Planning A Modern Catholic Wedding
by Jason Hennessey,
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Catholics often place a lot of importance in the marriage of a couple. It is considered as one of the seven sacraments of the Church that should be taken seriously as they represent God’s love to His people. For this reason, most Catholics prefer holding their wedding ceremonies in the church or cathedral as is the tradition. However, in recent times many Catholic couples have looked for other ways of conducting their weddings elsewhere and giving them a different touch while maintaining the significance and image of a traditional Catholic wedding.
Wedding preparations usually start by proposal and engagement, after which the priest should be informed of your intention to marry. He will then organize for you to be enrolled in the Pre-Cana, a special marriage counseling season whose aim is to prepare the couple spiritually, socially and emotionally for matrimony. Traditionally, any partner that is not baptized can get the same service during this session. But recently this has not been followed to the letter and it has become a matter of personal will.
After the Pre-Cana, the couple can then allow themselves enough time to prepare for their big day. The venue of the wedding can be outside the church, probably a place where other Catholic faithful guests can feel comfortable.
The decorations may also take a different route according to the couple’s sense of style. Choice of colors, flowers and other beauty paraphernalia doesn’t have to follow the traditional ways. Innovations have been brought up to spice up the monotonous traditional wedding preparation elements. One is free to experiment on various ideas as long as they do not go against the Catholic spiritual teachings.
Elements of style, culture and heritage have influenced different people’s decisions on how to plan and conduct their weddings. People are now fusing their cultural practices into the wedding routines. This helps in identifying one’s background and customs. It also adds glamour to the ceremony by introducing the beauty of cultural diversity.
The wedding attire has not been speared either. The bride’s gown now includes some elegant cultural decorations, prints and even a different general design of the gown altogether. This has given rise to customized gowns which give the brides an edge above the normal out-of-shop designs. The suits also exude contemporary allure through different alterations and ornamentation.
The bridal party and the groom’s party can also introduce the aspect of culture into the scene by spotting ethnic ornaments and other decorations which help in adding color and style to the ceremony. The whole family can also where there cultural wedding costumes instead of the normal business suits and other official dressing.
Wedding songs have also been influenced by customary practices. The normal hymns sung in the church in English can be done in Spanish, French or any other ethnic language. Some couples have even requested for a full mass in which the body and blood of Christ are given to the congregation. One can even choose to have the whole mass done in local language or even Latin. All this serve to add the beauty of language to the wonderful event.
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Copyright © 2009 Jason Hennessey - All Rights Reserved. Hyperlinked material remains the property of its respective owners.
Author Resource Jason Hennessey is the President of 1WeddingSource, today’s leading wedding social networking planning site. He also founded an online store that host a collection of wedding favors and wedding gifts to make your wedding day an event to be cherished for a lifetime.
