Kneeling during a wedding

[Honus]

During a nuptial mass, is the couple required to kneel for any of it outside of the normal kneeling during the consecration?

It seems like I’ve seen weddings where the couple kneels for most parts, and I’ve seen some where they just kneel during the consecration. Just curious if there are any written or unwritten rules about this.

 

[rpp]

Gosh, I hope not. I have had knee surgery 5 times, 3 times in the last 6 years. I can barely make it through a Traditional Latin Mass. And there I have a padded kneeler.

 

[kevinsgirl]

We kneeled through most of ours. I wouldn’t recommend it. My dress was hot, I have back problems, the mass was an hour and a half and I almost fainted…

 

[Thomas63116]

I was at a wedding mass this weekend and was wondering the same thing. It seemed like the couple, as well as the best man and maid of honor, knelt during all of the parts when one normally kneels, as well as the parts where one normally sits (e.g. all of the reading). It seemed odd. They only reason seemed to be that there was nowhere for them to sit in the sanctuary, but they had the portable kneelers for the wedding.

 

[journey137]

Our church has a very plush portable kneeler that’s used for weddings. Any time people were sitting, we were kneeling on that. It didn’t bother me or my husband a bit, and he usually complains of knee pain during the regular masses.

 

[Phemie]

There is no kneeling required of the bride & groom that isn’t required of the rest of the community. They are to kneel at the Consecration and anywhere else that their particular diocese or country requires.

Kneeling when you’re supposed to be sitting doesn’t make any sense. I don’t get it, don’t those churches provide chairs for the bride & groom and witnesses???

 

[armywife]

We knelt through the whole thing. I’ve never been to a Catholic wedding where the bride and groom didn’t. I don’t know why, just tradition I guess.

 

[lizaanne]

We knelt through the whole thing. I’ve never been to a Catholic wedding where the bride and groom didn’t. I don’t know why, just tradition I guess.

Same here. We were on our knees when we were not standing. I think we may have sat for the homily, but I’m not sure. We had a two person kneeler in front of the altar and we were there for most of the Mass.

~Liza

 

[journey137]

There is no kneeling required of the bride & groom that isn’t required of the rest of the community. They are to kneel at the Consecration and anywhere else that their particular diocese or country requires.

Kneeling when you’re supposed to be sitting doesn’t make any sense. I don’t get it, don’t those churches provide chairs for the bride & groom and witnesses???

When we were planning the wedding (readings, songs, etc) the wedding coordinator for the church asked if we wanted to kneel or sit. We could have had seats in the front row of pews or kneel in front of the altar (no room there for extra chairs). Our witnesses sat in the pews instead of kneeling.

 

[Phemie]

When we were planning the wedding (readings, songs, etc) the wedding coordinator for the church asked if we wanted to kneel or sit. We could have had seats in the front row of pews or kneel in front of the altar (no room there for extra chairs). Our witnesses sat in the pews instead of kneeling.

Any wedding I’ve been to in a Catholic church, including ours, had 4 chairs in front of the first pew with prie-dieux for kneeling (well, no prie-dieux at ours, we didn’t have Mass) and that’s where the bride & groom and witnesses sat.