Capitol Hill lawmakers and staffers are enjoying August recess, with some even planning their weddings around the annual reprieve.
Congress‘s monthlong summer break has become an ideal time to tend to personal lives and travel after a grueling seven-month slog that saw marathon speeches, multiple overnight sessions, and record-breaking votes.
That’s the case for freshman Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), who will wed his fiancée, Chelsea Strub, this month. Bresnahan, 35, got engaged to Strub, a former TV newscaster, in July 2024 during his high-intensity campaign to beat incumbent Democrat Matt Cartwright in the northeastern Pennsylvania district.
After he was sworn in this January, the couple counted on the August recess as the safest time he could be away from Washington and celebrate with friends and family in Pennsylvania.
“We picked August for our wedding because it aligns with the August recess, so we knew (or at least hoped) our plans for the celebration at home in the district wouldn’t be interrupted by votes,” Bresnahan and Strub said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
Bresnahan is not alone in his timing choice.
Last August, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) married interior designer and mother of three, Mindy Noce, in their native South Carolina at a ceremony attended by a strong Capitol Hill contingent, including Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), James Lankford (R-OK), and John Barrasso (R-WY).
Staffers working tirelessly on Capitol Hill also plan their trips and weddings around the month their boss leaves town.
Although there are short recesses throughout the year, none are as consistent as August, as other breaks are interrupted by government funding deadlines, big bills to be passed, or just the chaos that breaks out in Washington.
“I spent many evenings after 7 pm hits with CNN and MSNBC working on sealing envelopes and melting gold wax until 3 am, only to be up at 6 am to get ready for an in-session day,” one House staffer told the Washington Examiner.
“While work-life balance is tough on the Hill, it’s always worth it when we deliver for both our families and our constituents. While I got married on a recess week in June, I always recommend an August date to colleagues,” they continued.
Another staffer specifically planned their wedding around recess to ensure nothing gets in the way of the big day.
“My fiancé and I are planning our wedding during a congressional recess — Mike Johnson is not going to upstage my wedding day,” a Democratic House staffer told the Washington Examiner.
Congressional aides are not the only ones who plan their wedding day around this monthlong district work period, but agency staffers do as well.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin is to marry former fellow Vivek Ramaswamy campaign veteran Benjamin Yoho on Aug. 23. The ceremony is set to take place in Cincinnati, and they will then honeymoon in France. The two often post back-and-forth about McLaughlin’s TV news appearances on X.
My lady
https://t.co/CgmE7JveWh
— Benjamin Yoho (@BenYoho) April 16, 2025
While August may allow a little extra time to plan a honeymoon, using this recess to tie the knot comes during one of the busiest months of the wedding season, which can lead to elevated prices and colliding dates.
“According to our study, 41% of last year’s weddings took place between September and November, solidifying fall as peak wedding season,” according to The Knot’s website. “Summer was the second most popular wedding season last year, with 28% of couples getting married between June and August.”
August is one of the most popular months because it is the tail end of summer and the front end of fall. This allows people to honeymoon directly after their wedding day.
“From a photographer’s perspective, the most popular time to get married is on a summer weekend,” Wedding and Sports Photographer Hayden Carroll told the Washington Examiner. “I have noticed that most people who work regular office jobs wait until the summer to get married so they can take PTO and go on their honeymoon the week following their wedding date.”
The Knot, a wedding website used for planning everything from RSVPs to registries, also has a page with answers to wedding questions, from when is the busiest season to where to honeymoon for your wedding month.
The website suggests the best destinations for a honeymoon if your wedding is in August as “Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Central & South Africa, Czech Republic, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Ireland, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Seychelles, Thailand, U.S. (Alaska, Northeast).”
However, for Bresnahan and Strub, the soon-to-be newlyweds decided to delay their honeymoon so they could spend the rest of the summer in northeastern Pennsylvania.
“It’s also such a fun and busy month here, so we wanted our out-of-town family and friends to have the chance to explore and enjoy the district,” the couple said. “Postponing the honeymoon lets us do the same and spend time in parts of the district we didn’t get to explore much during the campaign or since taking office.”