Catholic Weddings

Catholics are the greatest denomination in number in the world. Their wedding ceremony has several procedures. The wedding takes place in a 'Catholic Parish' and held with the context of mass or wedding held outside the context of the mass. The most important things in the ceremony are the unity candles, cards, gifts and cakes. There are several procedures to follow for conducting a catholic wedding ceremony.

First, the place where the wedding should be conducted is fixed. Virgin Mary is honored. Then the parents of the children ask permission for conducting the wedding in their church. Approval and the processing come from the church higher authorities. They decide the conductor of the wedding. Preparations and classes are given to the bride and the groom. Then, they decide along with parents about reading wedding blessings, reading poems, papal blessings and write their own intercessions.

Choosing right music for the ceremony and selections of processional, prelude and recessional hymns and unity candle selection are done by the family members and is conveyed to the concerned people.

Basically, Catholic wedding ceremony resembles the usual Sunday mass except few features included. Ceremony within the context of mass consists of, the Liturgy of Word, which includes 3 readings from the scripture, a responsorial Psalm and a homily.

When the bride and groom get married Nuptial rite is given. The 3rd is the Liturgy of Eucharist.

The Catholic wedding ceremony or the mass begins with the processional hymn sung by the gathering. The ceremony may or may not include greeting which will be the next order of the mass. The gathering song is sung by everyone. The Liturgy of the Word is given. They first read scriptures from the book of Old Testament and this the 1st reading. Then, a responsorial Psalm is read or can be sung.

The 2nd reading is from the New Testament followed by the gospel acclamation (This is usually sung). The gospel reading and homily are followed after gospel acclamation.

The rite for the marriage is read, when everyone stands before the priest. The priest asks few questions about their faithfulness to each other, the acceptance of both, and about the upbringing of the children. Then the bride and the groom exchange vows. All the priests bless them. They exchange the wedding rings, which are blessed and given to them.

Liturgy of Eucharist is preceded. They sing hymns while preparing the altar. Gifts are presented and the Eucharistic prayer follows.

The Holy Communion and the nuptial blessing are given. The concluding rite is the final blessings given to everyone present in the Catholic wedding ceremony. Reception and introduction of the wedded couple takes place followed by feast.

Catholic wedding music is valued because it helps the congregation pray together. As St. Augustine said, "He who sings, prays twice."

Remember that a Catholic wedding is a celebration of the Catholic mass, so Catholic wedding music should be prayerful and beautiful. The wedding is regarded as a mystical, magnificent Eucharistic liturgy which is a sacred event. The church may have a preset selection of music that is to be used at weddings, although the couple is usually allowed some leeway for their own choices.

Classical music works well as Catholic wedding music because of its beauty and reverence. In short, pieces by J.S. Bach, Pachel, Handel, and Mozart are excellent choices. Can contemporary songs be included? This is up to the individual church. The music must meet the guidelines outlined before of beauty and celebrating the sacredness of the marriage vows.

Segments of the Catholic wedding include...

Prelude

Candle Lighting

Processional Music for Bridesmaid

Processional of the Bride

Responsorial Psalm

Offertory Song

Communion Song

Communion Mediation

Presentation of Gifts

Communion

Recessional

Hymns are sung just as for any service occurring in the church. The words of the hymns must convey the love of God and the permanence of the marriage bond. These hymns can be found in the church's hymnal, and some suggestions are...

Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart)

Panis Angelicus (Franck)

Soul of My Savior

Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All