New York-Hudson Valley

Catholic Officiant that will do an outdoor wedding?

Hi All,

My fiance and I very much want to have an outdoor ceremony.  Both of us were raised Catholic, however neither of us would consider ourselves Catholic now, but our families are still very much so.  As a compromise to not having the ceremony in a church, we would still like a priest to officiate the wedding.  Does anyone know of a Catholic priest that is willing to perform weddings outside of the church?  This would have to be in the Westchester, NYC area.

I look forward to your feedback.
Thank you!

Re: Catholic Officiant that will do an outdoor wedding?

  • kristinanddankristinanddan member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    You won't find a current priest who will do that, as marriage is a sacrament and can only take place in a church.
    You may be able to find a former priest or minister who will perform a religious ceremony, but it won't be a Catholic ceremony.
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  • edited December 2011
    Ditto to everything Kristin said. You probably will be able to find a minister or pastor of another Christian denomination to do an outdoor ceremony, but it wouldn't be catholic.
  • edited December 2011
    He isn't a Catholic priest but he will do a traditional ceremony for you. www.wedrev.com
    Reverend David James is who I am using and we love him.
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  • probablykateprobablykate member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    As pp said the catholic church will not recognize a ceremony that takes place outside of the church so it's highly unlikely you'll find a practicing catholic priest that will do it. 

    I am in a simialr boat and we are about to book Reverend Jim Francek (http://ceremonieswithoutboundaries.com/).  He used to be a catholic priest but left the church to get married.  He'll tailor the ceremony however you'd like it. 

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  • edited December 2011
    Hi...we wanted a catholic ceremony but annullment proceedings delayed us ( we got such back two weeks before wedding) so we used someone who does 'catholic-like' ceremonies.  Nobody will know the difference.  You can use Rev James or our person if I could remember his name...I am having a mental block right now, but as soon as I recall it I will forward you his info. He is from Put Valley
  • kristinanddankristinanddan member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-york-hudson-valley_catholic-officiant-will-outdoor-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:113Discussion:469fc210-4d6f-4680-8728-49d970538993Post:c84ca715-8147-43e2-8d30-fe66f24022bb">Re: Catholic Officiant that will do an outdoor wedding?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Hi...we wanted a catholic ceremony but annullment proceedings delayed us ( we got such back two weeks before wedding) so we used someone who does 'catholic-like' ceremonies.<strong> Nobody will know the diffe rence.  </strong>You can use Rev James or our person if I could remember his name...I am having a mental block right now, but as soon as I recall it I will forward you his info. He is from Put Valley
    Posted by Crissyo[/QUOTE]

    This is absolutely not true as any Catholic would know that a Catholic ceremony can only be held in a church, and one outside obviously is not.
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  • edited December 2011
    I am using Father George Hintz - he was a Catholic priest and left the church to get married.  He will perform the wedding in a stole, there will be readings, the unity candle, vows, etc just not in a church.  He has been great to work with - he is located in Westchester, but is coming to do our wedding in New Jersey.  I don't have his number on me right now, but PM me and I'll send it to you when I get home if you are interested. 
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  • ssagessage member
    Seventh Anniversary 1000 Comments
    edited December 2011

    We used Father Rich Hasselbach...a former Catholic priest who left the priesthood for several reasons....but he will perform a ceremony in the Catholic tradition (that is what we had) or any other ceremony you wish.

    My hubby was previously married, i was not.  he has a child and although he is legally divorced, he would have had to get his marriage annuled for the church and he refused because of his son.  I was in agreement.  Plus I heard horror stories of the process ... including someone waiting ONE YEAR to find out it wasn't accepted.  I didn't want the church telling me when and if i could get married.

    Father Rich was a great compromise. 

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  • edited December 2011

    I wanted to have a Priest at our ceremony but opted to use a Judge instead for our November wedding. Judge William Corbett allows you to customize your wedding cermony to include unity candles and traditional vows. This is his phone number: 516-775-6849...good luck with your planning!

  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-york-hudson-valley_catholic-officiant-will-outdoor-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:113Discussion:469fc210-4d6f-4680-8728-49d970538993Post:338e62b3-b5e6-4cdc-a912-ffaaf188556c">Re: Catholic Officiant that will do an outdoor wedding?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Catholic Officiant that will do an outdoor wedding? : This is absolutely not true as any Catholic would know that a Catholic ceremony can only be held in a church, and one outside obviously is not.
    Posted by kristinanddan[/QUOTE]

    I guess your right if its outside....but mine was done inside in a gorgeous chapel where they hold both catholic and non catholic ceremonies.  My priest is a priest, he is just no longer ordained as roman catholic, and he did a ceremony that was exactly the same as my brother's ( except that we chose some different songs and readings to make ours unique)...so NOBODY knew the difference.  We do plan to convalidate our marriage sometime this year now that the annullment is official.
  • edited December 2011
    BTW....I remember my offician'ts name...Fr. Giles Spoonhour...he was great.
    PM me if you want his contact info
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