Wedding on Holy Saturday

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I’m with the crowd that can’t figure out why you’d even want this day for your wedding. Its the EASTER Triduum, not just a spring weekend.

Just even the fact that since Easter is a movable date, your anniversary is bound to fall on Good Friday or in the middle of Lent on a regular basis! 🤷
 
hilde_the_dog said:
Its all very confused. ** Holy Thursday** is in the midst of the most somber, serious and sadtime of the year. And you want a joyful wedding. I do not think flowers are allowed at that time.
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The OP asked about Holy Saturday. There are flowers on Holy Saturday. However, weddings are not allowed then.

From a purely practical standpoint, the church building is busy, busy, busy on Holy Saturday dayside anyway, because the church must be decorated with flowers, banners, etc. for the vigil and Easter Sunday.
 
justpeachy3339 said:
…If we chose a different location for the ceremony, would it be possible to actually be married on this day?
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In a word, no. If you are to be married in a Catholic Church, you cannot be married on Holy Saturday. And, unless you received a dispensation, as a Catholic, you cannot be married anywhere but in a Catholic Church.
 
I too am baffled by the idea that a Catholic would even want to be married on Holy Saturday.

If one were to entertain the idea, as unusual as it is, there are many things one would have to consider.

A wedding is a public event and anyone may attend. Therefore, all those who attend the Vigil Mass would attend the hypothetical wedding. Our Church is quite full at the Vigil, so imagine having all those extra people at the wedding. You’d likely have a complete stranger sitting by Aunt Mabel and a whole family you don’t even know sitting by Grandma and Grandpa. Looking at wedding pictures later would be interesting since so many strangers would be in the Church.

Would wedding ushers seat all those extra people? Would guests join the standing room only crowd at the back of Church? Would the wedding party be seated in the folding chairs in the aisles so they can at least stay somewhat together and so the photographer can see them?

Would the ring bearer and flower girl fall asleep before the end of Mass? Would they get cranky and fidgety during a lengthy Vigil Mass that may last around 2-1/2 to 3 hours or so and sometimes more at some Churches?

Would the wedding processional take place after the lights come back on after all seven of the readings and after the psalms, prayers, Gloria, opening prayer, epistle, alleluia, gospel, homily? Or, would it take place in the dark and the wedding party would process in with everyone else who processes in after the blessing of the fire?

Would wedding vows be exchanged before or after the renewal of baptismal promises?

I could go on, but I think my attempt at humor might be getting a bit much at this point. 😃
 
Digitonomy said:
And at the Gloria they haul out the vases and bouquets? I don’t remember this happening, but perhaps I just didn’t notice.
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We did that for two or three years.

The flowers were all placed behind the altar in the afternoon. When the Gloria started and the lights started to gradually come on, a dozen or more people walked up, picked up two pots each and placed them in the spot they’d been assigned, two more placed the cloth on the altar. Before the Gloria ended, the altar was dressed, the sanctuary was decorated and the lights were on full. Even though it was well choreographed and as unobtrusive as we could make it, it still felt too theatrical and eventually we decided to just have everything ready before the Vigil started.

It also seems wrong to keep the lights off until the Gloria. While Paschale Solemnitatis says the lights are off for the procession with the Paschal candle, it does not say when they come on again. It seems to me that immediately after the Exsultet! is the logical place in the celebration for the lights to come on, after all, Easter has just been proclaimed.
 
SwizzleStick said:
I too am baffled by the idea that a Catholic would even want to be married on Holy Saturday.
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Its not baffling when you consider that they would have thought of it the other way around. They want to get married on a specific date, which this coming year happens to be Holy Saturday. Since Easter is a moving holiday, most people don’t even realize which day it is until its pretty close.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Its not baffling when you consider that they would have thought of it the other way around. They want to get married on a specific date, which this coming year happens to be Holy Saturday. Since Easter is a moving holiday, most people don’t even realize which day it is until its pretty close.
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That might be true of the general population, but surely not a Catholic planning a wedding around the timeframe of Lent and Easter. I do have a little bit of experience with the topic. I planned my own wedding and the baptism of my three children around Lent and Easter.
 
JButky said:
Our neighboring church in the next town had a wedding this past Holy Saturday. The couple each were Baptized, then Confirmed, and then exchanged vows as part of the Vigil.

Joe B
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that is the exception, in some dioceses the marriage convalidations are done at another time shortly before the vigil, but obviously OP is not talking about this situation. and it is not supposed to be a full blown bash with bridesmaids etc if it is done during a regularly scheduled Mass such as the vigil, but merely the exchange of vows before the witnesses and priest, and it is done this way because the couple must regularize the marriage situation before receiving the other sacraments.

and it is not baffling someone planning a wedding and choosing a date would not immediately realize it is Easter week, we have had secretaries put things on the calendar without looking at the date so it can happen to anyone.
 
SwizzleStick said:
That might be true of the general population, but surely not a Catholic planning a wedding around the timeframe of Lent and Easter. I do have a little bit of experience with the topic. I planned my own wedding and the baptism of my three children around Lent and Easter.
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I would say that your very presence on these boards means you aren’t the ‘average Catholic’.😉
 
puzzleannie said:
and it is not baffling someone planning a wedding and choosing a date would not immediately realize it is Easter week, we have had secretaries put things on the calendar without looking at the date so it can happen to anyone.
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I don’t think that’s the case though in the OP’s situation. The way I read their OP was that they want to get married specifically on Holy Saturday, not that there was an error in scheduling the wedding date.
 
Phemie said:
I would say that your very presence on these boards means you aren’t the ‘average Catholic’.😉
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I will say that CAF is a wonderful resource to learn about our Faith, so perhaps that is so.🙂
 
PatriceA said:
I don’t think that’s the case though in the OP’s situation. The way I read their OP was that they want to get married specifically on Holy Saturday, not that there was an error in scheduling the wedding date.
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That is my understanding as well. My guess is that perhaps much of the family gathers at Easter, that folks are off school (and sometimes off work on Good Friday too) for a few days and available, etc., so those considerations were part of the thought process. But, obviously, a wedding on Holy Saturday cannot work for a Catholic, so that is the most important consideration.
 
SwizzleStick said:
That might be true of the general population, but surely not a Catholic planning a wedding around the timeframe of Lent and Easter. I do have a little bit of experience with the topic. I planned my own wedding and the baptism of my three children around Lent and Easter.
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Not just because you thought of it means the other person did.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Not just because you thought of it means the other person did.
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True. But, it is hard for me to imagine that if one is a Catholic. I’ll concede that, sure, maybe one would not immediately know that a certain date is Easter. But, one is aware of when Easter generally occurs, so it seems it would at least be in one’s mind to consider Lent, Holy Week and Easter when planning a sacrament near that timeframe.

Also, it appears that the OP specifically wanted to get married on Holy Saturday and so knew that the date was Holy Saturday, though that hasn’t been absolutely clarified yet. Perhaps I misinterpreted the initial post.
 
Just a heads up, OP…this is the kind of question you could only have if you have not been in serious contact with the priest who will officiate at your wedding. If you want a Catholic wedding or a Catholic funeral, you’d better get on the priest’s calendar and reserve your church before you set your date. If you foresee a wedding in early or mid April, today is not too soon! (There have been some unhappy cases of obituaries being run with funeral arrangements announced, even though the church, priest, or both were not available on that date or at that time! :eek:)

To get on a priest’s dayplanner for your wedding, you’ll probably need an intial meeting with the priest or his proxy (a deacon, etc). Bring a notebook and your own calendar, because you will need to find out what marriage preparation is required in your diocese. That can include marriage prep weekends, and those also fill up. You may just be planning a wedding, but your pastor is going to make you do at least some minimal amount of planning for your marriage, too, preferably before you order anything for the ceremonial day. That is non-negotiable, so get thee to work!

One more word: I have heard more than one priest say that he would rather do ten funerals than one wedding, because the people involved are generally far more aware of the full import of what they’re doing in the former case than in the latter. Stop, reflect, and don’t let that be you or your bride!
 
SwizzleStick said:
True. But, it is hard for me to imagine that if one is a Catholic. I’ll concede that, sure, maybe one would not immediately know that a certain date is Easter. But, one is aware of when Easter generally occurs, so it seems it would at least be in one’s mind to consider Lent, Holy Week and Easter when planning a sacrament near that timeframe.

Also, it appears that the OP specifically wanted to get married on Holy Saturday and so knew that the date was Holy Saturday, though that hasn’t been absolutely clarified yet. Perhaps I misinterpreted the initial post.
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We can’t assume and presume how others would think. Debating about it also doesn’t address the issue at hand.

There are also many reasons why couples choose a date. Usually there’s significance on a date or sometimes just out of convenience for the family who may be travelling to the wedding. I think its fruitless for us to debate on why or why not the date has been chosen. We need to help the OP resolve their problem.
 
ConstantineTG said:
We can’t assume and presume how others would think. Debating about it also doesn’t address the issue at hand.

There are also many reasons why couples choose a date. Usually there’s significance on a date or sometimes just out of convenience for the family who may be travelling to the wedding. I think its fruitless for us to debate on why or why not the date has been chosen. We need to help the OP resolve their problem.
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Okay. You are correct.

I don’t know how to resolve the problem because the OP seems to want to get married on Holy Saturday, April 7, 2012 in a Catholic Church. That is not possible. So, I guess the issue has been resolved. Actually, I guess the OP had the answer with the first post, with the excerpt which is quoted below.
justpeachy3339 said:
…this is a universal day of holiness reserved for God and therefore aren’t allowed to be married in any Catholic church that day. …
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Catholic Wedding Help
For couples planning a Catholic wedding
catholicweddinghelp.com/wedding-planning/wedding-planning.htm

OP, you may find info at the link above to be helpful to you. Below is an excerpt from the link under #4, “Setting the Wedding Date” that is relevant to the topic.

“…You may schedule your wedding for any day or time you like except for Good Friday and Holy Saturday during Triduum.”

Of course, “any day or time you like” is subject to the approval of each individual pastor and availability of a time slot on the schedule too.
 
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