Catholic Destination Wedding

[lifey888]

Has anyone planned a catholic destination wedding? My parents would REALLY like a priest to conduct the ceremony. Any advice?

 

[Tybee]

Oh, I wish I could help.
I''m planning a destination wedding, but not a Catholic one. My FI''s brother is a Presb. minister and is performing our ceremony. I used to be Catholic, I know that there are a lot of rules and regulations regarding weddings and such. Perhaps you could be married in a Catholic church at your destination?

I''m sure that others can help more than I, but good luck, and have fun planning. I''m a real fan of the destination wedding route.

Tybee

 

[rms]

What destination are you considering? If it is a predominantly Catholic country, it might be relatively easy. My DH and I were recently in Puerto Vallarta and saw a Catholic Wedding there on the beach at our hotel. I don't know what the rules are in Mexico, but I believe that in the US you need a dispensation from the church to get married anyplace other than inside a Catholic church. I know some American folks who got one and got married in an outdoor garden ceremony. So the best thing that you can do is talk to a priest and see what is needed. You can also always get married at your destination wedding and have a convalidation ceremony at your church (which is really just like a wedding) when you come back.

 

[San Diego Bride]

it depends on the type of destination wedding you''re envisioning. as rms mentioned it can be very difficult to have a catholic ceremony outdoors. a compromise might be having a catholic priest present to bless the wedding. the priest can then say grace at the reception too. i''m sure it''s not exactly what your parents want, but it might be something to consider.

 

[ellewoods]

Lifey:

I know you should be able to have a Catholic wedding in Mexico. There are 2 types of weddings there -- the civil ceremony done by a judge, which is recognized throughout the world as legally changing from single to married, and the non-denominational wedding which does not officially change you from single to married outside of Mexico. From what I''ve read, it''s possible to have both ceremonies done together -- including the spiritual one being in a Catholic church -- if you meet some additional requirements. Looks like you''ve got to get permission from your local Catholic church to be married outside of that church.

One thing to note though -- from everything I''ve read, you cannot have a Catholic wedding performed on the beach. They''ll require you to have it done in a church. But there are beautiful, charming Mexican Catholic churches so I think it''d be quite nice. Here''s some more info I found online, about getting married in Playa del Carmen, Mexico:


Catholic Weddings on the Riviera Maya


A Catholic wedding in Mexico is easy to arrange and is recognized as an official Catholic wedding when all the official documentation and requirements have been fulfilled. Catholics can be married in local Mexican parish churches. Permission from your parish priest to marry outside of your parish is required and this permission must be approved by your parish''s diocese.

the marriage couple must complete the Pre-Cana classes, the required pre-marriage courses, and the Pre-Cana certificate is required prior to the wedding.

All official documents required for a Catholic wedding must be received 30 days prior to your ceremony. Rarely are their exceptions to this 30 day rule.

In some parishes, the Catholic Wedding and Mass are held in Spanish only. On the Riviera Maya, there are two priests who can perform a Catholic wedding and mass in English.

Catholic churches in Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya:

Nuestra Señora del Carmen, downtown Playa del Carmen
Nuestra Señora de Fatima in the Ejido neighborhood of Playa del Carmen
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in the Colosio area of Playa del Carmen
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Puerto Aventuras
Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi in Xcaret
Chapel in Pueblo Akumal
Mission church in Tulum
The actual cost for a Catholic wedding is approximately $250 US, not including our fees (additional donations are appreciated). Translators can be provided at additional costs for the ceremony.
Requirements for Couples from Outside the Diocese
Requesting to Be Married in the Diocese of Cancun-Chetumal, Quintana Roo Including Catholic Churches located in Playa del Carmen, the Riviera Maya, Xcaret, Puerto Aventuras, Tulum and Cancun
If you have not already done so, please contact your parish priest/deacon regarding marriage preparation. He is responsible for your marriage preparation and instruction.
Your parish priest will assist you with obtaining the necessary documents, permissions and dispensations (if needed).
He is responsible for forwarding the following information and documents to the chancellor of your diocese for review:
a letter of recommendation stating that:
you have been prepared according to the marriage preparation guidelines of your diocese;
permission has been granted for the marriage to be celebrated in Mexico (Canon 1115);
a current original copy of the Baptismal certificate of the Catholic party.
an Affidavit of Freedom to Marry for each party signed by a competent person (e.g. parent, relative or close friend) and the signature witnessed by a pastor/priest/cleric of the person vouching for your freedom to marry.
the completed Pre-nuptial Investigation form used in your diocese.
Color photos of the Bride and Groom
if applicable:
a dispensation for disparity of worship
a dispensation from canonical form
permission for Mixed Religion
decree of nullity of a former marriage
(If either party was previously married, a declaration of nullity for a lack of form or formal annulment must be obtained.)
When all the required information is received by the Diocese of Cancun-Chetumal, a Nihil Obstat will be granted and sent to the priest/deacon officiating at your wedding in Mexico along with all pertinent documentation.
Contact Ajua Weddings at least (three (3) months prior to the date of your wedding) to make arrangements for a priest/deacon to officiate at your wedding and to reserve the church as well as schedule a rehearsal.
Provide the following information:
Bride and Grooms names, addresses, home and work phone numbers;
the name of the priest/deacon responsible for the marriage preparation;
the name of your parish, address, phone and fax numbers;
the name of the priest/deacon responsible for the marriage preparation;
copy of your Pre-Cana class reservation and your certificate, when completed;
copy of the documentation forwarded to the Diocesan office to Ajua Weddings
Other Helpful Information

The sacred nature of marriage demands that the couple have an understanding and acceptance of the spiritual aspects of their mutual commitment. Having been duly prepared for this commitment, the couple welcomes the opportunity to marry according to the prescribed laws of the Catholic Church. Therefore, the marriage of TWO CATHOLICS is to take place in a sacred place (a Catholic church or officially recognized Catholic chapel).

When a CATHOLIC plans to marry a person who is CHRISTIAN but not CATHOLIC, the couple, if there is a good reason, may send a request in writing to the Office of the Chancellor, Diocese of Cancun-Chetumal, to obtain the permission of the bishop to grant a dispensation for the marriage to take place in the church of the non-Catholic partner.

When a CATHOLIC is going to marry a person who is NON-CHRISTIAN and wishes to have a non-Catholic minister or a civil official officiate at the wedding rather than a Catholic priest/deacon, the couple may send a request in writing to the Office of the Chancellor, Diocese of Cancun-Chetumal, to obtain the permission of the bishop to grant a dispensation to delegate the authority to either the non-Catholic minister or a civil official.

Requirements Licensing Priests From Outside the Diocese To Officiate at a Specific Wedding

If you are inviting a priest/deacon from outside the Diocese of Cancun-Chetumal to officiate at your wedding, please ask him to:

contact the pastor of the parish where the wedding is to take place to seek permission.
write to the Chancellor of the Diocese of Cancun-Chetumal for a letter of recommendation asking that a license to officiate at the marriage be granted. Include with the request for permission
a letter from his Bishop, Vicar General, or Major Superior stating that he is in good standing in his diocese and he has permission to officiate at a wedding in the Diocese of Cancun-Chetumal..
the names of the bride and groom, the specific date, the church and/or location of the wedding.
The priest officiating at the wedding must see that all necessary entries regarding the marriage are entered in the marriage register of the parish where the wedding took place.

Will your Wedding be Recognized in your State or Province?

Once you are married, your official marriage certificate and papers will be forwarded to your parish and recorded in your parish records. If you wish these to be sent by Fed EX, an extra charge would apply. If not, it normally takes about six weeks for your papers to arrive at your parish.

State and province regulations vary. A Catholic wedding in Mexico is an official Catholic wedding in the United States under Catholic Canon Law. It is your responsibility to see if your official Catholic wedding in Mexico will be recognized under the laws of your state, as a civil marriage. Many states allow the priest in Mexico to sign your state''s marriage license. It is your responsibility to verify your state''s requirements and if this would be valid under your state''s laws.

Document Shipping Instructions: Documents are to be shipped directly to Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Playa del Carmen. Please follow instructions below.

Required Shipping Agents: Fed Ex or DHL (No UPS, USPS or US Post Office Priority Mail)
DO NOT USE the US Post Office International Priority Mail, it may not arrive and cannot be tracked beyond the US border. The minimum arrival time of US Priority mail, if it gets delivered, can be three weeks to three months. UPS also is not recommended.

Please Note: If you do not follow our instructions, you will be responsible for assuring the documents arrive in Playa del Carmen.

Shipping Address for Documents:

Nuestra Señora del Carmen
Calle 12 Norte entre 15 y 20 Avenidas Norte
Col. Centro
77710 Playa del Carmen, Q. Roo
Mexico
Tel: 011-52 (984) 873-0188

 

[lifey888]

Wow Elle - thanks for that research! Sounds like a destination wedding is going to be a lot more work when you are catholic versus the "less stress" approach. This is going to be esp. hard since I don''t have a parish that I technically belong to.

 

[lovelylulu]

lifey: I''m not sure my wedding counts as the sort of destination wedding you have in mind, but i''ll tell you about my experiences and maybe they''ll help.

I was raised catholic and belonged to my hometown church in NY -- then I went away to college and later gradutate school and never really practiced any religion, so i never joined another church. Just under a year ago, my fiancee and I moved to DC -- still am not a member of any church.

we got engaged and are decided to get married in a catholic church, but in vermont. a great many of the couples who get married in vermont are out-of-state, so it was quite easy to find a church willing to marry a couple who weren''t members of that parish.

basically, we had to meet with the VT priest, introduce ourselves, chat a bit and he was fine with marrying us -- fiancee isn''t catholic.

We are doing our pre-cana training (required) here in DC at a retreat -- again, didn''t have to belong to a particular parish.

sorry that was all quite a ramble...i hope that you''re able to work it all out!

 

[ryangraham]

Elle,
My fiance and I are trying to plan out wedding in the Riviera Maya, but we are having difficulty finding the right Catholic church/chapel. You listed the Catholic Churches in the Maya:

Nuestra Señora del Carmen, downtown Playa del Carmen
Nuestra Señora de Fatima in the Ejido neighborhood of Playa del Carmen
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in the Colosio area of Playa del Carmen
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Puerto Aventuras
Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi in Xcaret
Chapel in Pueblo Akumal
Mission church in Tulum

Do you have any photos of these churches, websites or links to photos, or do you have a contact in Maya who I could reach to obtain photos of these churches? We are looking for a perfect little chappel, but it is extemely difficult to track down photos.

Any help would be grately appreciated.

Ryan

 

[saturn]

Since it sounds like you want to do this mostly to satisfy your mother, you might want to see if there is a former priest at your destination who could marry you. Ex-priests tend to be more flexible about the wedding details (like location), so it would be less stressful for you. Don''t know if it would satisfy your mother, since it wouldn''t technically be a "Catholic" wedding, but at least the officiant would be kind of like a priest.

 

[TynaStar]

Having a Catholic wedding is a little bit more work. It does depend on the country and no you cant have it on a beach. A Catholic wedding has to be done in a Catholic church by a priest.
You''ll need to first be granted permission from your parish Priest and I would recommend a planner to help (that what I''m doing) as there may a language barrier for you, they have contatcs and can get around it.

My personal experience is that in Mexico, the priests as VERY territorial. So if there''s an English speaking priest at one church he probably wont be willing to go to another location to do a ceremony.

Other than that good luck!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

We went to one in Charleston, SC (Couple from Charlotte. NC. parents from Ohio) and they had a local priest. I am not sure how they found him but it is obviously posible. Though since they were married outside they had another private church wedding a few months later. I think just their parents were there.

 

[firebirdgold]

What about an independant Catholic priest?

 

[MayBride]

I was going to do a catholic destination wedding too... but now that''s not in the cards. I was looking into getting marries in St.John, USVI. Because it is US, there are a lot less "hoops" to jump through. There''s a catholic church in Cruz Bay (sorry I don''t know the name, but I know you can google and find the website with pictures). Then there are lots of great resraunts where you can have a sort of reception.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

I''m getting my renewal ceremony done in Jamaica at Couples Negril. I noticed on their website, they do have Catholic ceremonies.

Here''s the link: www.couples.com

HOpe this helps!

 

[cara]

I think Elle has more details than me, but I can tell you a little bit about a Catholic wedding I went to in Mexico. Basically, the couple had to get married twice, once by the priest in a Catholic ceremony not recognized by the state, and once by a judge for the legally binding marriage. The Catholic ceremony was is this cute little church, absolutely roasting, and the priest went on forever. It was all in Spanish, which I didn''t understand, but apparantly he waxed eloquently on adding extra homilies and stuff that the bride and groom were unprepared for. The church didn''t have enough seats, no air conditioning, and must have been over 100 even after sunset when the ceremony was. I was standing in the back, didn''t understand the language and couldn''t really see the front, so I snuck out with some others to prepare for rice-throwing when I though they were almost done, but apparantly they were only half through! After the Catholic ceremony we all trooped over to the reception site, and the bride and groom sat down at their sweetheart table, with their parents and close friends standing around while the judge began doing the civil ceremony. Luckily most of the guests were happily enjoying cocktail hour. I was expected some quick 5 minute judge ceremony to officially marry them so began watching out of curiousity, but it went on and on and on! Apparantly the judge also thought he was supposed to lecture them on marriage for an hour! One by one the friends slipped off to grab a drink, and eventually the parents did as well! The mother of the bride didn''t watch her poor daughter get officially married! They must have spend 2.5 hrs getting married that day, in the sweltering heat. We had a great time at the reception after the judge freed them, but it was quite an experience of a weekend. The power was in and out all weekend, and the roads flooded around the town we were in from the remnants of a tropical storm, and the bride and groom got some Montezuma''s revenge and couldn''t go on their honeymoon

As for hoops, it seems many hoops are involved for Catholic weddings, and many hoops may be involved for foreign weddings, so a foriegn destination Catholic wedding has the potential for lots of hoops. See if you can find someplace whose business is marrying Americans - this might make it much easier. The wedding above was in more of a spot place where Mexicans go on vacation - ie. it caters more to domestic vacationers and it just presented a lot of issues at the end of the day. Like the water. We were constantly worried about drinking water quality, to the point of drinking only tequila at the wedding(!) and you can see what happened to the bride and groom!

However, they did get to invite everyone they wanted, throw a sit-down reception with bands, etc, on their budget in a tropical location. Which they could not have down in the states. And now their guests have a story to tell.