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Wedding Customs & Traditions Forum
vwhelan85
member
How long was your catholic wedding?
Our wedding seems to be about an hour but we would prefer is 30 minutes. My fiancee doesn't want mass now for the reason that it is so long but my mom (who isn't even catholic) thinks its rude because most guests are catholic. Has anyone had a similar problem? How do you shorten it?
Thanks!
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Re: How long was your catholic wedding?
The bigger differential is often more dependent on the priest, how slowly or quickly he offers his readings and prayers, and how "chatty" he decides to be during the homily.
Their songs and readings were beautiful but a bit long
Our mass was just under an hour. We had 100 people attending and most are Catholic. We asked my Eucharistic Minister cousin to assist during communion to help the priest out, so that helped it go faster, I think. My BIL had a ceremony only, no mass and it was about 30 minutes long. But they also had no singer and the Response Psalm was spoken, not sung.
And as PP mentioned, if 2 Catholics are marrying, it is preferred that a full mass is done.
[QUOTE]Our ceremony was really long but i loved it. Our went for 1 Hr and 45 Min.
Posted by mcda04[/QUOTE]
Holy crap. Your wedding ceremony was nearly 2 hours long??!?!? Why?
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: How long was your catholic wedding? : Holy crap. Your wedding ceremony was nearly 2 hours long??!?!? Why?
Posted by GoodLuckBear14[/QUOTE]
Yeah that's what i said when i walked out and looked at the time.
The priest that was supposed to marry us was not available so the church brought in a different one. I think his sermon was just waay longer plus he was older and talked slower. :) It really didn't seem THAT long though. Our mass was supposed to start at 12:30 and we started at like 1 because he did the same thing in the ceremony before ours.
I really like it though, he took his time and didn't rush anybody, he even came out and talked to me and my girls before the ceremony to give his personal blessing before mass. i thought it was a sweet touch.
However most are about 1 hr to 1 hr 15 mins depending on how guests and how many partake in Communion, how long the priest talks, and songs selected and if you do the full mass vs wedding ceremony only.
You (plural) should do what matters to you for your ceremony. Don't make it long for the sake of it being long. Don't skip for the sake of making it short. Make sure your guests know (by word of mouth or including it on the invite or your website or whatever) that there will be a full mass, so it is on them to be prepared to participate, sit quietly or not attend (or fast and prepare to receive Holy Communion if they are Catholic).
[QUOTE]I was at a Catholic Mass that was almost 3 hours long. For whatever reasons, the bride had them do 4 readings plus 2 Gospel readings (2 readings and 1 Gospel for the "weekend readings" and 2 readings and 1 Gospel geared as more "wedding") and the church they married in has statues for all 12 apostles(Holy Apostles is the name of the church) and they put flowers and prayed in front of each apostle as well as The Blessed Mother and the Holy Family. Most guests attending were Catholic, so almost everyone partook in Communion. I thought it was odd getting an invite for a 2 pm wedding and the reception/cocktail hour wasn't going to start til 6 pm until I realized we weren't leaving the Church til after 5pm. However most are about 1 hr to 1 hr 15 mins depending on how guests and how many partake in Communion, how long the priest talks, and songs selected and if you do the full mass vs wedding ceremony only.
Posted by StephJean83[/QUOTE]
Only reason I can think of for doing 6 readings would be because the couple wanted to allow their wedding to "count" for sunday mass as well. I went to a wedding a few months ago where the couple purposefully asked for the sunday readings to be used instead of choosing their own to make sure that it fulfilled their sunday obligation. Made me giggle a bit, because it was so them to make that request.
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: How long was your catholic wedding? : Only reason I can think of for doing 6 readings would be because the couple wanted to allow their wedding to "count" for sunday mass as well. I went to a wedding a few months ago where the couple purposefully asked for the sunday readings to be used instead of choosing their own to make sure that it fulfilled their sunday obligation. Made me giggle a bit, because it was so them to make that request.
Posted by heroeswearbrown[/QUOTE]
Ditto! We are having a 3 pm mass and have been told it will be about an hour (confession is at 4, so I'm thinking they'll try to get us out of there on time). I've known my priest most of my life and I've seen him hurry through mass when the Patriots were playing on many Sundays (don't mess with Boston sports...). We are also asking for the Sunday readings so that mass will "count". I have multiple family members that may choose to end the night early if they have to go to church the next morning; I'd rather have no control over the readings and let my guests enjoy themselve that night!
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[QUOTE]Our wedding seems to be about an hour but we would prefer is 30 minutes. My fiancee doesn't want mass now for the reason that it is so long but my mom (who isn't even catholic) thinks its rude because most guests are catholic. Has anyone had a similar problem? How do you shorten it? Thanks!
Posted by vwhelan85[/QUOTE]
Seriously...why is he in such a rush? Is there a football game on that day? The ceremony is the most important part. It's about a lifelong commitment you're making to each other.The reception is just an afterthought (or should be) If I were you I'd be insulted by hsi request and ask if he's just in a hurry to get to the open bar.
Do what you want, its your day but I'd be a little concerned about his commitment to your relationship.