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Cathedral of St. John The Baptist

BrittAnnBoyleBrittAnnBoyle
10 Comments
in South Carolina-Charleston
We are Catholic, and the whole reason I want to get married in SC is because of this beautiful church. Has anyone had a wedding, or attended one here?

I read through their packet and a few things stood out. 
1. Our flower girl & ring bearer will have to be at least 5 years old.... My flower girl will be 3.
2. You have to BYOP (Bring your own priest)

Not being from Charleston, or SC for that matter the BYOP is going to be difficult.  Just wanted some feedback from anyone who has experience with this gorgeous church!
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Re: Cathedral of St. John The Baptist

  • Court579atuscCourt579atusc member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We are getting married there in three weeks and yes it's extremely difficult. The Sister there is extremely difficult and unyielding. At first we were just going to do a ceremony instead of a full Mass and let a friend of the family who is a Deacon do there ceremony, but after months of deliberation we decided having a full Mass was important to us so we spoke with our local priest and he agreed to travel to Charleston to perform it for us. When I called to let the Sister know you would have thought I dropped an atom bomb on Charleston. We thought we were doing the right thing by having a full Mass, she didn't see it the same way. There are a ton of other "rules" too.

    1. No flower petals, rice, bubbles, candles (unity of other), bird seed, confetti etc

    2. No getting dresses at the church

    3. ABSOLUTELY no living together

    To help with the BYOP we offered to pay for their hotel rooms if they would come perform the cereony. I also offered to pay for plane tickets, but they both wanted to drive (it's a 12 hour drive). It's a bit of a challenge but it can be done. Also, if you do decide to go with the Cathedral be very careful who you select as your photographer, since reserving our date in August 2010 they have banned two photographers from the Cathedral for not adhering to their rules. However, it is a beautiful church so it may be worth it, I'll let you know in three weeks! Good luck and let me know how things turn out!


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  • BrittAnnBoyleBrittAnnBoyle
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    WOW thanks so much! I keep getting the feeling we shouldn't get married there but its just so beautiful!

    I'm sure if we do decide to go this route I will have a few atom bombs too!
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  • Court579atuscCourt579atusc member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Yea, it's tough. The other problem is the other big Catholic Church in Charleston, Saint Mary's, operates under the same rules and is run by the same nun. St. Patrick's is downtown and very pretty as well so that might be an option if you don't want to deal with all of the rules. 

    Also, I'm not sure where you are planning your reception, but ours is at The Seabrook Island Club on Seabrook Island and there's a really nice church there called Holy Spirit, it's actually on Johns Island, but if you're thinking about a reception on Seabrook or Kiawah that could be a good option as well.
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  • freeofreeo member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi- I have been doing weddings there for over 20 yrs. It is the MOST spectacular church in Charleston. I feel like I am in a dream land when working there. Call me- let's talk.
    http://www.charlestonweddingphotographers.com
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