Catholic Wedding Invitation Mistake

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CarrieH said:
Just out of curiosity…I went to catholicweb.com and did a search for all the churches in our diocese. Out of almost 50 churches, only THREE had the word “Catholic” in their official names. If someone is going to pitch a fit over this, let THEM pay for the reprint of the invitations! 🙂
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Actually, despite catholicweb.com or even the local diocesan websites, most (not all, I suppose, but certainly the vast majority) Catholic churches do indeed have the word Catholic in their formal name. The bride apparently believes her parish does, or she would not have asked the question.

I don’t think anyone will be “pitching a fit” about whatever decision she makes, and she and her groom and/or families will decide if $150 is a financial hardship for them. They will also decide if the wedding itself, and the invitation, is formal enough to warrant the change.

Frankly, it isn’t as bad as listing the church as, say, St. Jerome’s Catholic Church when it is in fact St. Jerome Catholic Church. (I hate the addition of the appostrophe . . .but, again, as mentioned, I’m one of those people who notice . . . not comment or judge – but I notice such things.)
 
IrishAm said:
Actually, despite catholicweb.com or even the local diocesan websites, most (not all, I suppose, but certainly the vast majority) Catholic churches do indeed have the word Catholic in their formal name. The bride apparently believes her parish does, or she would not have asked the question.
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I’m just curious because my rather informal parish doesn’t usually even use the title “Blessed” for most of it’s correspondence. They tend to go with “Padre xxx Parish” instead. I seriously doubt most parishioners even know that the official title of the parish is Blessed First name Last name. I suspect the pastor, deacons and staff have to think carefully before they can tell you the formal name. Frankly, I have no idea if the formal name ends with “Parish”, “Catholic Church”, “Church”, or something else.
 
SMHW said:
I’m just curious because my rather informal parish doesn’t usually even use the title “Blessed” for most of it’s correspondence. They tend to go with “Padre xxx Parish” instead. I seriously doubt most parishioners even know that the official title of the parish is Blessed First name Last name. I suspect the pastor, deacons and staff have to think carefully before they can tell you the formal name. Frankly, I have no idea if the formal name ends with “Parish”, “Catholic Church”, “Church”, or something else.
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Like people, parishes have formal names and informal names, and we use them each in different situations. For example, go to New York. Ask for St. Pat’s, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, The Cathedral, or The Cathedral of St. Patrick – and you will be lovingly sent to the same place.

Your parish sounds very informal, and, were you to have a wedding there it might also be informal with an informal invitation and the informal, or popular, name of the church. Not a thing wrong with that. If, on the other hand, you chose to have a formal wedding with white tie and tails – then your invitation would reflect that and the church would be named with its full registered name (you can call the diocese and get that, if you are in doubt – signage is not always correct).

What confuses people, and raises the eyebrows, is when the wedding is formal and the invitation informal, or the other way around. Then your guests don’t know what to wear. 😉
 
Nothing wrong. This will be just one of many things that will occur between now and the wedding that you will have a laugh over when you celebrate your 25th, 40th, 50th Anniversary.
 
revejj2000 said:
Nothing wrong. This will be just one of many things that will occur between now and the wedding that you will have a laugh over when you celebrate your 25th, 40th, 50th Anniversary.
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The next thread we’re going to see posted (NOT FROM THIS LOVELY OP!!!) will be – “I had the wrong name of the parish on my wedding invitations. Can I get an annulment?” 😃

And on that note . . . I’m going to bed. Get to fly away tomorrow morning, if the weather cooperates, to see my mama over Mother’s Day weekend. 👍

God bless . . .
 
IrishAm said:
but, again, as mentioned, I’m one of those people who notice . . . not comment or judge – but I notice such things.
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One thing that anyone who is planning a wedding will find is that no matter what they choose, be it for the invitations, or the bridesmaids’ dresses, or the music, or the flowers, or whatever, someone will notice *something *which doesn’t meet their own personal standards. :rolleyes: Well guess what, I want to tell them, this isn’t your wedding, and if you’re not paying for it, you don’t get a vote. I’m glad you have the restraint to keep your comments to yourself. There are many others who would do well to follow your example. I could name a few “offenders” from my own wedding…😛
 
Brenda wanting to know why I think you reorder-
Just curious as to why you said “yes”.
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I agree with the majority of the other posters OP, I really don’t know any non-Catholic church that would even name itself after a good, holy Priest who has been Canonized .
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You know that St. John Vianney is the Patron of Priests right? It kind of makes me smile to even think of a Lutheran or even Anglican church naming itself after a Catholic Priest who was born well after the “Reformation”.
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Brenda V.
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I made up the names, but the format is common (we used it) Forgive the spacing, on the invitation its all fixed up.

Mr and Mrs Jones request the honor or your presence at the
**Nuptial Mass **at which their daughter
Code: 
                         Anne Kathrine Jones
                                   and
                          Thomas Richard Smith
                              Will be united 
               In the **Holy Sacrament of Matrimony**
           on Saturday the Eighteenth of Decemember,
                   Nineteen hundred and seventy-six 
                        Four o'clock in the afternoon 
                      **Saint Joseph Catholic Church**                                     511 Main Street
                                 Anytown, USA
And that’s why. It lets EVERYONE know it won’t be a show but a religious ceremony, with FULL Catholic sacraments. I’d pay the extra 150 dollars, if I needed to have a little less fruit punch at the reception to do it. But that’s just me.

I’ve been to many weddings the last few years (all Protestant) and around here they have taken a most secular tone, that I won’t get into here, because many posts already exist that address that issue.

Now if you’re just inviting Catholics, they’ll prolly figure out it is going to be a Catholic ceremony, but they won’t know for sure if there will be a Mass. The Protestants in my part of the country wont have a clue what denomination of the Church will be with just St. Vinnarey to go by.

I live in place where only 3-5% of the population is Cattholic, our friends are Protestant as well as her side of the family. (She finished RCIA, and was confirmed a few weeks before our wedding) It was important everyone coming knew what was about to happen.
 
I don’t see a problem. I prefer the way you have it. Given the other information included, adding “Catholic” would be redundant.

JSA+
 
IrishAm said:
but she asked . . . :o
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She did, and I wasn’t talking about you! I was talking about the self-appointed dress-police, flower snobs, and those types. You know, the ones who say, “You have to have such-and-so for your wedding, blah blah blah.” To them I want to say, “Fine; give me your credit card number and we’ll get right on that!” 😃 One of my (non-Catholic) coworkers got so fed up with all of the “butt-inskies” in her family that she and her dh eloped to Las Vegas.
 
BamaRider said:
Brenda wanting to know why I think you reorder-

I made up the names, but the format is common (we used it) Forgive the spacing, on the invitation its all fixed up.

Mr and Mrs Jones request the honor or your presence at the
**Nuptial Mass **at which their daughter
Code: 
                         Anne Kathrine Jones
                                   and
                          Thomas Richard Smith
                              Will be united 
               In the **Holy Sacrament of Matrimony**
           on Saturday the Eighteenth of Decemember,
                   Nineteen hundred and seventy-six 
                        Four o'clock in the afternoon 
                      **Saint Joseph Catholic Church**                                     511 Main Street
                                 Anytown, USA
And that’s why. It lets EVERYONE know it won’t be a show but a religious ceremony, with FULL Catholic sacraments. I’d pay the extra 150 dollars, if I needed to have a little less fruit punch at the reception to do it. But that’s just me.

I’ve been to many weddings the last few years (all Protestant) and around here they have taken a most secular tone, that I won’t get into here, because many posts already exist that address that issue.

Now if you’re just inviting Catholics, they’ll prolly figure out it is going to be a Catholic ceremony, but they won’t know for sure if there will be a Mass. The Protestants in my part of the country wont have a clue what denomination of the Church will be with just St. Vinnarey to go by.

I live in place where only 3-5% of the population is Cattholic, our friends are Protestant as well as her side of the family. (She finished RCIA, and was confirmed a few weeks before our wedding) It was important everyone coming knew what was about to happen.
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If you check the original post, the OP did mention that the invitations include the words “Nuptial Mass.” No mistaking that for anything but Catholic! 🙂
 
SMHW:
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Just out of curiosity… what does the sign out in front of the church say? Does it actually use the word “Catholic”?
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There is NO sign in front of my parish!

Anyway, if the invitees don’t know what your religion is, let 'em be surprised. 🙂
 
Do not get them reprinted, even for free. My wife and I were married in St. Francis Xavier College Church (it’s offical title) and that’s what we used.

John
 
BamaRider said:
Brenda wanting to know why I think you reorder-

(cut for brevities sake ;))

I live in place where only 3-5% of the population is Cattholic, our friends are Protestant as well as her side of the family. (She finished RCIA, and was confirmed a few weeks before our wedding) It was important everyone coming knew what was about to happen.
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I get it now. You did need to explain this for me as I can be a bit dense when it comes to things like this. Anyone I would invite to my Wedding knew I was Catholic and the wedding would be in a Catholic Church. We did not have a Mass and I didn’t think to include that it was a Sacrament (I was married almost 30 years ago and have my invitation in a frame so I went to look at it).

My question though would be like someone else said, unless the Church is one of those modern atrocities (I like some of the modern architecture in Catholic Churches but some are just beyond the pale) anyone entering it would know if it was a Catholic Church or not.

IrishAm I never knew that the formality of an invitation would tell you how formal the wedding would be :). See, I have learned something good from both BamaRider and IrishAm today.

Brenda V.
 
It’s very much fine my dear. you don’t need to change, beside that! your faith reveals more than that card. Definately you friends will guess it right that it’s a catholic church.
God bless you wedding day.
 
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