Wedding Planning vs. FIFA World Cup

Hello 2026 Couples!

Have you already booked your venue and wedding date for 2026? Is it in June or July? If you answered yes to either questions, then let's break down what FIFA (aka. world soccer tournament) has to do with your wedding.

What is FIFA?

For those of you all that are new to FIFA, you might be asking, what is that? FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) is the international organization that hosts the football (or soccer) world cup every four years. This year (2026) the World Cup will take place across North America (Canada, US and Mexico) during the summer months, with seven games taking place in Vancouver at BC Place.

FIFA Vancouver Game Days:

Saturday, June 13 - Australia vs. TBD

Thursday, June 18 - Canada🇨🇦 vs Qatar

Sunday, June 21 - New Zealand vs Egypt

Wednesday, June 24 - Switzerland vs Canada🇨🇦

Thursday, July 2 - TBD

Tuesday, July 7 - TBD

How will this impact my summer wedding planning?

There are several ways FIFA may impact your wedding day/weekend. I will list those here and below I will share some tips to help prepare/plan ahead to make sure you win on your day and not FIFA (unless you are having a FIFA themed wedding).

1) Lodging

I think this is the biggest challenge with having FIFA in town. Not only will prices be higher, but you are unlikely to book any room blocks for your guests. Now, I have not called all hotels, but from the ones I spoke with (even out in Burnaby), hotels are not offering room blocks.

2) Reservations

From restaurants to the aquarium to VanDusen. Expect bigger crowds of people to be everywhere (especially tourist activities) and expect restaurant reservations to book out earlier.

Let's be prepared!

How can you prepare yourself during the wedding planning process for the FIFA World cup? Knowing when the games are happening is a great first step. The next is who is playing, as this could determine where there could be the most celebrating. Here are a few key places to consider and plan for during your summer wedding.

1) Traffic and Road Closures

Let's face it, if you are going to be driving anywhere in Vancouver in the summer, you already need to add plenty of buffer time to your trip...thanks construction. With the world cup in town, driving times will be even longer and there will be added road closures (see maps below).

Tip: Give yourself 3 times the travel time if you need to travel between locations on wedding day or even to make a reservation. Parking will potentially also require extra time.

Vendor Tip: If your vendors charge for travel time, double check if the fee is a flat fee, or travel time dependent.

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2) Cost

Expect prices to increase from food, hotels, uber trips, to parking fees. This could effect rehearsal dinners (if eating out at restaurants) or cost of alcohol, if you are sourcing cases from the liquor store yourself.

Tip: Plan for some extra room in your budget to account of the increase is costs.

3) Vendors

Certain vendors may be in more demand during the World Cup, like caterers or bartenders.

Tip: Book early! If you still have not books either of these vendors, this is your sign to do it now.

4) Embrace the games!

It's your wedding day and you have worked so hard to pull off your event to celebrate with your friends and family! When something comes up that you are not prepared for, it can seem frustrating. The best way to fight the stress, is to embrace the chaos that is the world cup!

I was in Rio during the world cup 2016, walking was way faster than driving. But, the energy and excitement the games create is truly an experience and what a way to celebrate your wedding surrounded by the world cup!

Hope this helps and gets you more prepared for the summer ahead!

Check out the Vancouver FIFA website for the most up to date information.

If you are looking for more tips, reach out! I would love to offer any extra help in preparing for the world cup.

If you need planning or coordinating support, let's hop on a consultation call.

Now booking for 2026/2027.

All the best,

Emily