Catholic weddings and ceremonies can be traced back to the beginning of Christianity. Celebration of marriage in the Catholic Church has become a detailed and graceful affair. Marriage in the Catholic Church is considered sacred and has to be performed in a church in order to receive God's blessing. They firmly believe that marriage is ordained by God and therefore it cannot be broken through divorce which is strictly prohibited by the church. The couple surrenders to each other completely and promises to love one another forever. In extreme cases and with a nod from the Pope, the marriage can be annulled and is therefore considered never to have existed. If you are to be married in the Catholic Church, then you can opt to get a papal blessing; special good wishes and blessing from the Pope himself.

The Catholic Church considers marriage to be a sacrament. The couple must undergo counseling by their priest so that they are aware of what marriage means to the Church. This period of counseling to prepare the couple for marriage is called Pre-Cana. It maybe conducted for up to six moths before the wedding day. The couple can choose to do the three day course or the one day course.

It's a preference of the church that both the bride and the groom be baptized members of the Catholic Church. If one of them is not, then a bishop has to consent to an exemption that is referred to as the disparity of the cult. However, owing to the rise in inter-religion marriages, the Church has had to considerably relax on this rule. They now allow Catholics to get married to non Catholics as long as they both understand that their marriage is meant to last forever.

Three Sundays before the wedding the priest will announce the upcoming union in marriage of the boy and the girl. The announcement is made so that anyone who might want to reveal damaging information about either the bride or the groom is compelled to come forward and stop the nuptials before it is too late.

The Wedding Ceremony

Catholic couples may opt to have their ceremony performed together with a full mass. After the wedding party enters the church and settles down, a full catholic mass follows. The priest prays, then a reading from the Bible follows and then a homily; a short sermon on the significance of marriage.

The sacramental rite of marriage is then officiated by the priest. The rite includes an exchange of wedding vows by the couple, lighting of the unity candle and a blessing said for the wedding rings. This symbolizes the faith that the bride and the groom have in one another. To conclude, the priest gives the official blessing of the church to the couple and to their new marriage. The catholic guests then partake in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. A closing prayer is then offered blessing the newly wed couple and their union. If a couple wants a wedding without the entire mass, the same process is followed except the partaking of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.