A few questions about weddings that take place outside the Church

[Vico]

My wife and I got married in a Catholic church, and I’m so happy we did. I’m Catholic and to me, if you are Catholic and you want to be married then I believe it must be done in God’s house. Marriage is a Sacrament. Now my questions are about other people that either are Catholic and don’t feel the same way, or people that we are close with but they are not Catholic…

1. Does the Church however recognize marriages that:

Take place on the beach somewhere (both people are Catholic)?

Take place on the beach somewhere (only 1 person is Catholic)?

Take place on the beach somewhere (niether party is Catholic)?

1. If my best friend is getting married outside the Church in such a wedding for example, can I still attend such a wedding as a guest if invited? According to the Church, would this really be a marriage? Or does the Church view these people as sinners and not really married eventhough they are legally and people in the “outside” world refer to them as husband and wife?

Sometimes a Catholic marries without the approval of the Catholic Church, in which case it lacks form* so is not a marriag*e. Sometimes there is approval but the form is defective so is not a marriage. In those cases, a convalidation is done (which is a new marriage) but in one type of convalidation, the retroactive convalidation, there is a dispensation from canonical form because new consent is not given.

Exception for near death exists:

CICCan. 1079 §1. In urgent danger of death, the local ordinary can dispense his own subjects residing anywhere and all actually present in his territory both from the form to be observed in the celebration of marriage and from each and every impediment of ecclesiastical law, whether public or occult, except the impediment arising from the sacred order of presbyterate. …

 

[janeway529]

I attended a wedding held on a beach officiated by two priests. One was a family friend from Australia. The wedding was APPROVED by the diocese of Los Angeles. The priest from LA was considered the official even though the Jesuit from Australia did a majority of the mass. It was beautiful and reverent. This took place in July 2014. I think there are many old misconceptions about this subject.

Wow, that’s amazing. I know for a fact that the previous diocesan bishop would never have allowed it.