Ask anyone when Irish couples get married and they'll say a Saturday in summer. Half of that is still true.
The most popular date is New Year's Eve
Across fourteen years of official figures, 31 December comes out on top, with about 189 marriages in an average year. It falls on a different weekday every year and still wins.
At the other end, Christmas Day has no weddings recorded at all in those fourteen years.
August is the busy month, January the quiet one
August averages 2,733 marriages a year in the Republic. January averages 612, under a quarter of that. If your date is flexible, the winter months mean far fewer couples competing for the same venues and suppliers.
Northern Ireland follows the same pattern: August was its busiest month in 2024, with 1,144 of its 7,251 weddings (16% of the year).
Friday has overtaken Saturday in the Republic
In 2024, 36% of weddings in the Republic were on a Friday and 26% on a Saturday. Thursday took another 18%. Sunday is still rare, at 3%.
Northern Ireland hasn't changed in the same way. Saturday is still its most popular day, with 31% of weddings, ahead of Friday at 26%.
The busiest venue in the North
The single busiest wedding venue in Northern Ireland in 2024 was Clandeboye Lodge Hotel in Bangor, with 120 weddings.
What this means if you're picking a date
A popular date means more couples chasing the same venues, photographers and bands. If your date is near the top of the list, book the venue and the people who can only do one wedding a day first.
All 366 dates, ranked, with a box to look up your own: https://www.weddingz.ie/most-popular-wedding-dates
To see the usual weather, sunset time and how busy a date is anywhere in Ireland: https://www.weddingz.ie/wedding-date-checker