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Cathedral Vs Chapel

mcdosenmcdosen
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in Catholic Weddings
What does everyone think about weddings in Cathedrals vs Chapels?

I'm so torn between The Immaculata @USD or Founders Chapel @USD, they are both so beautiful that I cannot decide.  The Imaculatta is so grand and stunning, but I'm not sure if such a big venue would feel less intimate.

Thoughts?
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Re: Cathedral Vs Chapel

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    professorscienceprofessorscience member
    First Comment First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    I'm a firm believer that your church should have some special significance to you other than "It's pretty."  Do you attend mass at either of these churches?  Did you go to college (I think that's what USD is) there?
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    Riss91Riss91 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    edited April 2012
    I agree with pp that you should choose the church that you have more of a connection with. If you have an equal connection to both, then it really is a personal choice and likely not one we can make for you :-)

    We preferred the smaller, intimate chapel... but we aren't you!

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    stardreamer1223stardreamer1223
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    I am getting married at the Basilica of San Albino in Mesilla, NM. It's been pretty interesting since everyone believes that my FI and I are getting married there just because it's the "Basilica". Only a few realize how special this church is, my great-grandparents were members, my grandparents celebrated their 50th anniversary there, my parents were married there, and I was raised there (baptism, 1st Holy Communion, Confirmation). It is our family church, that's what makes it so special to be getting married in this church.
    Find the church that means something to you, no matter how big or stylish it is.

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    bibliophile2010bibliophile2010 member
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Comment
    My first choice would be the one that is more meaningful to you. After that, if they are still "equal," I would prefer the smaller chapel. It feels more intimate than having a big, mostly empty church, IMHO.

    Also, just as a point of clarification for those reading, a church isn't designated a cathedral because it is big and grand, but because it is where the chair of the bishop is. Big, grand, beautiful non-Cathedral churches are generally designated bascilicas, or else bear no designation at all (someone please correct me if there are other terms for them, as my mind is not coming up with any at the moment). 

    Here in Phoenix, for example, the cathedral is, by all other accounts, another parish church, but was designated the cathedral along the way, and so it is where the bishop is seated. There are several more impressive chapels, including a beautiful, historic bascilia. Famously, in Rome, St. Peter's Bascilica is NOT the cathedral of Rome (home of the pope); rather, St. John Lateran is.
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    ootmother2ootmother2 member
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    That was a tough decision.  M, as a CSH grad, could be married at St. Patricks Cathedral without fees at all.  As a life long New Yorker, all she could say was "mom, ewww!, that's like getting married at school"

    She and her FI loved Cape Cod and got engageed in Newport.  I spent summers on the Cape and grew up not far off the Cape.

    Short arguement there, the beautiful chapel on Cap Cod won.

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