A church is so much more than simply a venue for your wedding. Unique and special things become part of your marriage — on the day of the wedding and beyond.
- A church wedding will add a spiritual dimension to your marriage. The ceremony includes God and looks to God for help and guidance. Seeking God’s blessing is a humble way of affirming that God’s grace and the prayers of a faith community will make your marriage happier and more fulfilling.
- The beautiful vows you make in church also are made in public amid the faith community, in a place where many couples from older generations have expressed their love for each other and have begun to build solid marriages. These public vows, made in such rich traditional settings, will help you stay together, grow together and develop the faith and values upon which you may build your family. God and your church community are there to support you and nourish you.
- The priest and the faith community have a particularly important role to play in your wedding. The priest can blend ancient tradition and modern experience to reflect your story. He can personalize your wedding to make it memorable, meaningful and beautiful. Often, a wedding is the beginning of a relationship with a priest that can become particularly important as time goes on.
- Church buildings offer outstanding beauty. Old or new, intimate or grand, Catholic and Christian churches are some of the nation’s most stunning wedding venues. These venues can underscore the importance of your marriage and help you to understand that your marriage is a witness to the entire community, and much more than just a confirmation of your relationship together.
- Church buildings offer centuries of history. Imagine all the couples who have married in your local church, some of whom may well be your family. You can feel you are becoming part of history itself, the bigger plan, by marrying in the same place as your relatives. These sorts of connections can make your day even more special.
- You can be highly involved in planning your church ceremony. Even though there are some restrictions, a wedding planner can help you understand how scripture and music can be used to make your wedding very prayerful and yet very personal. Often, couples who may not have imagined a spiritual dimension to their marriage are opened to understanding the depth of what marriage can be and can become.
- For some people, a church simply seems like the proper place to get married. Churches can be described as peaceful, serene, or having an atmosphere that makes marrying there a particularly special experience.
- The Catholic Church teaches that a wedding is a sacramental event. It is more than an exchange of vows or an expression of love. It is a sacred action, one upon which God smiles and blesses — so when it happens in a church setting with ritual and ceremony, it is not only memorable, but also formative.
- Churches are different from most other places. They have an atmosphere of peace, reverence and respect. They are places where all are welcome; places that permeate a sense of God’s loving presence. Weddings are sacred moments, which ordinarily happen in the place where the bride or groom worships, with their families and their faith community.
- A church isn’t just a set or backdrop for a wedding; rather a wedding is an expression of a faith community’s joys and hopes. Everyone in our community takes joy in your wedding. Your choice to marry within our faith community shows that you honor us as we honor you.
- The ritual of a Christian wedding ceremony in most cases includes this significant statement: “By the authority committed unto me as a minister of the church of Christ, I declare that you are now husband and wife, according to the ordinance of God and the law of the state; in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
- This pastoral pronouncement seems to blend the twin notions of legal and religious authority in establishing the status of marriage.
- To help you plan your big day, visit our WEDDING PLANNING section on this website in the right column.