Why is there a problem with an outdoor Marriage Ceremony?

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pyropam

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I’m a new Catholic so forgive me if this thread sounds stupid.

But exactly why do so many people have a problem with outdoor marriage ceremonies? Is there some resource I can use to find our what the problems with this are?
 
Dont know of a specifc source…

The most important aspect of a marriage is that it is the union of two souls before God. An outdoor wedding stresses the wishes of the couple getting married- a wedding in the Church stresses the presence of God (especialy His presence in the Blessed Sacrament), and the place of God in the marriage.

Also, Catholic weddings should be accompanied by Mass, which should be celebrated in the church.
 
Caesar said:
Dont know of a specifc source…

The most important aspect of a marriage is that it is the union of two souls before God. An outdoor wedding stresses the wishes of the couple getting married- a wedding in the Church stresses the presence of God (especialy His presence in the Blessed Sacrament), and the place of God in the marriage.

Also, Catholic weddings should be accompanied by Mass, which should be celebrated in the church.
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See, these things confuse me… We have outdoor Mass at our church several times a year. And since God is everywhere…I would think he wouldn’t care… I would think that God would be pleased that people wanted their wedding in his beautiful outdoor creation rather than our indoor man-made setting.

I’m still confused… 😦
 
pyropam said:
See, these things confuse me… We have outdoor Mass at our church several times a year. And since God is everywhere…I would think he wouldn’t care… I would think that God would be pleased that people wanted their wedding in his beautiful outdoor creation rather than our indoor man-made setting.

I’m still confused… 😦
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The outdoor setting can be as beautiful as you can imagine, but it still does not stress the presence of God in the same way as a church setting.

Now you mentioned that you are new to the Catholic faith. I assume you are coming from a protestant background. While Catholics certainly believe in the omnipresence of God- that He exists throughout all of Creation- we also believe that God exists in a special way in the Blessed Sacrament- the Sacramental Body of God the Son, the Holy Eucharist- which is reserved in the church. While outdoor settings can be nice they lack the presence of God in that way.

Also, by having a wedding within a church building, the couple is acknowledging that they are being married through the Church. The Catholicity of their marriage is stressed. Marriage is a Holy Sacrament entrusted to the Church, and like all sacraments the proper setting for a marriage is within a church (the entirety of the Catholic Church being embodied within the local parish).

I tend to ramble, so I suggest that for a much better answer you post this question in the Ask and Apologist forum. Father Serpa will give you a far more intelligent answer 🙂
 
Thank you, I may ask him also… but your answer is pretty informative.
 
Caesar said:
Now you mentioned that you are new to the Catholic faith. I assume you are coming from a protestant background. While Catholics certainly believe in the omnipresence of God- that He exists throughout all of Creation- we also believe that God exists in a special way in the Blessed Sacrament- the Sacramental Body of God the Son, the Holy Eucharist- which is reserved in the church. While outdoor settings can be nice they lack the presence of God in that way.
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I would love to hear what our Church actually teaches on this subject. I believe as long the wedding is in correct Catholic form there wouldn’t be a problem. Although, I am not a big fan of out door weddings, I disagree completely about the presence of God lacking in this way. Can you please site where the Church teaches this? Would we say this to the many men who fought in WWII and attended mass outdoors in the middle of gun fire? Was there a lack of Gods presence because it was outdoors? Of course not.

Pam, please check out this site oncecatholic.org/living_marriage.html

You can leave your questions with a priest who will answer for you. It takes about day for your question to show up but they will give you a solid and educated answers. 🙂

I hope that helps, let us know what they say.
 
anamchara said:
I would love to hear what our Church actually teaches on this subject. I believe as long the wedding is in correct Catholic form there wouldn’t be a problem. Although, I am not a big fan of out door weddings, I disagree completely about the presence of God lacking in this way. Would we say this to the many men who fought in WWII and attended mass outdoors in the middle of fun fire? Was there a lack of Gods presence because it was outdoors? Of course not.
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When possible though, they attended Mass in a church. We can never downplay the importance of ecclesiastical buildings. They were built for this purpose.

In any case, the Church does not support weddings outside (or in any other secular setting) for a good reason (except for the rare exception, but a bishop has to approve that I think).
 
Caesar said:
Dont know of a specifc source…

The most important aspect of a marriage is that it is the union of two souls before God. An outdoor wedding stresses the wishes of the couple getting married- a wedding in the Church stresses the presence of God (especialy His presence in the Blessed Sacrament), and the place of God in the marriage.

Also, Catholic weddings should be accompanied by Mass, which should be celebrated in the church.
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The most important part is the that a priest presides over the Sacrament of marriage, end of story.
 
Caesar said:
In any case, the Church does not support weddings outside (or in any other secular setting) for a good reason (except for the rare exception, but a bishop has to approve that I think).
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You might be right but I would like to see where the Church actually says this. 😉
 
Caesar is correct.

Catholics must receive a dispensation from the Bishop to be married outside of a Church.

This is frequently granted for a mixed marriage to be in a Protestant Church.

It is almost never granted for two Catholics, or for a wedding outdoors, or at a recption hall.

God Bless
 
pyropam said:
But exactly why do so many people have a problem with outdoor marriage ceremonies? Is there some resource I can use to find our what the problems with this are?
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The Church regulates the Sacraments and the Liturgy. The Canon Law of the Church requires weddings to be celebrated in the parish church of the bride or groom. With permission from their pastor they can have it in another church (for example at a cathedral, shrine, or in the town they grew up in, etc). This is called the Catholic form of marriage.

With permission of the Bishop, marriage may be celebrated outside the Catholic form, for a serious reason. This typically includes a mixed marriage situation where the bride is a non-Catholic and permission is granted for the wedding to take place in her church with a Catholic priest as witness.

It might be possible, but not likely that permission would be given by the Bishop to celebrate the wedding liturgy elsewhere.

It’s not that “people have a problem with it”. The issue is that the Catholic Church teaches that the wedding liturgy should take place within the Mass and within the parish church with the priest presiding and witnessing.

The Church does allow dispensation from this form, but one must have a *good *reason.
 
anamchara said:
The most important part is the that a priest presides over the Sacrament of marriage, end of story.
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Nope. Canon Law governs the administration of the Sacraments. The “local ordinary” is the Bishop.

Can. 1108 §1. Only those marriages are valid which are contracted before the local ordinary, pastor, or a priest or deacon delegated by either of them, who assist, and before two witnesses according to the rules expressed in the following canons and without prejudice to the exceptions mentioned in cann. ⇒ 144, ⇒ 1112, §1, ⇒ 1116, and ⇒ 1127, §§1-2.

Can. 1115 Marriages are to be celebrated in a parish where either of the contracting parties has a domicile, quasidomicile, or month long residence or, if it concerns transients, in the parish where they actually reside. With the permission of the proper ordinary or proper pastor, marriages can be celebrated elsewhere.

Can. 1118 §1. A marriage between Catholics or between a Catholic party and a non-Catholic baptized party is to be celebrated in a parish church. It can be celebrated in another church or oratory with the permission of the local ordinary or pastor.

§2. The local ordinary can permit a marriage to be celebrated in another suitable place.
 
pyropam said:
Thank you, I may ask him also… but your answer is pretty informative.
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Pyropam,

Historically, the provisions for the Catholic form of marriage came about to protect Catholic spouses. Catholic form-- marriage in a church with a priest and two witnesses, posting of banns, etc-- did not always exist.

Years ago abuses arose-- particularly on the part of the man-- in which a couple would marry and then the man would deny the marriage occurred and abandon the woman. He would be free to marry since no record existed of their marriage.

The marriage laws of the Church arose to protect innocent parties from fraud, to ensure proper understanding and preparation, to ensure proper recording in the Sacramental records, etc.
 
Father Serpa has discussed outdoor marriages for Catholics previously. You can read about it here:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=124232&highlight=weddings

He did not cite Canon Law, but he basically states what others have already said. For two Catholics to be married outside of the Church without permission invalidates the sacrament.

No “wedding” is worth having outside if at the end of the (beautiful) ceremony you aren’t actually married!

-SC
 
Perhaps our Holy Mother Church is wise in the simpliest way. Outdoor weddings are pretty in the movies. In real life, you are at the mercy of the elements - rain, storms, wind, heat (I have sweated through many an outdoor wedding in my pre-Catholic days) - insects, you name it - outdoors there are so many possible things that can go wrong. Those beach weddings crack me up - IRL, there would be gulls overhead pooping on the guests.

Weddings are stressful enough, why add “nature” to it?
 
kage_ar said:
Perhaps our Holy Mother Church is wise in the simpliest way. Outdoor weddings are pretty in the movies. In real life, you are at the mercy of the elements - rain, storms, wind, heat (I have sweated through many an outdoor wedding in my pre-Catholic days) - insects, you name it - outdoors there are so many possible things that can go wrong. Those beach weddings crack me up - IRL, there would be gulls overhead pooping on the guests.

Weddings are stressful enough, why add “nature” to it?
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Perhaps there is a business to be built photo-shopping wedding photos onto the background that the couple really wanted? Or maybe Catholic churches should have optional green screens behind the altar? 😛

But your point is well taken. The desire for outdoor weddings is a fairly recent phenomenon (in Western culture at least) for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
 
Heaven is the Wedding Feast of the Lamb of God. It is the Wedding of Christ and His Bride, the Church. (Rev 19, Rev 21)

Since the Sacrament of Marriage takes as it’s model the Marriage of Christ and His Church, the place of the Marriage should be that which best symbolized both Christ and His Bride.

It should be in a Church building.

And note that the preference is to a PARISH Church, because not only does a parish church symbolize both Christ and the Church as a temporal AND Mystical organization, but it is also the place when Christ’s Body, the faithful gather to worship in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Marriage is like that, it is a gather of two to unite in worship, via the Sacrament of Marriage.
 
pyropam said:
I’m a new Catholic so forgive me if this thread sounds stupid.

But exactly why do so many people have a problem with outdoor marriage ceremonies? Is there some resource I can use to find our what the problems with this are?
Click to expand...
It’s really simply Catholic Scaraments should be celebrated in a Catholic Church or at least a church or other dedicated place, like possibly a Catholic Shrine.
 
pyropam said:
See, these things confuse me… We have outdoor Mass at our church several times a year. And since God is everywhere…I would think he wouldn’t care… I would think that God would be pleased that people wanted their wedding in his beautiful outdoor creation rather than our indoor man-made setting.

I’m still confused… 😦
Click to expand...
Outdoor Mass is permitted with the permission of the local Bishop when there is some serious necessity. Like the Church building will only hold 300 people and 1500 show up for Mass or the church building caught fire early Sunday morning and cannot be used.
 
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