Ceremony only, why so short?

CaylaSummer

Hey ladies,

I just heard back from parish and I was told that since I am only having a ceremony it would only be 20 min. I did not think it would this short. For some reason I wanted it to be longer. How long was yours?

The other thing I was told that we are meeting again with the priest at the parish before the wedding. Any clue what it is about?

mica178

The ceremony length depends on the length of your readings, the psalm and gospel acclamation you choose, as well as the length of the priest's homily.  I suppose it could be as short as 20 minutes, especially if you do not have a cantor but speak the psalm instead.  

I think mine was about 35-40 minutes.

ring_pop

Maybe the priest speaks quickly and plans to make a short homily.

Our last meeting was to check over all the details and final questions.

[Deleted User]

A full mass ceremony (what we had) usually lasts about an hour, give or take. The priest is probably being conservative on his estimate on how long it will last. But I have heard ceremonies without mass usually last about 25-40 minutes.

Calypso1977

20 does seem short....the non-mass weddings ive been to usually run 45 mins.

bibliophile2010

20 minutes does seem short, but I guess it could be if all of your readings are very short, your psalm is not sung, the homily is brief, and there are no additions (unity candle, presentation to Mary, signing of the marriage license, etc.).

It seems like 30-40 minutes would be more accurate if those things are not the case, which makes sense, because that's about how long the Liturgy of the Word normally lasts, give or take.

newlyseliski

I agree... that does seem kind of short!  I know since we're doing a full Mass, I think that we aren't permitted to have sung opening and closing hymns in all likelihood (just my own parish's policy) because of the length of the Mass... just organ processional/recessionals!  I think bibliophile hit the nail on the head as far as what liturgical elements, when spare, will shorten the length of the service.  If you'd like it to be a bit longer, sung hymns (3-4 verses), a sung psalm, longer versions of each reading and additional rite like unity candle or presentation to Mary will help!

Several ladies on here recommend catholicweddinghelp.com as a guide for what the liturgy for a Catholic wedding typically is composed of!  Here's a link to the Order of a Catholic Wedding Outside the Mass for your reference.  It's a really helpful site!  I know the ladies on here also recommend a small booklet, too, that has ideas for readings and songs... I just can't recall its name.  There's a link in my planning bio to my own parish's "Wedding Workbook" which has a lot of that information as well, if you're interested.

mswood1977

I had a full mass and it lasted about 45-50 minutes (very small wedding only about 20 people received communion).

My sister-in-law had a ceremony only wedding and it lasted about 30 minutes, if you count the seating of the mothers, processional and recessional.  The ceremony itself was about 20 minutes.

chrissyann02

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_ceremony-only-short?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:5ef6446a-6adf-4073-a94a-e00b38caf5fcPost:6cc49466-216e-4461-8cff-afbe87a3498a">Re: Ceremony only, why so short?</a>:
[QUOTE]20 does seem short....the non-mass weddings ive been to usually run 45 mins. Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]

Ditto! My MOH's wedding was not a full mass and lasted about 40-45 mins. Our wedding is a full mass, so we are expecting it to last about an hour.

bibliophile2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_ceremony-only-short?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:5ef6446a-6adf-4073-a94a-e00b38caf5fcPost:58782a80-62eb-4b3a-97ea-a1bdae394e66">Re: Ceremony only, why so short?</a>:
[QUOTE]I I know the ladies on here also recommend a small booklet, too, that has ideas for readings and songs... I just can't recall its name. 
Posted by newlyseliski[/QUOTE]

The booklet is "Together for Life." Many parishes (including mine) give it out as a reference, but many priests allow alternate readings. Insert standard disclaimer here about talking to your priest/each parish is different/etc.

GulfCoaster

Is the processional included in his estimate?  Because I could see it being 20 minutes from the time everyone is up front to the start of the recessional, particularly if the priest isn't planning to give a long homily, depending on what readings you choose.  The processional, and seating of close relatives, would add a few minutes to the total time.

A Protestant friend of mine had a ceremony that was 16 minutes including the processional.  (Another friend timed it!)  It included the vows, 2 readings -- one of which was 1 Corinthians 13, a brief homily and long prayer by the pastor, and a unity candle ceremony.  That still holds the record for shortest wedding I've been to, but I'm not sure what she could have added to the ceremony.

CaylaSummer

I'm not sure about all the details and would not know until the rehearsal but yeah my coordinator said 20 mins. I did ask the ceremony maybe I should have worded it differently, maybe ask her how long the whole thing would be.

I mean a reguar mass is an hour depending how long the communion takes. I know that 15 mins into the mass, the church is staring the gospel so in some ways i can see it being 20 mins..if there is no eucharist. 

I did get a guideline from the archiocese from my city. So outside mass 

 walk down the aisle, liturgy of the word,  Adress to the couple, Questions before consent, exchange of vows, Blessing of rings, exchange rings, General intercession. Then it says the lord's prayer and nuptial blessing follow immediately. Sign of peace, concluding rites, sign documents, then pocess back down to the aisle. 

I don't know I'm confused.

threepinkroses

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_ceremony-only-short?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:5ef6446a-6adf-4073-a94a-e00b38caf5fcPost:05b4f4b7-56d2-47f5-9ddb-a47a71057b46">Re: Ceremony only, why so short?</a>:
[QUOTE]Is the processional included in his estimate?  Because I could see it being 20 minutes from the time everyone is up front to the start of the recessional, particularly if the priest isn't planning to give a long homily, depending on what readings you choose.  The processional, and seating of close relatives, would add a few minutes to the total time. A Protestant friend of mine had a ceremony that was 16 minutes including the processional.  (Another friend timed it!)  It included the vows, 2 readings -- one of which was 1 Corinthians 13, a brief homily and long prayer by the pastor, and a unity candle ceremony.  That still holds the record for shortest wedding I've been to, but I'm not sure what she could have added to the ceremony.
Posted by GulfCoaster[/QUOTE]

I went to a friends wedding last summer and it was seven minutes from the time everyone walked down the aisle to the time they kissed. Not a religious ceremony obviously, but I was shocked anyway. If I had sneezed I would have missed everything!

Calypso1977

I went to a friends wedding last summer and it was seven minutes from the time everyone walked down the aisle to the time they kissed.

imagine if you were one of those people who is habitually late by 10 minutes....youd miss the whole thing!

bibliophile2010

I understand not wanting weddings to go on forever if there are no religious elements that are making them longer (I don't want to listen to 20 poems or 6 solos), but I really don't get super-duper short ceremonies. I mean, the ceremony is the whole point of the day -- shouldn't it be memorable and meaningful?