Can there be a Catholic wedding without a Mass?

[jpacuska]

I recently attended a wedding between two Catholics in a Catholic church, but there was no Mass as part of the ceremony. There were readings from the epistles and the Gospel, a homily, the exchange of vows, then a final blessing and dismissal. But there was no Mass, and no distribution of Communion to anyone, not even the bride and groom. Is such a wedding ceremony licit?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Yes. A Catholic couple may choose to marry either during a Catholic nuptial Mass or a Catholic nuptial liturgy outside of Mass. I agree that it is a shame that two Catholics would choose not to have a Mass as part of their wedding ceremony, but this couple may have had personal reasons to forgo having a Mass. One reason I can think of off the top of my head is that not having a nuptial Mass solves the problem of how to handle lapsed Catholic or non-Catholic wedding guests who insist on presenting themselves for Communion when they should not do so.