Beach Wedding?

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Is it possible to have a less-than-traditional Catholic wedding on a beach?
 
gnat:
Is it possible to have a less-than-traditional Catholic wedding on a beach?
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The short answer is “no!” Since marriage is a sacrament it should be celebrated in a holy place – a church, chapel or oratory. I don’t know of any bishop in the United States that will dispense from this canonical obligation.

Deacon Ed
 
Does the catechism define which places are holy? Is not any part of God’s Kingdom holy?

Does the Catholic church recognize a marriage from outside the church? (from another church)
 
Sorry Deacon,

But I will have to disagree with you.
Is a Catholic beach wedding possible? Yes.
Is it likely? Depends on your Bishop…

To marry outside of a Church (The actual structure) You’ll have to talk to your Bishop and ask for a dispensation to do so…
You should also contact your Priest to see if he would agree to perfrom a wedding at a beach as well.

When you contact your Bishop, also be sure to ask of everything that would need to be done so the Church (The Catholic Church this time) will recognize your Marriage as valid.
 
What Deacon Ed said is my understanding, as well. Why not have the wedding in a church, and the reception on the beach?

Crazy Internet Junkie Society
****Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag
 
I find the beach more beautiful and romantic. I’d rather not be couped up inside, especially with only 50 or so guests in a huge cathedral. It is just preference, so I don’t see what the big deal is.
 
It is the big deal of following the rules, vs. doing whatever we want that “feels right” to us. According to the rules, there has to be a real reason to have any mass outside of a consecrated place like a church. For example, a huge gathering of thousands that wouldn’t fit in any church. Without a dispensation you can’t get married in the backyard, beach, forest, while skydiving from a plane, etc. If you find a bishop willing to give that dispensation, more power to you. If not, you have the choice of either doing it by the rules, or disobeying the church. Marriage is a sacrament, not a personal party or production.
 
Getting married in the Catholic faith is required of Catholics…that means we are also obeying the First Commandment…Placing God first. Which means honoring his presence in the Sacrament of Matrimony by coming to His house.,…the Church. I agree with the other suggestion of having your reception on the beach, or a church that has windows that face a lake or the ocean…I think you can find one of those, if you need the atmosphere of the water to feel comfortable. It is very rare for any bishop to grant a dispensation for that purpose.

Quick self-examination of your intentions…for you to answer yourself, we don’t need to know this…how often do you attend mass yourself and know Christ as a friend or do you only attend for baptisms, funerals, weddings…and the occasional Christmas or Easter? My spouse and I do marriage prep for our diocese, and usually people who only have an occasional attendance of church that will ask us questions about marrying outside of the walls of a church.
familyministries.org/FirstYearsForever/archive.htm
Check out this wonderful e=newsletter that we recommend to engaged couples to enrich their marriage. The church teaches marriage prep…not wedding day prep. Marriage is for a life-time not just a picture taking experience. Pray always.
 
Why is having sand filling up your shoes (or stuck between your toes if you are doing this barefoot - good grief), swarms of insects buzzing about, and the hot sun beating down on you romantic? And why is “romantic” the most important thing? It’s the sacrament that is important. What better place to receive it than in God’s house, i.e. the Catholic Church where Jesus is present in the Eucharist?
 
Why is having sand filling up your shoes (or stuck between your toes if you are doing this barefoot - good grief), swarms of insects buzzing about, and the hot sun beating down on you romantic? And why is “romantic” the most important thing? It’s the sacrament that is important.
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I was actually thinking barefoot 🙂 How can a beach not be romantic? You are the only person I’ve ever come across who finds the beach undesirable. Romanticism is important because it is part of the love that binds a marriage together. Now, I’m not saying that getting married in a church isn’t romantic, it’s just that I find other locations (nature in general), to be beautiful as well.

I’m not sure what you mean by saying the sacrament is important, are you referring to the marriage itself or something else?
What better place to receive it than in God’s house, i.e. the Catholic Church where Jesus is present in the Eucharist?
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I honestly don’t think it matters that much. Why confine Jesus to a building? Can’t the Eucharist be outside?
Quick self-examination of your intentions…for you to answer yourself, we don’t need to know this…how often do you attend mass yourself and know Christ as a friend or do you only attend for baptisms, funerals, weddings…and the occasional Christmas or Easter? My spouse and I do marriage prep for our diocese, and usually people who only have an occasional attendance of church that will ask us questions about marrying outside of the walls of a church.
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I’m not even Catholic, I’m Methodist (my father is a pastor). I’ve been attending mass for about the past 2 months. To put it simply: I feel at home. I was just drawn to the Church, and there isn’t a moment that I don’t feel Christ when I’m at mass. Unfortunately I can’t say the same thing when I attend a Methodist service. I was planning on taking RCIA classes in the fall.

I’m just planning ahead. If the church absolutely requires me to marry indoors, then I will.
 
The Catholic church is more than a place for rules and regulations especially about the reception of marriage in a the sacred place of the church…I am going to encourage you to check out the inthespiritofcana.org which is a website that will give you more information on marriage in the church. Keep attending mass, and with the help and catechism of the RCIA classes, I hope you will become more on fire for the Catholic faith.
 
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CatholicCid:
Sorry Deacon,

But I will have to disagree with you.
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You can disagree with me all you want… According to canon law marriage *must *be celebrated in the parish church, another church or oratory (Canon 1118). This canon also allows for the possibility of “another suitable place” – and in the United States this is not a beach, it refers to the meeting place (church) of another faith community. To use another “suitable place” requires permission from the local Ordinary (bishop).

Deacon Ed
 
Marriage isn’t about having a romantic private affair on the beach and what not. Marriage is a public thing, to be lived out before the entire church, and the entire world. It involves more than just the couple, and their family and friends and invited guests. You depend in a very real way on the whole community, and you are called to be a model of Christian marriage to the whole community. And of course God is an intimate part of the union. How fitting that the marriage should take place in the center of the community’s public faith life, the place of most intimate contact, praise, and worship of God, i.e. the parish church.

And of course marriage is a sacrament. By and large, you receive sacraments in the church, except in rare circumstances (like if you are sick, dying, or homebound). Especially if you are having a wedding Mass - Mass is not to be celebrated outside of the church, except for rare circumstances, and I don’t think wanting to have your wedding on the beach counts! Yes, God is everywhere, but that’s not the issue here. If that were the question, then you’d be equally justified in calling your parish priest and asking him to come out and hear your confession on the beach, or celebrate Mass in your backyard. It’s just not done, except by absolute necessity.
 
Solution? Have a civil ceremony on the beach followed by a wedding in the Church.
 
If I were ever so fortunate, I would love getting married in the mountains, close to nature.
~ Kathy ~
 
There’s Deacon Tony, always thinking outside the box! Nice idea.

In a similar story, my sister is a lapse Catholic who was married earlier this summer. She insisted on having the wedding outside, when I informed her there was no way the Church would allow an outside wedding she gave me the same “God is everywhere” line of thinking, which, while true, doesn’t take into account the special sacredness of his churches (just think of the Temple in Jerusalem). Well despite my pleading she decided to have the wedding outside. This turned out to be too much of a hassle and not feasible, so she ended up being married in an Episcopal Church (her husband is an Episcopal). It breaks my heart, but you know what they say, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. I have brought it up with her and I would like to ask you all to pray for her return to faithful Catholicism and that she some day has a proper Catholic wedding.

PS Congratulations on becoming engaged and thinking about joining the Church, I will keep you in my prayers.
 
Deacon Tony560:
Solution? Have a civil ceremony on the beach followed by a wedding in the Church.
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I’m sorry, but for a devout Catholic, this wouldn’t fly. You’re making a mockery of what marriage is, what the wedding ceremony is really all about.

At the Mass, we are brought into the presence of eternity. Having a marriage started before the eyes of the Eternal God and all the hosts of Angels is blessing that pales the likes of a group of “esteemed guests”.

And if one were to have a civil ceremony, wouldn’t they assume it was OK to celebrate in the honeymoon suite that night. Yet, this is not a marriage in the eyes of the church, so your suggestion ignores the REALITY of what we as Catholics are asked to acknowledge. In our society, premarital relations and civil weddings are so common we don’t even know when we should be scandalized.

I just recently (this Sunday, as a matter of fact) had to miss my own brothers wedding because he was raised Catholic and his fiance (I can’t call her wife, they’re not married in the church) chose to get married “on the beach”. The had a destination wedding that I would have loved to participate in. I would have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the family and friends and to have shared in this momentous occation in their lives, yet they put their own preferences over obedience to God.

I’m sad that they have unwittingly put their souls in jeopardy. They may be able to get buy with a degree of ignorance now, but what happens if / when one of them realizes the error of their ways. If the other is resistant, it could create a rift in their marriage trying to fix things.

This is one part of the Catholic faith that takes some maturity to accept. Christ has provided a playbook for us. We need to follow the rules if we want to win the game. And we must remember that he always has our greater good at heart, so why question he who has infinite wisdom and love?

God bless you Gnat as you continue to search for the Truth and explore this in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

I’d love to have prayers for my brother and his fiance’. I told him I’d travel anywhere he wants to witness their marriage in the Church, with a priest or deacon officiating.

CARose
 
I was making a joke, but things like this have been done. A civil ceremony in park, beach, Etc. followed by Church Wedding.
 
Sorry, didn’t mean to sound like I was jumping down your throat. It’s just that your joke doesn’t come across as one in this medium and as you say, people do it, not knowing the truth of their actions.

CARose
 
gnat:
I find the beach more beautiful and romantic. I’d rather not be couped up inside, especially with only 50 or so guests in a huge cathedral. It is just preference, so I don’t see what the big deal is.
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The big deal is the Canon Law of the Church says that Sacraments are to take place in the church building. Unless something serious make it neccessary to celebrate them in another place like a hosptial. A Catholic follows the law of the Catholic Church because that is important to them. So a beach wedding would most likely be an invalid wedding.
 
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