- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
I didn't even realize there was a seperate board for this now. How cool!
Let's introduce ourselves :)
I'm Mrs. Radish. I live in Chicago and had my wedding in Syracuse, NY at St. Matthew's church. Mr. Radish is Catholic (I'm not) so had a Catholic wedding, but we didn't have a full mass.
I know planning a Catholic wedding can be a little confusing (especially to brides like me who aren't actually Catholic) so this board should be really helpful in answering everyone's questions.
Also, I think a lot of people have misconceptions about the chuch - I certainly did - so maybe this can be a good place for people to learn more about Catholicism in general, too.
Welcome!
Hello, I'm Mrs. Bird of Paradise and I'm also here to help. I'm Catholic and Mr. Bop is not. We had a Catholic wedding in our town's Cathedral. We also choose not to have a full mass. Each church seems to have different ways of doing things, and I can share my experiences if needed. I'll try my best to answer any questions as well!
Hi ladies! Miss Toucan here! I'm also a non-Catholic having a Catholic ceremony (just a few more weeks!). Since I'm not Catholic (and Mr. Toucan is), we also chose not to do the full mass.
The funny thing is... I actually know more about Catholicism than Mr. T! It doesn't really mean much, because I don't know that much, but I went to Catholic high school so I'm not totally in the dark either. :)
I'm also a non-Catholic who had a Catholic wedding! I think it may have been easier for me, since it was Mr. Kiwi's workplace that actually was our church! We also didn't have a Catholic mass.
It can be overwhelming, I know Mrs. BOP and Radish were a help for me, and hopefully I can help if anyone needs something. :)
DSC_0526.JPG (92.7 KB, 59 downloads) 2 years old DSC_0740.JPG (114.4 KB, 35 downloads) 2 years old 
Hi guys! I'm the opposite of all of the above posters - I"m Catholic and FI is not and we're NOT having a Catholic wedding. Turns out that because FI was married before (not to a Catholic, not even in a Catholic ceremony) he needs an annulment. That's not an option we're going to pursue and that has forced me to give up my dream of getting married in the same church I grew up in, my parents and grandparents got married in, family and friends have gotten married in, etc.
We decided not to go the annulment route because neither of us believe in it. An annulment basically states that his previous marriage did not happen. Well, it did. And he's who I love because of it. And I also didn't really like the idea of him contacting his ex-wife (who is remarried with kids) to ask permission (essentially) for him to marry me. According to the priest at the church I went to, she would have had to come and be interviewed, FI would have had to come be interviewed as well as three friends from each side who knew them during their dating, marriage and divorce periods. Soooo, no thanks.
So we're getting married in a great Lutheran church in my hometown instead (we don't live there) but during the process of finding someone who would do our required pre-marital counseling (the Catholic church I go to here refused) we found a great Lutheran church which both of us love and are probabaly going to start attending together. Not that that has anything to do with the Catholic board, I was just hoping to give people a heads up as to what to expect (sort of) with the decision for an annulment or not. And they said it would take more than a year.
Both my FI and I grew up in fairly strict Catholic houses - Catholic gradeschool and church every Sunday. I grew apart from the church durring high school and college (so did my FI), but we are still having a full Catholic ceremony. We are getting married in the church that my parents belong to. We will be having two priests b/c the one currently at the church was caught in a "situation" (it didn't envolve kids), but besides that his homilies (the part after the Gospel) are completely unbearable! So we've asked the old priest to come back who is still friends with my parents. To make things more interesting, we'll be doing our pre-marital counseling in CA and the wedding is in MN. We found a church that we both like here and are going to become memebers and start the process. So hopefully with in the next month we'll start the process, so I'll be able to give advice as I go along.
Hello! I'm a Catholic bride with a non-Catholic fiance. We are having a Catholic ceremony in NH without a full mass. The priest is an old friend of my aunt, so it works out nicely.
We're done with pre-Cana, FOCCUS test complete, and we're starting to plan the ceremony, so this forum came right in time!
Hello everyone! This is Miss Hydrangea - I'm actually having a full blown Catholic Mass with all the Hispanic traditions as well, talk about a long ceremony! Mr. H has always been Catholic and last year I became Catholic. Since I'm still very new to the church, I think I have a lot to learn like those who are not Catholic.
jma19:
My fiance had a catholic annulment, and his wife was definatly not interviewed. She was sent a list of questions, and we were assured that if she did not answer the questions that it would not hold up the process. Other than that, there was absolutly no communication with her at all. He did need 2 people that knew him and his ex during the dating,marriage and divorce, and they also got a list of questions. (I pretty much filled it out for them) They were never interviewed.
His annulment took 9 months and cost a total of $600.
This would be the Scranton diocese in PA.
We will be married this weekend (May 24th 2008) with a full Catholic mass. And I love our priest because he works fast, so our mass should be about 45 minutes.
Hi everybody! Me and the fiance are both Catholic converts (me this past Easter and him at Easter of 2006) from the Episcopalian church. We're having a full Catholic mass (in November), but beyond that we haven't planned any specifics (readings, music, etc). I'm excited to hear about what details you all will be using or have used in your ceremonies!
Also, I hope to be a good resource on Catholicism in general. My fiance is a theology nut, and I did a number on his Catholic literature before joining the church, so I know a lot about it!
3775519_4.jpg (32.3 KB, 48 downloads) 2 years old 12079.jpg (12.4 KB, 51 downloads) 2 years old 12076-1.jpg (15.8 KB, 39 downloads) 2 years old
Two other points of clarification on annulments for those who might be in that situation too:
1. The divorced parties do not have to contact or be in contact with one another for the proceedings to take place, as Candi1024 said---especially important if one of the people was abusive that you don't have to go back to that.
2. An annulment does not mean that the relationship never existed or had no meaning, it means that it never existed on a sacramental level. Similarly, any children born of a later-annulled marriage are not made illegitimate by it. Hope this helps!
Hi! Like Miss Hydrangea and chelseamorning, I just converted to Catholicism! I was officially confirmed on Easter. My fiance is very Italian Catholic, so it was important to me to learn about and become engaged in that part of his life. I grew up Southern Baptist, though, so my family will be a little out in left field for our full Catholic mass ceremony (which is why I plan on doing detailed programs to make sure everyone knows what's going on... including me). :) I still have a lot to learn, and I'm so excited to hear everyone's advice and choices on readings, etc!
Hey hey! Mr. Mags and I are both Catholic - I'm a "cradle Catholic" and he converted in college. We were married at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta.
I'll be interested to see the discussions that take place here, specifically around the different types of pre-cana that the bees took part in. We decided on a Sponsor Couple program, and I'm so glad we did!
mangolia:
You "decided" on a sponsor couple program? We didn't have a choice! We went to a pre-cana class with about 30 other people. We actually had a good time and enjoyed it. FI is always making jokes in groups like that and he always makes me laugh. The main thing we liked about it was that it lasted all day and then we were done. We took our "FOCUS" test survey at that class.
BTW, when he listened to the church's views on marriage and sex and having children, it actually helped to him to decide that he wanted another child. (we already have one together) and I am super excited!
Also, didn't give this part of our background, I am a cradle catholic including a catholic high school and he converted easter vigil 2005.
LNickle - here's a link to info on our programs including readings and songs we chose 
Candi1024 -
Our church gave us three options for pre-cana: the one-day, 8-hour, knock it out in a Saturday class (which it sounds like you did!), the Engaged Encounter weekend, and the Sponsor Couple program, in which we were paired up with a married couple from the church, and we worked our way through the booklet in five 2-hour evening sessions. Based on our schedules (weekends are an impossibility), this was the best option for us, and we truly enjoyed it! Getting to know another couple in their home, speaking with them one-on-one about how they communicate, make decisions, and raise a family was a truly valuable experience!
Magnolia,
Wow, that's really nice that you got choice like that!
I think that's one of the biggest things for fellow bees to keep in mind when searching weddingbee for info on catholic procedures. Each area has there own different procedures so don't take anything for granted until you speak to your priest.
Hi!
I'm not Catholic, but my fiance is, so we're having a wedding without Mass at our amazing church/parish in CT, where we live, but none of our families do!
We did a sponsor couple pre-cana, but were given the option to do an engaged encounter, but we didn't do it!
We're having a full mass...hopefully...my FI wanted to get married in a church.
I found a site that apperently sells catholic programs...but I check it cause they have a lot explanations on catholic traditions old and new.
Catholic bride-to-be with a FI who has no religious affliiations. FI's Taiwanese family is "spiritual" but doesn't follow an organized religion. My family is very Catholic in the way of attending Catholic school, teaching CCD, etc.
FI is nice enough to compromise and have the ceremony in the Church; no Eucharist, though, because I think it would be awkward for his family.
We're getting married on Sept. 20, 2008 in South Jersey. We live in South Florida and so we had my parish down here do the paperwork and now we're awaiting Dispensation.
Hi! I am a catholic marrying a guy from a very catholic family (catholic school from kindergarten through college). We are having a nuptial mass in November at his family's parish in New York. It is a beautiful church and means a lot to his parents. We live in Boston and had our pre-cana here and just meet with the priest marrying us from time to time when we are down in NYC. I am nervous about finding readings I like but are meaningful.
i dont "belong" to any religion, and am marrying a catholic in a catholic ceremony (not full mass). we did a weekend retreat pre-cana which i was dreading but it was wonderful. i was also dreading meeting with the priest but it turned out fine. since i was baptised (methodist) i think that helped make the process smoother. our priest is very accomodating and loves the fact we want to equalize the ceremony by not having FI & priest "appear" prior to the procession. instead we are doing the BP walking as couples, followed by FI with his parents followed by me walking my parents. he even suggested we could meet & greet our guests prior to the ceremony- can you imagine walking into the church courtyard prior to a wedding & seeing the bride WELCOMING people? so un-traditional & yet being suggested by a catholic priest! i think we are actually goign to do it :) so, as far as im concerned, the whole experience has been 100% better than i expected :)
What a great opportunity to share all our stories! I'm a Catholic and my fiance became a Catholic at Easter. He used to be Methodist- sort of. He's very excited to be learning more about the faith. My mom always teases me because before FI I had 3 other boyfriends who converted to the faith to be with me. Certainly not intended, but I guess it's my form of evangelization ;). We'll be married in the church I grew up in once its finished being remodeled by the Pastor who I've known very well since high school. We'll have a full Mass with all the beautiful traditions and I hope to be able to include our non-Catholic parts of the family and our friends in them.
I want to be signed up for all the marriage prep we can get. I'm sure it can't hurt to be exposed to as many Godly couples as possible as we make our plans for our marriage.
Hi Everyone!
Both my fiance and I are cradle Catholics, but we actually met while I was doing missionary work in Central America. He still lives there, and we will be having a destination wedding this summer! We are doing the whole Mass, and as a life long Catholic I'm finding it really neat to be able to choose all the readings and songs... Also I'm learning about Hispanic wedding traditions that I hadn't been familiar with before.
Fmcin2008- our priest gave us a book that has all the different readings you can choose from- there is quite a variety, and some that I hadn't heard at other weddings.
Hello!!
fan.jpg (19.4 KB, 54 downloads) 2 years old
Happy, we didn't get to, either. Honestly, for us, we were just so frantic to get pictures taken and off to the reception, not to mention Mr. Kiwi's whole school/work was at the ceremony, and all the kids he teaches (Catholic School, so k-8) were there wanting to take a picture with us! So it didn't really matter to us. We were allowed to have fabric rose petals, as long as we cleaned up after it, which we just made the altar servers do it (but it was okay, they're players on Mr. Kiwi's football team, so they were thrilled).
Can I ask which schools you went to? Mr. K went to Loyola High!
My fiance and I are both cradle catholics but although he has all his sacraments his family was never the church going type. I on the otherhand grew up singing in the choir. We discussed our options and decided on a full mass.
Our experience with the priest is a bit different as we are currently living and working in Zimbabwe. We have been meeting with a priest here to discuss our future, etc. but there is no pre-cana per se. Our priest at home just sent us an interview form that we had to do with the priest here. Pretty stress-free :)
I still have to get a phone line through to the priest at home to approve or readings and music, but I made sure that they fit within the guidelines to make this easier.
Now if only my fiance could remember where he was confirmed (it was through his middle school) so that we could get the certificate...
Hi all...my FI is Catholic and I'm not, but am going to convert, but don't know where to start. We are going to get married in a Catholic church in my home town without mass. My FI is away for 4 months training, but I'm afraid to go to the church by myself to ask "how to convert". We meet with the priest already to select a date, and gave our births certs and his communion/confirmation papers.
jma19: i read your comment in disbelief...joy, but disbelief. I'm Catholic and my fiance is not and was married before. I never thought about my future wedding until I was engaged and decided that it would mean a great deal to me to be married in the church I grew up in. We decided to go the annulment route. If you count the annulment start date when the Church counts it (when you go for the initial interview and not when you hand in the first set of paperwork) we've been going through the process now for 20 months. I think we're in the home stretch, the last status update indicated that his case is on the Judge's List to be decided. But it seems like every step takes at least three months or more...so frustrating. I feel like our lives have been on hold since 2005 (when we got engaged). I'm sorry if anyone reading this is thinking about or just started the annulment process, I don't mean to scare you, but sometimes you just need to let it out. The process, however, has certainly let our relationship grow (with patience! and love). I just hope it's all over soon.
McG -- I just converted this past year, so feel free to ask me any and all questions. I was really nervous about how to get started as well! As it turned out, my fiance's church didn't offer RCIA classes (those are the conversion classes). I had to look around Boston, but actually found a great group at the Catholic Center at BU. Most churches do offer these classes, though, so I'd just call the office of your fiance's church or any church in your area and see if they're offering them. They begin usually in Aug/Sept, usually meets once a week (or at least mine did), and then you're confirmed/baptized/take first communion at Easter. So, you have some time to find a place that's a good fit! Just keep the timeline in mind -- Catholics are only confirmed once a year (at Easter), so unfortunately you have to work with that time frame. If you have any questions, just PM me! :)
Hi everyone! I just noticed this board; how great! I am Catholic, but my fiance is not religious. He was raised in a very strict evangelical protestant family, but he's left the church since he moved out. He's still very supportive of me, but we're not having a full mass for that reason.
Hi all.. Geese didnt know there were more out there.. Well in my case Im catholic all my life and my family is very old fashion so theyare expecting a church wedding except for a couple of thing.s. oh i forget my fiance is catholic as well. Hes been married before and I have to give them her current address so taht they can send her a letter out of formality and becuase hes been married we have to go thru this process adn i dotn know hwat it is.. i have to give the baptism cert a fresh new copy, the decrease of divorce, the marriage cert and 50 bucks.. once we do that then he will talk to us about a date.. OH MY!!! I dont kn ow what to do.. I dot know if I like the idea of his ex even finding anytihng out she was anightmare from what he tells me.. AY YA YAY!!! I am already stressed and I havent even started doing any of the planning..
Hello!
I am Catholic and my fiance is not. We are getting married in a small Catholic church in South Atlanta and having a full mass. It is going to be interesting as his father's family are all Irish Catholic! So some will understand what is going on. I am really excited about this board as I have some questions about selections for the mass.
We did the Engaged Encounter weekend and we couldn't have made a better choice. It was amazing and the different couples really added to the experience. He loved the entire weekend and we received awesome insight to us as a couple and for our future. We highly recommend it!
Oh I'm so glad theres a board for this now!
Fiance is cradle catholic and I completed the RCIA program this year and was baptized over Easter, man what a ride.
We are doing a full blown wedding mass and having the reception at the hall at our church. It actually has a bar built in it for parties!
McG you should call the church and ask when their programs start for you to be baptized into the church. They usually start in Sept and finish Easter Sunday when you would receive all your sacraments (baptism, communion and confirmation) I think reconciliation is done before. There should be a contact at the church who is incharge of the program. I am getting married at the church most of my family including my parents were married at. I went to grade school there and received all my sacraments there. www.sjvnews.net St John Vianney Church in San Jose.
We actually have a very cool, well educated priest. I am Catholic and my FI is United Church of Christ. My priest said that we have the choice of a full mass, but suggested not to because when I receive comminion without FI, it appears as a sign of disunity, rather than unity. We saw his point and agreed.
My mom, however, wasn't too thrilled. My dad has no religious affiliations but they had a full mass at their wedding. She prefers the Catholic standby of "sticking to the rules...just cuz" over seeing the logical aspect. And she loves our priest (it's her church too). But I think she has finally let it go. However, if she is persistent, I may do a full mass to make her happy. Is that wrong, you think?
hello everyone! i'm miss texas! (sounds like i'm a pagent chick huh?) i'm a baptized, confirmed, and devout catholic and FI is not. after a year of discussion on the whole religion issue, FI has decided to be baptized and confirmed into the catholic church! yippeee!
so if all goes well with his catholocism classes and our pre-cana classes, we'll be getting married in the church his parents got married in 35 years ago! FMIL was baptized catholic... but strangely, FFIL is mormon now! we're having a full catholic and traditional filipino mass. it's going to be crazy! but we're both soooo excited!
congrats to all you future brides out there!
Miss Texas, congratulations to you both, and to your fiance especially for joining the church!
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Lyndzo | 42 |
| Ms. Salamander | 23 |
| mypinkshoes | 22 |
| beargoose | 21 |
| rebwana | 21 |
| his chippymunk | 20 |
| Jenlon | 18 |
| AshleyR83 | 18 |
| LammChop | 17 |
| fivemonthsnotice | 17 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| KCKnd2 | 2 |
| Magdalena | 1 |
