If you are planning a wedding in October, there is one piece of information worth knowing before you sign any contracts: from 24 October to 13 November, Mercury is retrograde. That is the third time this year.

Does that mean anything astronomically? No. Does it mean anything for your wedding? According to astrologer Ana Lorente - yes, but not in the way everyone imagines.

The one piece of advice that works without a horoscope

"Mercury rules communication, agreements, documents and travel. When it appears to move backwards, misunderstandings, contracts and logistics all get tangled. For a wedding that translates quite literally: mix-ups with suppliers, lost invitations, complicated journeys," Lorente says.

Her answer to whether you should avoid getting married on those days is unexpectedly sensible: "I am not a fatalist. I would not say it is impossible to marry during Mercury retrograde, but I would avoid signing and closing the big contracts - catering, the venue, the honeymoon - on those dates."

And then comes the sentence that demolishes the whole mystique: "Retrograde punishes improvisation, not love. An organised couple gets through it without drama."

In other words - plan ahead, check twice, leave a margin. That is advice any event planner will give you with not a single planet in it.

The numerology of 2026

According to Lorente, 2026 adds up as 2+0+2+6 = 10, and 10 reduces to 1. A universal year 1. "The one is the seed, the first impulse, let there be light of the numerological cycle. It symbolises beginnings, decisions, the courage to open a path." After 2025, which was a nine - closing, farewells, letting go of the old - this year, she says, is literally calling for sowing.

The dates that amplify that energy are the ones that add up to one: the 1st, 10th, 19th and 28th of every month. In astrological terms, days with a new or waxing moon are traditionally preferred for planting intentions. "A wedding on a waxing moon accompanies the idea of something being born and growing."

2026 is also the year of the Fire Horse, a combination that comes around once every 60 years. The horse means freedom, passion, movement; fire adds heat and courage. But here too Lorente applies the brake: "For a solid couple the Fire Horse is a tailwind for binding out of passion, but rushing should not be mistaken for love."

And 2027?

This is where it gets interesting, at least as symbolism. 2027 is numerologically a year 2 (2+0+2+7 = 11, a master number that reduces to 2). "If the one is the individual who begins, the two is literally the couple: the union, the us, cooperation, the balance between two people."

The astrologer's conclusion is a division of labour: 2026 is excellent for deciding and getting engaged, and 2027 for getting married.

What to take from all this

Around here a wedding is planned for months, paid for with loans and remembered for decades. Whether you factor in the horoscope is your business - but notice what part of all this actually works without believing in a single planet.

Do not sign big contracts in a hurry. Check every detail twice. Leave yourself time. Those are the three things that save a wedding, not Mercury. If astrology is what makes you do them - fine, let it be. The result is the same.