Any ideas for a wedding ceremony since my boyfriend has been previously married?

Question

My boyfriend and I are planning to get married, however, he's been divorced (married for only 4 years) and we have different religions (I'm Catholic; he's Protestant). Do you know if we can get married in a Catholic church? If not, do you have any other ideas for a wedding ceremony?

Answer 1

Make sure he’s on board with the whole pre-canna process if you want a Catholic wedding.

Then speak to the priest of the church where you wan to get married. His answer will depend on his local bishop. You’d think there would be hard and fast rules, but it’s all about the traditionalism of your dioceses’ bishop and his interpretation of the Vatican’s stance.

Purely out of curiosity because I was raised Catholic but married by a Protestant minister, I tried to figure out if the big C recognizes my marriage. Some sources say that since it was a Christian wedding, I’m married. Others say because there was no Catholic priest I’m not. It honestly doesn’t matter to me because I stay far, far away from the cult.

Answer 2

You need to talk to the priest to find out if you can get married in a Catholic church. Chances are 50/50 and I think it depends on the denomination of Protestant.  

Yes, you can do as I'm doing. You can either marry in a non-denominational chapel or at a non-religious venue such as a restaurant or even the hall where you are going to have your reception (they often have 2 different rooms for these occasions.  At our local Lions club, the room was split in half. The wedding was on one side, the reception on the other.  After they cut the cake, they opened the other side which had been cleared of the wedding stuff and the DJ assembled and dancing all on that side.

Answer 3

You cannot get married in the church unless he can get an annulment, which isn't easy.

There are many wedding chapels that are not associated with a church.  Weddings in parks, back yards or on the beach are also nice.

Answer 4

you might be able to, however most likely he'll have to get an annulment.  If you want to get married Catholic he should start this NOW.  It takes awhile (at least a year).  He'll only need an annulment if: both him and his ex wife were baptized and if they were religiously married (not JOP).  

If you don't want to go the annulment route you could get married Lutheran ... They accept everyone in their church :)

Good Luck!

Answer 5

You need to have a talk with your parish priest on the specifics in your diocese - it may depend upon your fiance's denomination, he may need to get an annulment, which takes a lot of time, for example. Otherwise, just so you know, you two would have to take premarital classes, and he would have to agree to raise the children Catholic.

Aside from a religious ceremony, you can choose to have a civil wedding almost anywhere!

Answer 6

The Catholic church will have to annul the wedding giving him dispensation of some sort & then he will have to convert to Catholicism & agree to rear your children in that religion.

Might want to consider  another place for your ceremony rather than in a church like the venue where you have your reception, or a hotel, winery, Art museum.  And then, find someone who will perform an interfaith ceremony (if you want to include both religions)

To find an officiant..........

Type into your search engine this--your

city state wedding officiant

There will be ones in your area to come up. If you go to the bridal sites, visit the officiant's web site. Those bridal sites (wedplan, knot,) make vendors & officiants pay for your contact info & some just can't/won't do it.

Also you can contact AAWO--they have ALL kinds of officiants from Rabbis to Humanisits to Pagan Priestesses to retired Priests.

I am a nondenominational minister therefore I am free to perform interfaith & civil ceremonies as I'm not bound by any particular creed or dogma.

Answer 7

I don't think you can get married in a Catholic church because of his divorce.

Why not get married in a garden or another location like that? Find an officiant who can combine both of your faiths to make the day special for you.