Need Canadian advice on dates!

[Green with Envy]

We are deciding between June 25 or July 15 for venue...

Is there anyone from Canada/Quebec who can explain to me if it would be good to go out of town for a wedding on June 25? I guess June 24 is some big national holiday?

My other half (who is from canada and all his guests will be coming from Canada for wedding) won''t ask his side because he wants us to just pick a date that is best for us. however, I am wondering if the canadian holiday weekend is sort of like our July 4th ad it is fun to stay IN the country? Or if there is a national holiday on Thursday... it will be a better time to go out of town for wedding.

The thing is if we don''t do Friday June 25... we can only do a week day (Thursday july 15) in the summer because the Fr/sat/sun prices go way up at our preferred venue for July-Oct.

 

[sammyj]

Ummm...I''m Canadian and I can safely tell you that there is NO holiday on June 25th or any of the dates around it. We do have Canada Day on July 1st, but otherwise the only other special day around that time is Father''s Day.

 

[CDNinNYC]

There is a paid statutory public holiday on June 24th, St. John the Baptist Day/Saint Jean Baptiste Day. It is the National Holiday of the province of Quebec and only celebrated in Quebec, I believe.

It wouldn't bother me at all to go out of town for a 'long weekend' but I know some who would be annoyed by it.

ETA: Hopefully some Quebecers have more insight into traveling on Saint Jean Baptiste Day (so they can make your June 25th nuptials).

 

[allycat0303]

Hello Green with envy,

I''m from Quebec. The 24 th is Saint Jean Baptiste day. It''s kind of tricky. There''s really only 2 questions you need to ask yourself (and I''m totally serious about this)

a) Are they from Quebec
b) Are they french separatists

Which basically means, have any of them expressed the opinon that Quebec should be a seperate country from Canada. Saint Jean Baptist is ONLY celebrated in Quebec. If your fiance''s family is from the rest of Canada, this is a non issue. In Quebec, only truly separtist people would object to a wedding on that day. Anyone from Quebec who is a federalist (i.e believes that Quebec should continue to be part of Canada, usually does not celebrate this holiday.) As a general rule, if the family is from Quebec and english speaking, or of immigrant origin (i.e not pure french Canadian tracing back to France), they will have no issues with the 24th or the 25th, because they are federalist and NOT seperatists.

I''ve never celebrated Saint Jean Batiste day in my life. And my french-canadian husband either (but he is on the same political opinon as me. He believes Quebec should stay a part of Canada).

So you just need to figure out where their political affiliations lie. Although it''s quite easy if you follow the above rules. I''ve met very few people tht deviate from this rule.

 

[PrettyBlues]

Allycat is right with what she said (I also live in Quebec).

Even then, I think *most* people that do celebrate St-Jean Baptiste day would not have a problem with travelling around that date one time for a relative or friend's wedding.

If I were you, I would just pick the day that suits you best.

 

[Green with Envy]

Ok... they are from Quebec. He said downtown Quebec city will be a huge party and then he showed me all sorts of drunk crazy partying June 24 of 09 on You Tube.

BUT... he says it is celebrated every year so no one will mind if they miss it one year.

Thanks for the bride advice.. I trust any woman's opinion about the date. 25th is it. How to you deal with man who will not call ANY of his friends/family before picking date??

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

I was born and raised in Quebec..

Honestly - unless your FI's family is super traditional, I would do it on the 25th. It will be a long weekend and probably a good time for them to take holiday. I really don't know anyone who would be offended, and I am half french Canadian!. It's equivalent to attending a wedding on Canada's day... which really would not be a big deal... Us Canadian's are not nearly as patriotic as the US when it comes to national holidays...

 

[anchor31]

Another French-Canadian/Québécoise here...

I think that unless his family are the kind that would NEVER miss a St-Jean-Baptiste party (separatist or not, it hardly matters), June 25th is a great date. I don't see why some people have issues with long weekend weddings; it gives you more time to travel and enjoy it, no?

ETA: St-Jean-Baptiste is also celebrated in New-Foundland.

 

[allycat0303]

I asked my husband (he has members of his family that are very pro-Quebec.) They said they would NOT attend a wedding on the 24th, because it was a special time for them to be with family and celebrate their Quebec pride. The 25th however, is not a problem. You also have the benefit, that most people who celebrate Saint Jean Baptiste faithfully, will arrange to have the 24 th and 25th off (and therefore have a long weekend). So they would be more free to come.