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Weddings

About

Contemporary and Traditional Catholic Weddings is a wedding officiant service based in Merrifield, Virginia, that facilitates ceremonies for to-be-weds in the state of Virginia. Father Jason C. Lody is a licensed officiant based in the parish of Saint Anthony of Padua, a member of the American National Catholic Church. This officiant service offers a wedding ceremony free of judgment and distinct from those available through the Roman Catholic Church.

Services Offered

Booking a ceremony through Contemporary and Traditional Catholic Weddings is straightforward, with staff readily available for contact. Father Jason understands the importance of your special day and thus guarantees that he will commit to a maximum of one wedding per day. This officiant is willing to help personalize your ceremony and travel to your wedding venue. He is licensed to conduct ceremonies in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York.

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Frequently asked questions

Which of the following are included in the price of your wedding officiant services?

Premarital Counseling

Does starting price include the ceremony rehearsal?

No

What is the starting price for ceremony rehearsals?

$100

What types of weddings and events do you provide services for?

Non-religious
Interfaith
Ceremony Rehearsal
Vow Renewal

What services do you provide?

Premarital Counseling
Bilingual

What religious affiliations do you serve?

Anglican
Baptist
Catholic
Episcopalian
Lutheran
Methodist
No Denomination
Orthodox Christian
Presbyterian
Unitarian

On average, how long are wedding ceremonies you officiate?

Less than 30 mins.
30-60 mins.

In which states are you licensed?

DC
MD
NJ
NY
VA
WV

What languages do you speak?

English
Spanish

Reviews of Contemporary and Traditional Catholic Weddings

This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Review summary

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Father Jason is praised for crafting heartfelt, highly personalized ceremonies that blend Catholic, interfaith, and secular elements and can include Spanish translation. Couples commend his warmth, sense of humor, responsiveness, and premarital guidance. He adapts traditions for outdoor venues, includes meaningful touches (even pets), and is highly recommended.

Review summary

Powered by AI
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Father Jason is praised for crafting heartfelt, highly personalized ceremonies that blend Catholic, interfaith, and secular elements and can include Spanish translation. Couples commend his warmth, sense of humor, responsiveness, and premarital guidance. He adapts traditions for outdoor venues, includes meaningful touches (even pets), and is highly recommended.

Laura
Laura Sent on 06/30/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Loved him!

Fr. Jason recently officiated our wedding on 6/24/23. I was raised Catholic and my husband is not religious. Fr. Jason was a perfect compromise for us and my mom, who really wanted us to have a religious ceremony (her preference would have been a full catholic mass). Fr. Jason worked with us on picking readings and created a ceremony for us that was a good combination of religion and spirituality. It felt very personal to us and we could not have asked for a better officiant. We got lots of compliments about how great the service was. Fr. Jason was a highlight of our wedding day for sure! I don't think you could find a nicer man to officiate your wedding.
H
Hannah Sent on 11/10/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Father Jason made our day so special!

We cannot say enough wonderful things about Father Jason! He went above and beyond to make our ceremony personal, meaningful, and heartfelt. Our ceremony ended up being our absolute favorite part of the entire day, and we will forever be grateful for the care and intention he put into it. We could not recommend him more highly!
Ashley
Ashley Sent on 10/25/2025
5 out of 5 rating

october wedding at lydia mountain

Father Jason created such a memorable ceremony that even some of our non-religious friends and family were blown away by. While we only had a couple of conversations throughout the wedding planning process, he was able to capture our relationship so beautifully. He also somehow got a letter written up by my dog! Who knows how he was able to do that but you could definitely tell that God was shining down on our day. He was also able to make a catholic style ceremony into something that non-catholics could still follow and not seem out of place.
Shannon
Shannon Sent on 10/15/2025
5 out of 5 rating

A Captivating and Deeply Personal Wedding Ceremony with Father Jason

Father Jason made our wedding ceremony so heartfelt and personal! We appreciated how he took the time to truly get to know us. He even wrote his own reflection about our dog, which meant so much to us -- such a thoughtful and touching way to include her in the day. Beyond that, Father Jason is an incredibly captivating orator. His words carried such warmth, wisdom, and sincerity that you could feel the entire room hanging onto every word!
B
Bicibicibic Sent on 05/06/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Kind, compassionate, and fun

As a same sex couple both growing up Catholic,it was important to have some elements of our religion in our wedding. It was also important that we had someone who could speak Spanish and translate portions of our ceremony for those that only spoke Spanish. Father Jason did both! He was very accommodating for our requests, and informative in guiding us on how the ceremony will flow. We were able to meet on a video call 1-2 times and he always responded pretty quickly. The day of the wedding we were both nervous we opted out of doing our own vows. He filled that part in better than we could have. It focused on love and marriage and our future together. It was meaningful for us in that moment because his advice is something I’ll always think of in our marriage. Would highly reccomend Jason, and hope one day to visit the his when we are in town in the future . Thank you!!
Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn Sent on 09/10/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Perfect ceremony!!

Father Jason was amazing and officiated a beautiful ceremony for my groom and I. It was very tailored to our personalities and made specific to us. Father Jason also provided pre-marital counseling and assisted with the planning of the ceremony. Everything was designed and planned so easily. I would definitely recommend Father Jason to anyone getting married in the future!
C
Callie Sent on 07/11/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Perfect officiant!

We hired Fr. Jason Lody for our June wedding and he did a fantastic job! We were looking for a Catholic priest that would be able to marry us at our venue outside of the church, and when we found Jason we knew he’d be a perfect fit as our officiant. He had a sense of humor that we and our guests loved and even wanted to participate in receiving a beer from our beer boy so that he could “cheers” with my husband at the altar!
Emma
Emma Sent on 06/05/2023
5 out of 5 rating

An amazing officiant

Father Jason was an incredible find when looking for a officiant for our wedding. We wanted to have the Catholic traditions in our ceremony but also celebrate it outside. Father Jason was extremely prompt and easy to work with during the entire process. He made everything easy and not stressful and the ceremony he performed was everything I could hope for. I highly recommend Father Jason!
K
Kelly Sent on 05/27/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Personal Ceremony & Great Support

Father Jason recently presided over our wedding ceremony. We are so happy he was able to be our officiant! My husband is Jewish and I am Catholic. Both of us wanted to incorporate various religious aspects into our wedding, to make it meaningful to both our upbringings. Father Jason was the perfect officiant to help us do just that! While Father Jason is Catholic, he is extremely knowledgeable about different faiths and their various traditions as well. He has a lot of experience presiding over interfaith marriage ceremonies, so he was able to help guide us to a ceremony which was meaningful to us both. From our first meeting with him, to our last, he was so welcoming, understanding, supportive, and personable! He helped us craft a perfect ceremony which seamlessly blended both our faith traditions. He also gave us lots of valuable relationship advice along the way, each time we met with him. In our ceremony, we were able to include two readings from the Bible, we signed a Ketubah during our ceremony, had a reading of the Seven Blessings, and my husband stomped on the glass at the end of our ceremony. He explained the various traditions along the way, which I felt engaged our guests and helped them understand the significance of each tradition. His ceremony was very personal and meaningful to us both. He was also very personable, made a few jokes at the exact right moments during our ceremony, and had our guests very engaged. We are extremely happy with the services he was able to provide us!
Paul
Paul Sent on 03/23/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Thank You Father Jason!

Fr. Jason was unbelievable. I can’t believe how special he made our day. My wife and I wanted to have religion in our wedding while at the same time having a ceremony outside of the church. Being Catholics our whole life, this was a challenge for us and our families. But when Fr. Jason stepped into the process of our special day I knew all our worries were solved with his kindness, ability; and attention to every detail. Thanks again Fr. Jason as I wish you the best with all things post our special day.
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Awards

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WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2022 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2020 Winner

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