedding or early Saturday if this is the best weekend for you. People will still be able to get home in time if need be

BMcLeodTeam

I agree with the posters that have pointed out that doing it on a holiday interrupts people's traditions and for that reason some people may even not go. Also flights do tend to cost more over holidays.

thatweirdgirl

Thank you for all the responses! 

I ended up speaking to my friends as you all suggested, and most have said that they'd prefer to keep Thanksgiving for themsleves and their families-- so we'll be doing something either before or after

thanks again for all the help!!!