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Dates in 2026, 2027 and 2028 to avoid for a Jewish wedding plus a 12 Month Wedding Planning Monthly Checklist

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Photo by Lacy Gabrielle Photography

Mazal tov on your engagement! There’s so much to do before the big day (start with trying out Brides Club, our ultra-supportive community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides), it can feel overwhelming to keep track of everything. That’s why I’ve condensed it all into one neat checklist, laying out the biggest tasks that need to be taken care of in chronological order. You’ll find that further down the page, but first things first – you need to pick a date! 

DATES TO AVOID FOR A JEWISH WEDDING IN 2026, 2027 + 2028

Below you can see all the dates that should be avoided for your Jewish wedding in 2026, 2027 and 2028, according to the Jewish calendar.

Jewish Wedding dates to avoid in 2026

Avoid Purim: March 3rd, 2026 (at sunset) to March 4th 2026

Avoid from Passover:  April 1st 2026 [from sunset] to April 9th 2026. Traditionally, no Jewish weddings take place between Passover and Shavuot except on Lag B’ Omer (that’s the date I chose for my wedding in 2013!) which in 2026 falls on 4th May (from sunset) to 5th May 2026

Avoid the 3 weeks leading up to and including Tisha B’av: July 2nd 2026 (from sunset) to July 24th 2026. Jewish marriages are not allowed during the period of three weeks leading up and including to the Fast of Tisha B’av

Avoid Rosh Hashana: September 11th (from sunset) to September 13th 2026

Avoid Yom Kippur: 20th September (from sunset) to 21st September 2026

Avoid Succot: 25th September (from sunset) to 27th September 2026

Avoid Simchat Torah:  2nd October (from sunset) to 4th October 2026

Jewish Wedding dates to avoid in 2027

Avoid Purim: March 22nd, 2027 (at sunset) to March 23rd 2027

Avoid from Passover:  April 21st 2027 [from sunset] to April 29th 2027. Traditionally, no Jewish weddings take place between Passover and Shavuot except on Lag B’ Omer (that’s the date I chose for my wedding in 2013!) which in 2026 falls on 24th May (from sunset) to 25th May 2027

Avoid the 3 weeks leading up to and including Tisha B’av: July 21st 2027 (from sunset) to August 12th 2027. Jewish marriages are not allowed during the period of three weeks leading up and including to the Fast of Tisha B’av

Avoid Rosh Hashana: October 1st (from sunset) to October 3rd 2027

Avoid Yom Kippur: 10th October (from sunset) to 11th October 2027

Avoid Succot: 15th October (from sunset) to 22nd October 2027

Avoid Simchat Torah:  23rd October (from sunset) to 24th October 2027

Jewish Wedding dates to avoid in 2028

Avoid Purim: 11th March (sunset) – 12th March

Avoid from Passover:  10th April (sunset) – 18th April. Traditionally, no Jewish weddings take place between Passover and Shavuot except on Lag B’ Omer (that’s the date I chose for my wedding in 2013!) which in 2028 falls on 13th May (from sunset) to 14th May 2028.

Avoid the 3 weeks leading up to and including Tisha B’av: 1st July (from sunset) to 1st August 2028. Jewish marriages are not allowed during the period of three weeks leading up and including to the Fast of Tisha B’av

Avoid Rosh Hashana: 20nd September (from sunset) to 22nd September 2028

Avoid Yom Kippur: 29th September (from sunset) to 30th September 2028

Avoid Succot: 4th October (from sunset) to 11th October 2028

Avoid Simchat Torah:  12th October (from sunset) to 13th October 2028

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Dani and David‘s Jewish wedding | Photo by Derek Preciado Photography

 12 Month Wedding Planning Monthly Checklist

So now you are in the know about dates, let’s lay out the biggest tasks that need to be taken care of in chronological order. If you’d like a more comprehensive guide, you can download our Ultimate Wedding Checklist here.

I’ve used a 12 month timeline as that’s the length of the average UK and USA engagement. It’s just a guide obviously – I myself only had 6 months to plan my wedding and others will have a lot longer.

9-12 months before the wedding

  • Join Brides Club, our members-only community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides to be, for tons of support, guidance, and inspo as you delve into wedding planning!
  • Create a wedding folder and a Pinterest board and start collating ideas for the style of your wedding that appeals to you.
  • Determine your budget and work out how expenses will be divided.
  • Reserve a date (see Jewish wedding dates to avoid, above in this post) and send out a save the date. This could be beautifully designed card or e-card and set the tone for your event, or it could be a simple beautifully worded email.
  • Start to envision your ceremony. Do you want it to be long and symbolic or short and sweet? Do you want to include all the traditions or just a select few?
  • If you have a particular rabbi in mind, book him or her once you’ve decided on a date. If you haven’t got one in mind, find a rabbi or officiant who suits your style and spirit.
  • Start a guest list and work out an idea of the number of guests you’ll have as this will generate the most accurate cost estimates.
  • Brainstorm ceremony and reception ideas and book a venue.
  • Decide on whether you want a wedding planner, and if you do, hire one.
  • Research photographers, videographers and entertainment. The really good ones can get booked up early so be sure to commit when you find a supplier you love.
  • Ensure that any band or DJ you book plays Jewish wedding music.
  • Research caterers and decide if it’s important for you to have a kosher menu or a non-meat ‘Jewish friendly’ ‘inoffensive’ menu.
  • Start thinking about your wedding dress and enjoy the experience of shopping and finding your dress!

Gaby-Alex-The-Langham-London-UK

Gaby and Alex‘s Jewish wedding | Photo by Mike Garrard Photography

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Juggling motherhood with running a business from home

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motherhood-self-employment
My life–both work and personal–has changed so much in the past couple of years with the appearance of my darling daughter, Sacha, now 13 months old, and the birth of the fast-growing  Smashing  The Glass, just 18 short months ago. I’ve had to strive for a gold medal in  multi-tasking whilst also trying to instil some semblance of balance in my life. And when you work from home, your productivity in all areas is both accelerated  and impeded.

I define myself as a: Wife, Mother, Daughter, Career-Woman, Blogger, Designer, and Adorer of Wonderful People In My Life. With each of those identities comes responsibilities and duties, but  most importantly I’m also blessed to say that they come with a hell of a lot of  fun and fulfilment!  At the grand old age of 39 (yes I turned the big 40-minus-one a couple of months ago), and with the birth of Sacha, I feel like I’ve designed a life where I revel in  every minute and  am surrounded by, and immersed in,  people and  projects I love.

In all honesty  I’m exhausted most of the time but I  also feel extremely privileged  to  have such a satisfying  career and home  life. I know that my daughter will only be little for so long, and I am lucky to get to spend the extra time with her that I do.  I  have part-time child-care but  I’m running  a full-time business so it’s a constant juggle and shifting of priorities. I’m often working around the clock, in the evenings  once  Sacha  is in bed, on weekends whilst  she’s  napping, and pretty much anytime I’m waiting, walking or  watching TV  thanks to my multitude of Apple gadgets.

Karen Cinnamon

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Jewish wedding catering: Ideas for kosher-style, or ‘non-offensive’ menus vs. strictly kosher food

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Catering-for-a-Jewish-wedding
Image: Duncan Nicholls for Alison Price 

Those of you in the know will have no doubt heard of  Liesl Lamare from Lamare London, today’s guest blogger. She has created a brilliant bespoke wedding planning service tailored specifically to reflect luxury brides and grooms, and their vision for their wedding day.

She prides herself on going above and beyond to help her brides and grooms, and today she’s going to do just that for you with her advice and mouth-watering menu ideas for those of you that are choosing a ‘kosher-style’ or “non-offensive’ menu for your wedding, rather than a strictly kosher affair. Take it away Liesl!

Food for thought

It is fair to say that catering often plays a big part at a wedding, and can take up the bulk of your wedding budget too! Catering can contribute to your guests’ experience and enjoyment of your wedding — you can take it from us that well fed guests are happy guests! Critically, when planning a Jewish wedding, you may be considering whether or not you should hire a Kosher caterer.

The importance of having Kosher catering may depend on your family beliefs or the strict dietary requirements of your guests. Equally, you may need to consider whether Kosher catering at your chosen reception venue is even an option.

There are several venues that offer Kosher catering or have a relationship with a preferred Kosher caterer who is familiar with your reception venue’s kitchen. Often, in cases when opting for Kosher catering at your chosen venue, the contract is between the couple and the caterer as opposed to the couple and the venue.

Catering for a Jewish wedding Kosher vs. Kosher-Style or 'non-offensive’ menus
A ‘non-offensive’ menu by Alison Price — see menu 1 below for details on each dish). Imagery by Duncan Nicholls

One of the key Kosher rules is not to mix meat and dairy. Should you choose a Kosher-only venue, there will be a meat kitchen separate to a dairy kitchen. But if your venue doesn’t have a separate catering facility, the caterer will need to go into the kitchen to sterilise it to conform with the regulations of kashrut (Jewish dietary law). Catering staff will also only use food products that have been supervised by a rabbi. Kosher caterers will also need to bring in and use all their own equipment as they are unable to use the equipment at a non-Kosher venue. This includes not being able to use the venue’s dishwashers (!), unless they are for Kosher use only, meaning all the equipment must be washed back at the caterer’s own kitchen or by hand in bowls.

Kosher v Kosher-Style or “non-offensive’ catering

With all these regulations to follow, it may now make sense why hiring in a Kosher caterer can often sky-rocket the price per head to an eye-watering level when planning your Jewish wedding. But we are delighted to let you know that there is a more budget-friendly alternative for the Jewish Bride and Groom – Kosher-Style catering. This is also sometimes called “non-offensive catering”.

Catering for a Jewish wedding Kosher vs. Kosher-Style or 'non-offensive’ menus
A ‘non-offensive’ menu by Kalm Kitchen — see their menu below for details on each dish). Imagery by Kalm Kitchen

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‘Meet The Blogger’ – my interview for the Save The Date wedding podcast

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Karen-Cinnamon-interview
Last week I was interviewed by  Aleisha from the  Save The Date Wedding Podcast  and it was so much  fun!  We laughed a lot whilst discussing everything from how to avoid a ‘cookie cutter’ Jewish wedding-by-numbers, to planning a fabulous Jewish (or Jew-ish!) wedding on a budget, to tailoring traditions to your tastes and beliefs and so much more. There’s also snippets from Charlotte York’s Sex and the City Jewish journey,  some  very unusual versions of Hava Nagila, and  lots more goodies.

If you’d like to listen to it, you can do so here  or here.

And yes, that is me pregnant in the picture above! It was taken last week by the phenomenal Laura Babb, and I’ll be reporting on that shoot very soon.

I hope you enjoy the podcast – let me know your thoughts! And  thanks so much for having me Aleisha!

podcast

How to make your friends and family feel extra special at your wedding

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creative wedding ideas

Smashing The Glass is all about super creative Jewish (and Jew-ish) weddings packed with individuality and personal details so you’ve definitely come to the  right place for inspiration!

I’ve come up with lots of creative ideas for you with everything from innovative ways  to include  friends, family and little ones in your ceremony to making them feel ultra special at your reception

Ceremony ideas

A lovely way to get your closest friends and family involved is to have them contribute to your chuppah design. Ask guests  to contribute different squares (tell them what size is required or  supply a blank piece of square material sized correctly) and patchwork them together to make one big chuppah canopy.

Cheryl and Ernest’s  beautiful personalised chuppah quilt (below) is an example that’s made out of the clothes of the bride’s mother who sadly passed away, and other momentous pieces including her grandmother’s wedding dress and a shirt her mum had kept of her grandfather’s after he had died, but the same quilt style could be used by asking friends and family to each  contribute  a square, and sewing them altogether.

quilted-chuppah
Image: Daniel C. Photography from Cheryl & Ernest’s Jewish wedding

Or do what my husband and I did  where we  asked some of our guests to contribute to our chuppah design by asking them to compose a short message (in English or Hebrew) that we then incorporated into our chuppah canopy design.

This was also a lovely way of including guests from abroad that weren’t able to attend in person. We also chose four significant people to hold each of the four chuppah poles including Sharon, our Irish Catholic mutual friend that set us up (chuppah holders don’t have to be Jewish). Perhaps your fiancà©e’s best friend could do that? Everyone we asked felt very honoured!

personal chuppah
Image: Earthy Photography  from my own  Jewish wedding

Another ‘ceremony’ idea is to replace the traditional  Sheva Brachot (seven blessings) with prayers  by  all your friends personalised for you, then have each friend came up and read their own prayer. Chelm and Jake did that in their Jewish wedding — have a read of their wedding post for  many more ideas of how to involve friends and family. And even if you don’t want to personalise the seven blessings, you can still ask  seven different friends or cousins to read each blessing for you at the chuppah.  People comfortable reading Hebrew can  read the blessing in Hebrew, while non-Jewish friends can always  read an English translation.

Wedding reception  ideas

A lovely  way to make your guests feel super special is to incorporate another detail that I did for my wedding. My husband and I  knew we wouldn’t have a lot of time to talk to everyone on the day, so we spent some time before the wedding writing personal notes to everyone at the wedding which we then had printed underneath their names on their menus / name cards. It took a bit of time but we really wanted each and every guest to realise how much we wanted them there and what they meant to us.

personal wedding messages
Images: Earthy Photography  from my own  Jewish wedding

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