Choosing a Wedding Date: Favorable Days Are Plenty; Weekends That Clash with Neither of You Are Not
Before booking a venue, the older generation will usually ask: "Have you had the date checked?" The principles of choosing a wedding date are quite clear: favorable for marriage in the almanac, no clash with either partner's zodiac sign, Ghost Month avoided, then a good hour. The real headache is that once these conditions are stacked, far fewer weekends are left than you would expect.
Which "favorable" entry to look for
| Stage | Almanac entry | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wedding day, the bride fetched | Marriage (jia qu 嫁娶) | The main one. Traditional weddings go by the day the bride is fetched |
| Engagement, proposal | Betrothal gifts (na cai 納采), engagement (ding meng 訂盟) | Na cai is one of the ancient six wedding rites, today's betrothal gifts and engagement |
| Setting up the marriage bed | Setting up the bed (an chuang 安床) | Traditionally a few days before the wedding; some families choose a date for it |
| Banquet | Usually the same day as the wedding; if held separately, most only check clashes | The almanac has no entry specifically for banquets |
Many couples now split registration, the wedding ceremony and the banquet across different days. The common approach: choose the date of the wedding itself (or the day you formally marry) by the almanac, pick any convenient or meaningful day for registration, and if the banquet is separate, just make sure it does not clash with either partner's sign.
Neither partner's sign should clash
If the day's Earthly Branch clashes with the groom's or bride's zodiac sign, for example a Wu (Horse) day for someone born in a Rat (Zi) year, that day is dropped. Many families also avoid clashes with both sets of parents. Our finder takes two people at a time; run it again with other family members' signs.
How we counted: our date-selection rules applied to the 365 days from October 1, 2026. "Neither person clashed" is the average over every pair of different zodiac signs; each day clashes exactly one sign, which removes about a sixth of the days on average.
Find a wedding date: add both zodiac signs
We filter by the almanac's favorable and unfavorable activities, drop days that clash with the people involved, and list each day's Yellow Path hours. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Zodiac signs change at the Start of Spring (around February 4), so if you were born in January or early February your sign may belong to the previous year; check the year pillar with the free chart calculator if unsure. To avoid clashes for more family members, run the search again with their signs.
The best weekend dates for the next six months
Weekend days from October 2026 to March 2027 that are favorable for marriage and are also both a Yellow Path day and a good day officer: just 6 in six months (before removing any clash with your own sign). Relax the conditions to "favorable for marriage" alone, without insisting on the Yellow Path or day officer, and there are many more to choose from; days that clash with you or your partner still need to come out, which the finder above does for you.
| Date | Lunar date · day pillar | Day spirit · day officer | Clash · sha | Yellow Path hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Oct 10, 2026 | Lunar 9/1 · Ding-Si 丁巳 day | Bright Hall · Danger day | Clashes Pig · sha East | Chou, Chen, Wu, Wei, Xu, Hai |
| Sun, Oct 25, 2026 | Lunar 9/16 · Ren-Shen 壬申 day | Golden Coffer · Open day | Clashes Tiger · sha South | Zi, Chou, Chen, Si, Wei, Xu |
| Sun, Jan 17, 2027 | Lunar 12/10 · Bing-Shen 丙申 day | Life Keeper · Danger day | Clashes Tiger · sha South | Zi, Chou, Chen, Si, Wei, Xu |
| Sat, Jan 23, 2027 | Lunar 12/16 · Ren-Yin 壬寅 day | Golden Coffer · Remove day | Clashes Monkey · sha North | Zi, Chou, Chen, Si, Wei, Xu |
| Sun, Feb 14, 2027 | Lunar 1/9 · Jia-Zi 甲子 day | Green Dragon · Open day | Clashes Horse · sha South | Zi, Chou, Mao, Wu, Shen, You |
| Sun, Feb 21, 2027 | Lunar 1/16 · Xin-Wei 辛未 day | Jade Hall · Hold day | Clashes Ox · sha West | Yin, Mao, Si, Shen, Xu, Hai |
Ghost Month and other traditional considerations
Taiwanese custom avoids the 7th lunar month for weddings; in 2027 it runs from August 2 to 31, 2027. The almanac itself has no such rule; our finder avoids it by default, but you can switch that off.
Several parts of traditional wedding date selection are not included here: the bride's greater and lesser favorable months, worked out from her zodiac sign; the wedding zhou tang positions; and reading both people's BaZi together. Methods for these vary widely between schools, so we suggest using our finder to shortlist dates and checking the final choice with a teacher. To see whether two charts fit, see BaZi compatibility.
How to use the good hours
Once the date is set, tradition picks good hours for the key moments too: leaving to fetch the bride, arriving at the door, bowing farewell to the parents. The hours we list are the day's Yellow Path hours, with any hour that clashes with the people involved already removed. In practice, choose whichever of them is convenient for the main ceremony.
A straight word: a good date brings peace of mind, not responsibility for the outcome
Date selection is a custom that goes back more than a thousand years, and it can give an important day a sense of occasion and reassurance. But whether a marriage is happy, a move goes smoothly or a business does well comes down to people. Our favorable and unfavorable activities come from almanac calendar data, and different almanac traditions differ slightly. For a truly important occasion, treat our result as a first pass and, if you like, check it with a teacher you trust. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Date chosen; how well do the two of you fit?
Enter both birth dates to see, free, how your BaZi charts interact, how you tend to get along, and what to keep an eye on.
Wedding date FAQ
Which day should the wedding date be for: registration or the banquet?
Tradition goes by the day of the wedding itself, when the bride is fetched or the couple formally marries, and looks for "favorable for marriage" in the almanac. Registration can be any convenient or meaningful day; if the banquet is held separately, just avoid clashing with either partner's zodiac sign.
Does a wedding date really have to avoid clashing with both zodiac signs?
Traditionally, yes: if the day's branch clashes with the groom's or bride's sign, the day is avoided. Many families also avoid both sets of parents' signs. Our finder takes two people at once; run it again for other family members.
How many days a year are good for a wedding?
In the year from October 2026, the almanac marks 128 days favorable for marriage, 38 of them on weekends. After Ghost Month and clashes with both partners' signs are removed, about 97 days remain on average, around 30 of them weekends.
When is Ghost Month in 2027?
In 2027 the 7th lunar month runs from August 2 to 31, 2027 in the Gregorian calendar.