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Priest for Outdoor wedding

luselyannluselyann member
in New York-Long Island
So my fiance and I were born into and raised Catholic but no longer consider ourselves religious. We don't want to marry inside the church and have already paid for an outdoor ceremony at our venue we were fine with a civil ceremony but our families seem to be interested in the religious aspect of it and we want to appease them by at least giving them the essence of a Catholic wedding ceremony with a priest that is Bilingual. Half our guests speak English, the other half Spanish and therefore we need someone that can really engage both audiences. Any suggestions for people in the tri-state area would be amazing! We are definitely in need of help!
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Re: Priest for Outdoor wedding

  • drmarinerdrmariner member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    I'm not Catholic but my fiance is. We are getting married in Colombia (>90% Catholic, heck it was the state religion until 1991). I don't know if it is absolutely binding and universal but I have been told by priests in both Colombia and the U.S., that Catholic priests will *not* perform weddings outside of a church. I would botch the specific reasoning they gave but it went something along the lines of the sacredness of the ceremony requires the sacred surroundings. You might contact the bishop responsible for the region of your venue to double check. Also, keep in mind that many (most?) priests require the couple to go through a marriage preparation course/premarital counseling before they will marry you. (FYI, I've been seeking out the marriage preparation/counseling part which is where I've acquired most of my knowledge shared here. I never thought I would be in a position to share Catholic wedding knowledge...)

    It's not relevant to you but may be helpful to others who stumble upon your post - I always thought I would be required to convert to be married by a priest. Apparently this is not the case. I'm not sure of the specific rules but I know it was important to the priests I talked to that I am a baptized Christian (Methodist). Also it is possible to have a Catholic ceremony without a full mass.  

    Have you considered finding an officiant who does interfaith weddings to give the essence of a Catholic ceremony. I'm not sure exactly what that means to you but interfaith officiants are used to blending different faiths so they might be equipped to include Catholic readings or prayers if you can't have a priest preside.

    If you find out that I'm wrong about getting married by a priest outside a Catholic church please let me know. Good luck!
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