New Advent Wedding

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1ke said:
What days would those be?
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I guess it’s not so much when as where. The register of my parish shows the fathers as witnesses for all couples married between 1850 & 1920 and that tradition continued into the late 60s.
 
A few years ago, when I was assisting the rector with liturgies at our Cathedral, the issue of Advent weddings came up. His guidelines were the following:
  1. No Christmas decorations (brides were upset because they couldn’t have a Christmas tree–the rector had to remind them that this was Advent)–the couples had to respect the Art and Environment that the Cathedral had set up for the Advent season, including the Advent Wreath and the purple and rose altar cloths
  2. If there was to be music, it needed to be proper to the season (this meant no Christmas carols) and (this one applied to all weddings), the parts of the Mass (inclusive of the Gospel Acclamation and the Psalm) had to be sung
  3. If the wedding was on or after the anticipated Sunday vigil Mass (Saturday evening), the Sunday readings for Advent would be used.
  4. He wore vestments for the season of Advent (brides actually liked the Rose colored ones because they looked great on film)
We did have weddings during Lent; however the same rules for Advent applied, with the added stipulation that the music needed to be subdued.

I hope this helps.
 
Phemie said:
I guess it’s not so much when as where. The register of my parish shows the fathers as witnesses for all couples married between 1850 & 1920 and that tradition continued into the late 60s.
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Perhaps that is a local or ethnic tradition.
 
Phemie said:
Very near relatives is also not true. First cousins don’t find it difficult to obtain a dispensation.
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Under the old code of canon law, this was a different matter-- and since the Catechism he references was published in 1927 it would have been correct at that time.
 
AndyF said:
Further :

A Catechism for Enquirers, Rev. Joseph Malloy CSP

q. What are the laws of the Church about matrimony?

1/Catholics should not marry non-Catholics.
2/They may not marry very near relatives,…etc.
3/It is forbidden to have a nuptial mass and blessing during Advent and Lent.
(Author’s Note: The nuptial mass is the special mass said at weddings. Advent is the four weeks preceding Christmas. Lent is the forty days preceding Easter.)
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Andy, get a copy of the current Catechism which would reflect the most current code of canon law.
AndyF said:
There was a mass. At preparation, I don’t recall being told there was anything different about our wedding.
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You are fine-- married validly. Put that catechism away and get a new one.
 
Only one poster has pointed this out so far, but the validity of marriage is not tied to the nuptial Mass at all. So even if nuptial Masses were absolutely forbidden in Advent 1971 (which I can almost assure they were not), this would not have prevented a valid marriage from being contracted so long as the parties with proper intent and no impediments gave proper consent before a witness of the Church.
 
1ke said:
Under the old code of canon law, this was a different matter-- and since the Catechism he references was published in 1927 it would have been correct at that time.
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My parents were married in 1952 and obtained a dispensation for consanguinity. They shared a grandmother although they had different grandfathers. The priest was very much their advocate though so that may have been a deciding factor.
 
Before Vatican II, if one of the spouse was not a Catholic, they were not married in the church proper. This is one of the issues that was addressed during the Council taking into account a world where Catholics and non-Catholics have more contact with one another than they had in previous generations.
The bride and groom bestow the Sacrament of Matrimony on each other. The priest is a witness to the action of the Holy Spirit bestowing God’s grace on the couple.
 
benedictgal said:
A few years ago, when I was assisting the rector with liturgies at our Cathedral, the issue of Advent weddings came up. His guidelines were the following:
  1. No Christmas decorations (brides were upset because they couldn’t have a Christmas tree–the rector had to remind them that this was Advent)–the couples had to respect the Art and Environment that the Cathedral had set up for the Advent season, including the Advent Wreath and the purple and rose altar cloths
  2. If there was to be music, it needed to be proper to the season (this meant no Christmas carols) and (this one applied to all weddings), the parts of the Mass (inclusive of the Gospel Acclamation and the Psalm) had to be sung
  3. If the wedding was on or after the anticipated Sunday vigil Mass (Saturday evening), the Sunday readings for Advent would be used.
  4. He wore vestments for the season of Advent (brides actually liked the Rose colored ones because they looked great on film)
We did have weddings during Lent; however the same rules for Advent applied, with the added stipulation that the music needed to be subdued.

I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Those are the rules we go by too. There was a wedding yesterday (Saturday) and the bride used red and white roses instead of pointsettias.
 
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