Outdoors Catholic wedding ceremony - can it be done?

Bess1023 · February 2013

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone knows of a CT Catholic priest who will perform a Catholic ceremony outside of the chuch? My wedding will be outdoors, and I've received a lot of no can't be done.

Any advice you can offer is much appreciated!

-B

MoonlightSilver · February 2013

No, you cannot have a valid Catholic wedding outside of the physical church. The Catholic church will not recognize your marriage, from my understanding, if you have it outdoors. There are some retired Catholic priests who are willing to perform ceremonies outside, but they do so as a JOP not as a representative of the church. If you are a Catholic and want to continue in your faith, please take some time to talk to your priest about what marrying outside will mean for you.

banana468 · February 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_connecticut_outdoors-catholic-wedding-ceremony-can-it-be-done?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:65Discussion:1af0bc39-8f76-4ad6-b9f5-d65266fc9de6Post:91b953e4-a726-4a1c-89c6-07427afb1845">Re:Outdoors Catholic wedding ceremony can it be done?</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi! We used Father Mike Aparo, he traveled over an hour to our site. Just google his name <a href="http://www.mikeaparo.com!" rel="nofollow">www.mikeaparo.com!</a> Good luck!
Posted by Amazing817[/QUOTE]

The issue with this is that the marriage would not be recognized in the Catholic Church if you opted to do this.   It's creating a Christian ceremony but many Catholics could find it offensive to attempt the ceremony outside.

The issue is that for a Catholic ceremony to be valid one of the main stipulations is that it BE in a Catholic Church.   DH and I thought about this for a bit but we realized that the Sacrament was the basis for our matrimonial commitment to each other.

Are you and your FI wanting to be practicing Catholics?    Keep in mind that if you opt for an outdoor ceremony your marriage will not be recognized in the Church.   This means that you'd be considered a 'fallen down' Catholic and technically should not receive Communion nor could you serve as a sponsor for Baptism or Confirmation or RCIA.

BelleBride13 · February 2013

My grandfather is a Catholic priest. He told us that if one member of the couple is not Catholic, the priest may choose to allow the wedding to be outside of a church, but the Church won't recognize it. With that said, you'll have a hard time finding a priest willing to do so.

Amazing817 · February 2013

We did speak to our priest prior to our wedding as we started to attend church regularly after we booked our venue 2 1/2 years out and 2 hours away from where we live. Father Mike Aparo was able to incorporate some beautiful prayers and blessings into our outdoor ceremony that other JPs didn't do. Correct that it wasn't recognized as a catholic ceremony which we knew. You also have other options according to our priest such as doing a private intimate ceronomy at your local parish that you belong to. We also did serve as Baptismal sponsors one month after we got married and our priest that signed the paperwork as well as the priest at the baby's church in a different town here in Ct were aware of the marriage. So basically speak to your priest as you see fit or even your local archdiocese(?). Good luck!!!

banana468 · February 2013

In Response to Re:Outdoors Catholic wedding ceremony can it be done?:[QUOTE]We did speak to our priest prior to our wedding as we started to attend church regularly after we booked our venue 2 1/2 years out and 2 hours away from where we live.

Father Mike Aparo was able to incorporate some beautiful prayers and blessings into our outdoor ceremony that other JPs didn't do. Correct that it wasn't recognized as a catholic ceremony which we knew.

You also have other options according to our priest such as doing a private intimate ceronomy at your local parish that you belong to.

We also did serve as Baptismal sponsors one month after we got married and our priest that signed the paperwork as well as the priest at the baby's church in a different town here in Ct were aware of the marriage.

So basically speak to your priest as you see fit or even your local archdiocese?.

Good luck!!! Posted by Amazing817[/QUOTE]

It's great that you were able to serve as a Godparent. Please don't interpret this to mean anything about you or the priest personally but you shouldn't have received that. Unless you and your DH have had a convalidation, you are technically committing a grave sin. If the priest knew this then his signing of the sponsor form is grounds to report him to the Bishop. It is that serious.

Again, I'm not saying this to make a judgement about character. These are rules that were simply not followed.

Bess1023 · February 2013

Oh my goodness!

Let's remember this is a board where we should be sharing happiness, joy and advice for wedding bliss.

Much appreciated if we could refrain from inferring souls will burn in hell from our special day.

Thanks to all the happy brides who have helped thus far! Please keep the kind support and advice coming

banana468 · February 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_connecticut_outdoors-catholic-wedding-ceremony-can-it-be-done?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:65Discussion:1af0bc39-8f76-4ad6-b9f5-d65266fc9de6Post:5c493b9b-d509-4328-826a-873a8a2835ee">Re: Outdoors Catholic wedding ceremony - can it be done?</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh my goodness! Let's remember this is a board where we should be sharing happiness, joy and advice for wedding bliss. Much appreciated if we could refrain from inferring souls will burn in hell from our special day. Thanks to all the happy brides who have helped thus far! Please keep the kind support and advice coming!
Posted by Bess1023[/QUOTE]

Did you see any post saying that your soul would burn in hell?   I know I didn't write one.

You asked what was possible and we told you what was and was not going to work.    One poster was able to skirt the rules of the Church.   Telling you how to get around established doctrine isn't something that any Catholic should do.   That others were able to get around the rules is not a license to do the same thing and the practice is not something that should be lauded.

I understand that this is the local CT board and not the Catholic board but don't you want to know the rules in advance and their meaning?     Try posting on the Catholic Brides board.   They are full of knowledgeable ladies who will happily share their wisdom on doctrine and why everything exists for a reason.

Finally, just as I am not able to tell you how to post, the same holds for you.     If I could have told you how to post I would have told you to stop with the backhanded comments about my happiness.    <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif" border="0" alt="Cool" title="Cool" />

KateG615 · February 2013

You really cannot have a Catholic wedding ceremony outside. My suggestion would be to have your priest perform the outside ceremony as some type of blessing over the marriage. Possibly the day before or day after, you could have a smaller intimate marriage ceremony in the church.

Outdoors Catholic wedding ceremony - can it be done?

Re: Outdoors Catholic wedding ceremony - can it be done?

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