Inter-marriage between Faiths

My fiancé and I are of different faiths. He is Catholic, and I am of an alternative path. We agreed that we would be married by an official of the Catholic church (for him) but have no bible readings. We would plan all readings ... The questions are (a) I heard a Catholic church will not marry a non-Catholic to a Catholic. Is this true? (b) Can we plan the readings ourselves? We decided that we don't want bible readings (for me). (c) Can I include a person of my own faith in the actual marriage process in addition to the church clergy, even though they have no real legal power to marry us?

Besides the Catholic Ceremony Preparation, today most dioceses permit mixed marriages, i.e..Catholic & a Protestant or of the Jewish Faith. The ceremony may take place in the church. Contact your parish priest for hours when the ceremony may take place. The ceremonies are usually performed before six o'clock in the evening.

In dioceses where mixed marriages are not permitted in the church, the ceremony is performed either in the presbytery, sacristy, or a private chapel designated for said marriage. The ceremony is simple and without the Nuptial Mass.

The Catholic Party must have a baptismal Certificate, and besides filling out the prenuptial questionnaire, both parties sign promises guaranteeing to baptize and educate in the catholic faith alone, all children born of the marriage. The non-Catholic must promise also that he/she will not in any way interfere with the catholic party in the practice of his/her religion.

The Catholic ceremony may be personalized with family participation. Traditional vows are required with only slight variations, which must be approved by the priest.

Interfaith marriages are very common today. Priests often co-officiate with the clergy of other faith.

Marriage is a Sacrament in the Catholic Church, so regardless of where it takes place or what adaptations in form are made, the dignity and solemnity of the occasion must always be upheld.

[Answer compliments of Dianna Emerson, Bonne Foi Bridals & Weddings]

Different Budget

What if we have a different budget than the $15,000.00 on the EZWeddingPlanner web page? Could you divide it up for us with a budget of $8,000?

You will pretty much have to do that yourself. It really depends on how many will be at your wedding. You need to decide which items are really important to you and allocate the money accordingly. For instance, you may want to have a private ceremony and larger reception, or spend more on photography and less on flowers or food. Or have a simple ceremony and a grand honeymoon. Or invite a small number of relatives and/or close friends and have an elaborate reception. You get the idea... It is imperative to discuss with parents or other wedding benefactors who is going to pay for what and how much everyone is willing to contribute, before you commit to expensive choices.

Destin, Florida

My daughter is planning a beach wedding in Destin, Florida next spring. Any neat ideas? We live in Mississippi, the bride lives in New York City and the groom is in the military, so we will be planning this wedding long distance. Since this will be a relatively small wedding, I would like to make it nice.......but we are on a budget. Any suggestions would be nice.

Try going to a major search engine (like Google) and searching on "Destin and FL". This will lead you to local hotels, bed and breakfasts, boat rentals, and other local vendors. Lots of these are directly on the beach and may provide a great wedding/reception location with facilities and people on staff to help you plan the details. If you book far enough in advance, you may be able to take over an entire B&B, depending on the number of people traveling to the wedding and your budget.

You may also want to consider using a wedding coordinator in the Destin area who can be a great help finding and dealing with local resources before any of you arrive. A local coordinator will certainly give you piece of mind and take a lot of the stress out of planning long-distance yourselves.

If the wedding is directly on the beach, consider some of the following:

A beach cookout and swimming in the ocean - guests come prepared and dress casually. You might want to have a tent or large umbrellas available at the beach so those who need to get out of the sun have somewhere to go. Also have lots of water available (to drink). Bring sun screen for guests who may have forgotten theirs. Bring blankets to sit and eat on (also in case the guests don't come prepared). You may need permits to host a party on the beach. Consider port-a-potty rental if you are far away from rest room facilities. Outside weddings are always subject to weather, so you may want to have a plan B in case the weather is nasty.