C
Claire_from_DE
Guest
Since you are Catholic, if you don’t receive the Sacrament of Matrimony but live as though you are validly married, it is a sin. You may be legally married according to the government but you have not received this sacrament.
To receive this sacrament, your exchange of vows must be witnessed by a priest (not a protestant minister) from one of your parishes and the marriage must be recorded in that parish. With permission, you may be married elsewhere by another priest but the marriage still has to be recorded in your parish. Since matrimony is a sacrament, the usual place for it is in a Catholic church or chapel. Bishops rarely allow it in another place.
As someone else suggested, you could have a small ceremony at which you exchange vows in your own parish earlier in the day (or even before then). This would be your ‘real’ sacramental marriage. You could have a ceremony at another place afterwards. You could have the priest or a close friend announce, 'Last week John and Mary were married in a small private ceremony. Today they want to exchange their vows again in the presence of their family and good friends so that you can share in their joy." You could then exchange vows that you may wish to write yourselves. Then the friend could announce, “Now please welcome Mr. and Mrs. John Smith.”
This would fulfill the church requirements and your wish for a wedding celebration in a beautiful natural location. If the ‘non-denominational chapel’ is a public building which may be used by anyone for weddings, that would be a suitable place for the celebration. If it belongs to a Non-Denominational Church, it would not suitable.
Your first step should be to go to the priest at the parish one of you attends and talk to him. If you are at a university you could talk to the priest there. You may need to sign up for a marriage preparation course or a pre-cana retreat so it is good that you are thinking about this well in advance. If you don’t go to mass every Sunday, this is a good time to start. Go together if possible and ask God to bless your relationship and your upcoming marriage. Your marriage has the best chance to succeed if God is part of it. God bless you both.
To receive this sacrament, your exchange of vows must be witnessed by a priest (not a protestant minister) from one of your parishes and the marriage must be recorded in that parish. With permission, you may be married elsewhere by another priest but the marriage still has to be recorded in your parish. Since matrimony is a sacrament, the usual place for it is in a Catholic church or chapel. Bishops rarely allow it in another place.
As someone else suggested, you could have a small ceremony at which you exchange vows in your own parish earlier in the day (or even before then). This would be your ‘real’ sacramental marriage. You could have a ceremony at another place afterwards. You could have the priest or a close friend announce, 'Last week John and Mary were married in a small private ceremony. Today they want to exchange their vows again in the presence of their family and good friends so that you can share in their joy." You could then exchange vows that you may wish to write yourselves. Then the friend could announce, “Now please welcome Mr. and Mrs. John Smith.”
This would fulfill the church requirements and your wish for a wedding celebration in a beautiful natural location. If the ‘non-denominational chapel’ is a public building which may be used by anyone for weddings, that would be a suitable place for the celebration. If it belongs to a Non-Denominational Church, it would not suitable.
Your first step should be to go to the priest at the parish one of you attends and talk to him. If you are at a university you could talk to the priest there. You may need to sign up for a marriage preparation course or a pre-cana retreat so it is good that you are thinking about this well in advance. If you don’t go to mass every Sunday, this is a good time to start. Go together if possible and ask God to bless your relationship and your upcoming marriage. Your marriage has the best chance to succeed if God is part of it. God bless you both.