Planning Your Catholic Wedding: Ten Tips

Are you planning to get married in the Catholic Church? Congratulations! Whether your wedding is next month or next year, here are some helpful tips for making it a ceremony to remember.

Making “I Do” Work

Celebrating wedding days takes on a deeper meaning when one realizes that a couple’s success in married life affects not only themselves, but also their communities and all of society. Besides giving gifts and throwing showers, what can we all do to support married couples and encourage strong marriages?

Come Hell or High Water

As the wedding day approaches, Sara discusses handling unexpected obstacles in the planning process (both large and small) and what really matters in the end.

Meet Sara and Justin

Meet Sara and Justin, an engaged couple preparing for their Catholic wedding in June. Over the next few months they’ll blog about how they met, how they discerned God’s call to marriage, and how they’re getting ready not just for their big day, but the rest of their married lives. We invite you to share their excitement and leave a comment or two.

A Wedding Planning Reality Check

If you’re caught up in the stress of wedding planning, step back for a moment and consider what’s really important about your big day.

Is Your Marriage Financially Sound? Or Headed for Relationship Bankruptcy?

It’s not necessary to have the same spending habits, but finances can be the cause of much tension in a marriage. Where do you and your spouse differ when it comes to spending money?

Do the Two of You Have the Same Moral Compass?

Decisions of value and conscience – such as how to raise your children– greatly affect a marriage. Do you and your spouse share the same morals?

How Well Do You Know Your Spouse’s Past?

Knowing about your spouse’s past can give you insight as to why he or she has certain habits or strong beliefs. Test your knowledge to help you understand the present and plan for the future.

Whom Not to Marry: Time Tested Advice From a Higher Authority

“Never marry a man who tries to control you,” Father Pat Connor advises women in “Whom Not to Marry.” A man’s “suitability as a marriage partner is nil if he tries to control everything his fiancée does and everyone she sees.”

Are We Intellectually Compatible?

If one partner prefers political debate and the other would rather play video games, it can decrease satisfying couple conversation – the heart of intimacy.

How Much Does it Cost to Marry in the Church?

How much does it cost to get married in the Catholic Church?

Actually, nothing. Sacraments are not for sale. It’s appropriate, however, for the bride and groom to share their joy and, in generosity, to contribute to the support of the Church and its ministers.

Engaged Couples in Malta Express Concerns to Pope

An engaged couple in Malta expressed the fear to Pope Benedict XVI that “life offers too many hurdles for us to live our married lives in God’s light.” The young couple preparing to be married in the church told the pope that while they want a marriage that is guided by God, a major concern [...]

Do You Make Good Travel Companions?

Traveling with your spouse is a great opportunity to grow closer and spend time together. Knowing one another′s preferences when it comes to travel, however, can make all the difference between a dream getaway and a nightmare vacation.

Are You Soul-Mates or Divided Spirits?

Couples don’t have to belong to the same religion to be compatible spiritually – but it helps. Knowing what your deepest beliefs are and how your spouse is similar or different, however, is the start of becoming soul-mates.

Interfaith Marriages

Until recent decades, the idea of a Catholic marrying outside the faith was practically unheard of, if not taboo. Such weddings took place in private ceremonies in the parish rectory, not in a church sanctuary in front of hundreds of friends and family. These days, many people marry across religious lines. The rate of interfaith [...]

Cohabitation

It’s no secret that many couples are cohabiting, that is, living together in a sexual relationship without marriage. Currently, 60% of all marriages are preceded by cohabitation, but fewer than half of cohabiting unions end in marriage. Many couples believe-mistakenly-that cohabitation will lower their risk of divorce. This is an understandable misconception, since many people [...]

Budgeting for Your Wedding

Costs vary by region, but the average wedding ranges between $20,000 and $25,000. Some couples justify their spending because it’s a “once in a lifetime” event. Others feel pressured by families and friends to stage an elaborate celebration. Expectations may be greater for couples who have been on their own for a while. Presumably, they [...]

Music

Choosing music for the marriage liturgy can be one of the most rewarding tasks of your wedding preparation. Music is more than a decoration to the ceremony – it is an integral part of the rite, just like the prayers, readings, and actions. Music has the power to convey the depths of God’s love for [...]

Ceremony Options

The Catholic wedding liturgy (or ceremony) presents engaged couples with both choices and structure. The structure is provided by the Rite of Marriage, the ritual book that contains the prayers, readings and liturgical forms used in Catholic weddings throughout the United States. The choices come from a variety of options provided in the Rite of [...]

Rite of Marriage

The Catholic Church provides three different forms of celebrating the Rite of Marriage. When two Catholics are marrying, the celebration will normally take place within a Mass. The second form, which does not include a Mass, is used when a Catholic marries another baptized Christian. A third form, also outside Mass, is usually celebrated when [...]

Readings

The readings at a Catholic wedding liturgy are a proclamation of God’s Word and of the Church’s faith about marriage. For this reason, they are limited to readings from the scriptures (the Bible). There are nine options for the first reading from the Old Testament, thirteen options for the second reading from the New Testament [...]

Planning a Wedding: Ten Tips

Marriage is a Sacrament! The celebration of Marriage is not just a religious ceremony. A marriage between two Christians is a sacrament, which means it is an encounter with Jesus Christ. In a particular way, the bride and the groom, in offering their lives to each other (symbolized in their vows), pledge their selfless love [...]

Commitment

Commitment is not a very “sexy” word or concept but it probably has more to do with making marriages work than anything except common values. It’s not just about reciting marriage vows or having a piece of paper that says “marriage license.” Commitment is important because we act differently when we know that our futures [...]

Intimacy/Cohabitation

As a courting or engaged couple, you have probably discussed where to draw the line about sexual intimacy before marriage. The Catholic Church teaches that every act of sexual intercourse is intended by God to express love, commitment and openness to life in the total gift of the spouses to each other. This total commitment is possible only in [...]

Careers

Balancing career and family is one of the greatest challenges facing newly married couples. Just when you thought marriage was going to simplify your life, you start to realize that there are decisions ahead, such as: Whose career takes priority? Will both of us continue to work outside the home once we have children? Is [...]