Is it possible to have a Catholic wedding outside?

Question

I am getting married next summer and would like to have the wedding outside but performed by a Catholic Priest. Is there any way this can happen, or do I absolutely have to go to a church to have a catholic ceramony?

Answer 1

The Code of Canon Law says a marriage is ideally to be celebrated in a parish church.

However a marriage can be celebrated:
+ In another church with permission of the bishop or pastor
+ In any other suitable place with permission of the bishop

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

There really isn't anything Catholic that you could incorporate into an outside wedding. You could perhaps do a couple of readings from Scripture and a psalm, but that doesn't pertain only to Catholic traditions. Basically, a Catholic ceremony (not including a mass) is almost the same as a non-Catholic ceremony except for the main difference of the Catholic ceremony being celebrated and treated as a holy Sacrament with the priest officiating. There aren't any "traditions" that could be incorporated unless you will be having a full mass with a priest celebrating.



You might be able to do it with music. "Ave Maria" settings by various composers are very Catholic since it is the Hail Mary prayer only in Latin. The most popular settings are by Schubert and by Bach/Gounod. If your mother is very devout, I can tell you that in my experience of doing Catholic weddings, the mothers and many times the daughters, love to have an "Ave Maria" sung or at least performed as an instrumental if you don't have a singer. There are also other "Catholic" compositions which can be used - and I don't mean the everyday hymns that you hear on Sundays. I believe in another post you were looking for musicians. Harpists can perform beautiful pieces from classical sacred compositions. Pianists can too, since you will already have a piano there. Mozart was a devout Catholic and wrote a lot of music for the Catholic mass, you could look into his music. Gabriel Faure is also another Catholic composer from the late 19th century. His music is perfect for harp. It has the ethereal sound that the harp has.

Answer 3

I had the same problem. I am getting married in 2 weeks and here is what I found.

*It depends on your diocese, church and preist. Some yes... mine, no

*If your partner is not Catholic and may be "offended" by having your wedding in a church, that is grounds to have and official Catholic wedding at another setting. My friend did this when she married a man from a different religious back ground

*What I am doing (because my heart was set on getting married in my grandmother's garden) is having a tiny Catholic chappel ceremony the day before with just the fam and preist, then doing the garden ceremony the next day for the Big wedding. The service in the garden is EXACTLY the same, isle walk, vows, rings, readings, but is refered to as a "blessing" because the legal and church recognized wedding date will be the day before.

Hope this helps ; )

Answer 4

Not in Arizona, where I am getting married. I am Catholic, but getting married in an outdoor ceremony. We hired a retired Catholic Priest to marry us. He will wear the traditional robe, we will have short readings and a quick homily as well as the lighting of a unity candle. In order to be married in the eyes of the church, you must be married in a church. We, however, opted for the Catholic touches due to our families strong faith, but we are a less traditional couple and are fine with the marriage not being valid as a catholic wedding... we can always get remarried (5 min ceremony after mass) in the eyes of the church later down the road when we are ready to baptize our children and such.

Answer 5

It depends on the priest, but by Canon law a Catholic Wedding must be in a Church building.

Answer 6

There should be no reason why you can't be married and have a Catholic Ceremony outside and while it may be stated in Canon Law that the ceremony should be celebrated inside a "Parish Church" MANY Catholic ceremonies are performed in alternative locations. If you're told by your local diocese that it is unacceptable then, in my personal opinion, I would have to seriously reconsider where I choose to celebrate my faith in the first place.

Regardless of the particular religious beliefs each person may have, the important fact should be that you do your best to honor that particular faith and not a list of laws determined by a group of people that may or may not represent the general consensus of the religious group as a whole.

Answer 7

The Catholic church does not recognize marriages which were not performed inside of a Catholic church. Absolutely no outdoor weddings.

Answer 8

As long as the doctrines of the catholic church are followed and is presided over by a catholic priest, there is no problem having your wedding outside.

Answer 9

If you want a mass you would be very hard pressed to get that done outside. However, my sister in law's priest married her at a vineyard without the mass because my brother didn't convert and she had her heart set on the vineyard. If you want to make sure it's a valid marriage then you can have it outside. If you want it to be sacramental (at least from what I've read as my boyfriend is Catholic) it has to be inside with mass.

Answer 10

That was the same thing that I wanted to do and we couldnt find a priest that would marry us outside. They will only marry in a Catholic church. Congrats and Good Luck! Hope I helped.