Marry on Wednesday - It's a Good Day for a Wedding

by Jennifer Cram - Brisbane Marriage Celebrant  ©  17 July 2019  | Days of the Week |


Perhaps you know the old wedding rhyme that goes
But if you look at older beliefs and traditions, and delve into the history of why we call Wednesday, Wednesday,  there are many more interesting reasons for choosing to marry on a Wednesday!

Why we call it Wednesday

The Babylonians knew of only five planets, so they named five days after them, and tagged the other two days after the Sun and the Moon. The Romans adopted the practice when they standardised on a seven day week (used to be 8 days in the Roman week, how confusing was that) and designated Sunday and Monday as the first two days of the week.

The Romans, taking their lead from the Babylonians, named what we call Wednesday for the planet and the god, Mercury, he with the winged shoes and winged hat. And Mercury is therefore the planet of communication. So Wednesday was called Dies Mercurii (or Mercury's Day) and Romance languages such as Spanish, French, and Italian reflect this in what they call Wednesday (miércoles, mercredi, mercoled)- so how did we English-speakers get Wednesday? History again - our English names for days of the week have been influenced by Germanic and Norse myths and the Anglo-Saxon roots of our language. When Germanic and Norse people adapted the Roman system by identifying the Roman gods with their own deities, Mercury, god of war, was associated with Odin, or Woden, the ruler of the realm of the Norse gods.  Hence the old English Wodensdaeg, from which we get Wednesday.

Some fun reasons for getting married on Wednesday

Woden was associated with wisdom, magic, and victory.  He is the god of knowledge and poetry. So a day ruled by Mercury/Woden is a great day to marry. In addition, the god Mercury was often depicted in Roman art with a cockerel, herald of the new day, and/or a ram or goat, symbolising fertility! Add great communication to that, together with the abundance and financial success that Mercury was supposed to bring, and its all looking good for a marriage that begins on a Wednesday.

Benefits of having your wedding on a Wednesday

Being a weekday, a Wednesday is good for

• Lower venue costs
• Supplier discounts
• Limiting the size of your guest list (a mid-week wedding will generally have more declines that one held on a day that precedes or follows hard on the weekend)
  
• Weddings with short planning time
• Almost guaranteed availability of the venue if you've got your heart set on a very popular one
  

You can make marrying on a Wednesday a lot easier if you

• Check whether it is a public holiday either where you are getting married or where your guests are traveling from. Brisbane always has that Wednesday in August as a very local public holiday (Ekka Day).
  
• Send out your save the dates as early as possible
• Make sure you mention that your wedding is on a Wednesday (as well as the date)
• Tell your nearest and dearest by you've picked that particular Wednesday (and why you really do want them at your wedding
• Be prepared for people declining - and don't take it personally

Thanks for reading!