Orthodox wedding calendar
When weddings are held in 2028
The days the Romanian Orthodox Church marries people in 2028, day by day: the fasts, the feasts and the weekly fast days. A civil ceremony can take place at any time.
Orthodox Easter in 2028: 16 April
How to read the ring
- Free Saturday or Sunday
- Free Monday, Tuesday or Thursday
- Wednesday or Friday with a dispensation
- Wednesday or Friday
- Fast or feast
- Orthodox Easter
- free Saturdays
- 31
- free Sundays
- 30
- free weekend days, June to September
- 25
- longest stretch with no fast or feast
- 60 days15 September – 13 November
Check your wedding date
Pick a day and see whether a church wedding can be held.
Pick a date between 2026 and 2028.
Weekend by weekend
Every row is a weekend. A hatched day is a day with no church weddings.
January
8 free days
- 1Satnot available: Christmas to Epiphany2Sunnot available: Christmas to Epiphany
Christmas to Epiphany
- 8Satfree9Sunfree
- 15Satfree16Sunfree
- 22Satfree23Sunfree
- 29Satfree30Sunfree
February
5 free days
- 5Satfree6Sunfree
- 12Satfree13Sunfree
- 19Satfree20Sunnot available: Meat-fare week
Meat-fare week
- 26Satnot available: Meat-fare week27Sunnot available: Great Lent
Meat-fare week · Great Lent
March
0 free days
- 4Satnot available: Great Lent5Sunnot available: Great Lent
Great Lent
- 11Satnot available: Great Lent12Sunnot available: Great Lent
Great Lent
- 18Satnot available: Great Lent19Sunnot available: Great Lent
Great Lent
- 25Satnot available: Great Lent26Sunnot available: Great Lent
Great Lent
April
2 free days
- 1Satnot available: Great Lent2Sunnot available: Great Lent
Great Lent
- 8Satnot available: Great Lent9Sunnot available: Great Lent
Great Lent
- 15Satnot available: Great Lent16Sunnot available: Easter and Bright Week
Great Lent · Easter and Bright Week
- 22Satnot available: Easter and Bright Week23Sunnot available: Easter and Bright Week
Easter and Bright Week
- 29Satfree30Sunfree
May
8 free days
- 6Satfree7Sunfree
- 13Satfree14Sunfree
- 20Satfree21Sunfree
- 27Satfree28Sunfree
June
2 free days
- 3Satnot available: Pentecost4Sunnot available: Pentecost
Pentecost
- 10Satfree11Sunfree
- 17Satnot available: Fast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul18Sunnot available: Fast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
Fast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
- 24Satnot available: Fast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul25Sunnot available: Fast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
Fast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
July
10 free days
- 1Satfree2Sunfree
- 8Satfree9Sunfree
- 15Satfree16Sunfree
- 22Satfree23Sunfree
- 29Satfree30Sunfree
August
4 free days
- 5Satnot available: Dormition Fast6Sunnot available: Dormition Fast
Dormition Fast
- 12Satnot available: Dormition Fast13Sunnot available: Dormition Fast
Dormition Fast
- 19Satfree20Sunfree
- 26Satfree27Sunfree
September
10 free days
- 2Satfree3Sunfree
- 9Satfree10Sunfree
- 16Satfree17Sunfree
- 23Satfree24Sunfree
- 30Satfree1Sunfree
October
8 free days
- 7Satfree8Sunfree
- 14Satfree15Sunfree
- 21Satfree22Sunfree
- 28Satfree29Sunfree
November
4 free days
- 4Satfree5Sunfree
- 11Satfree12Sunfree
- 18Satnot available: Nativity Fast19Sunnot available: Nativity Fast
Nativity Fast
- 25Satnot available: Nativity Fast26Sunnot available: Nativity Fast
Nativity Fast
December
0 free days
- 2Satnot available: Nativity Fast3Sunnot available: Nativity Fast
Nativity Fast
- 9Satnot available: Nativity Fast10Sunnot available: Nativity Fast
Nativity Fast
- 16Satnot available: Nativity Fast17Sunnot available: Nativity Fast
Nativity Fast
- 23Satnot available: Nativity Fast24Sunnot available: Nativity Fast
Nativity Fast
- 30Satnot available: Christmas to Epiphany31Sunnot available: Christmas to Epiphany
Christmas to Epiphany
Stretches with no fast or feast
The periods with no fast and no great feast in them. Pick your date from here.
7 January – 31 January
25 days · 8 free weekend days
3 February – 19 February
17 days · 5 free weekend days
24 April – 23 May
30 days · 8 free weekend days
29 June – 31 July
33 days · 10 free weekend days
16 August – 28 August
13 days · 4 free weekend days
15 September – 13 November
60 days · 18 free weekend days
Fasts and feasts in 2028
The periods with no church weddings. Some of them move with Easter from one year to the next.
- Feast
Christmas to Epiphany
1 January – 6 January · continues from 2027
- Feast
Presentation of the Lord
1 February – 2 February
- Fast
Meat-fare week
20 February – 26 February
- Fast
Great Lent
27 February – 15 April
- Feast
Easter and Bright Week
16 April – 23 April
- Feast
Ascension
24 May – 25 May
- Feast
Pentecost
3 June – 5 June
- Fast
Fast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
12 June – 28 June
- Fast
Dormition Fast
1 August – 15 August
- Fast
Beheading of St John the Baptist
29 August
- Feast
Nativity of the Theotokos
7 September – 8 September
- Feast
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
13 September – 14 September
- Fast
Nativity Fast
14 November – 24 December
- Feast
Christmas to Epiphany
25 December – 31 December · continues into 2029
The rules in short
Wednesdays and Fridays are fast days all year round, so as a rule no weddings are held on them. The fast-free weeks are the exception, but many priests do not marry then either.
No weddings are held in the four fasts: Great Lent, the fast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, the Dormition fast and the Nativity fast.
None are held in Bright Week, on the eve and the day of the great feasts, or from Christmas to Epiphany.
Easter moves some of these periods from one year to the next, which is why the calendar does not repeat.
A civil ceremony has no church restrictions.
Frequently asked questions
Can weddings be held during a fast?
No. A church wedding is not held in the four great fasts. A civil ceremony can take place at any time.
Why are there no weddings on Wednesdays and Fridays?
They are fast days all year round: Wednesday recalls the betrayal by Judas, Friday the Crucifixion. Some weeks have a dispensation, and the calendar marks those as "with a dispensation": ask the priest.
Which months are best for a wedding in 2028?
The classic season is summer and early autumn. In 2028 there are 25 free weekend days between June and September, and autumn stays open until the Nativity fast, which starts on 14 November.
Why do the dates change from year to year?
Orthodox Easter falls on different days, and Great Lent, Bright Week, the Ascension, Pentecost and the start of the Apostles' fast move with it. The Nativity and Dormition fasts and the fixed feasts stay on the same dates.
How exact is the calendar?
It is a guide and follows the usual practice of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Some parishes are stricter or give dispensations, so ask the priest to confirm before you book the venue.
The calendar is a guide and does not replace the word of the parish priest. Confirm the date before you make any bookings.
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