Are church weddings not a thing anymore esp with older couples?

I don't personally think that age correlates to whether or not someone has a religious ceremony. Also many people still have religious elements without being married in a church or with a full mass. FH and I are in our 20's and will be getting married in a Catholic church with a full mass. My sister and future brother in law will also be getting married in a Catholic church next year and they are in their 20's as well. Just to keep adding to the list ... I had a supervisor about 60 years old who was dating a man and she refused to live with him until they get married in a church.

I think it depends. If church plays a role in someones life they are probably more likely to get married there. I dont go to church regularly, so i personally would not be comfortable getting married in one. But my friend got married in a church and it was one of the most beautiful things I have seen. It's all about what you and FH want

We are getting married in an outdoor civil ceremony, future hubby is NOT into religion so that was not an option. I have been to many church weddings in my lifetime (I am 52, future hubby is 52 as well, never been married). My future MIL is a bit bent about it not being in a church but oh well.....

Have your wedding, your way!

I do think a lot of people have civil weddings so they can play the music they want! LOL!

When I was younger, I always thought I'd get married in a church or my high school's chapel, which is beautiful. But, now, as one of the old people from your example, I'm getting married at a wedding venue. It's the first marriage for both of us, who are in our 40s, but we're just not religious at all anymore. Some family members are disappointed, but it's not their call.

I also have personal and ethical reasons for not supporting the Catholic religion in which I was raised, and I think that has nothing to do with age. Most weddings I've been to, among both friends and family, have been in churches though.

DH and I got married in a church and honestly wouldn't want it any other way. He is 43 and I am 45. I think it's a personal choice.

I think this is partially because more and more reception venues now include ceremony packages. It's easier, more convenient and you don't have to travel from site to site. I am 24 and DH is 27. We considered a church but ultimately had our ceremony at our reception venue because of the gorgeous ocean backdrop and we didn't have to transport our bridal party. Plus there are often gaps with church ceremonies. The other weddings we've attended, half of them had a church ceremony.

I just think people don't want to follow all the church's rules. Brides and grooms come on her distraught because they lived together before marriage or they had a kid out of wedlock and now their pastor/priest/etc. won't marry them, and that's kind of bullshit.

I'm the kind of Christian who believes that God doesn't hate me for living the life that's right for me, even if it means sex/living together before marriage, and I haven't found a church yet that agreed with that. So we aren't members of any church nor are we getting married in one.

I can't imagine setting foot in a church, much less having one of the most important moments of my life in a place that make me so uncomfortable.

The past 5 weddings I have been to have not been in a church. I personally feel like church weddings are less common nowadays with all ages.

I've only been to four weddings, and 3/4 were in a church. 2 Nazarene ceremonies (one of them even had a gay Man of Honor present) and one baptist ceremony.

The most important thing for FH and I was to get married at our church since it is a huge part of our relationship. It was the first thing we booked, everything else was secondary. A member of our couple's small group is a pastor at the church, and we have asked him to officiate the ceremony because we want it to be someone that knows us.

My church is extremely accepting, and I would say it is rather liberal. It is a very large United Methodist Church and our congregation is 60% conservative and 40% liberal, but I would honestly assume that close to half of the church is more moderate than anything. We have a lot of young couples that have lived together before marriage that attend our church (including FH and I), and nobody is shamed for it.

I think non-church weddings are getting more common in general. Society overall is getting more secular, and many who would otherwise have an attachment to a church wind up marrying someone of a different religious tradition, making a church wedding difficult/impossible (mostly thinking of Catholics, here...I think every Catholic friend of mine has married a Jewish man). In addition, I think going for an outdoor/scenic ceremony is just getting more popular, whether it's a secular ceremony or not.

That said, I wouldn't say that no one outside their 20s do it, half of the (few) church weddings I went to were for older couples. Get married where you want to, there's nothing weird about it.

I think a lot of people just want outside ceremonies.

I couldn't imagine getting married in a church because I'm atheist. It would have as much meaning to me as getting married in a McDonald's.

@Nas, for the record, your post sounds just as judgmental.

Not everyone is a Christian or Catholic, or even religious.

People get married wherever they want. I'm 28 and my FH is 31 and we are getting married at our venue (rooftop and loft) because we are not religious. Getting married outside the church or any place of worship has nothing to do with age.

I don't think @Nas sounded judgmental at all. There are a lot of rules and customs in places of worship that just don't vibe well for a lot of people. And things like gaps between ceremonies and receptions and having to drive to another venue do suck for everyone.

@Catti what was the point of saying the only Church wedding she attended started late and every other wedding has started on time (and was better)? Our Church wedding was on time, and the secular wedding we just attended started 20 minutes late, but I wouldn't hint that this had anything to do with their lack of religion because that has nothing to do with it. OP definitely could have worded her post better, but saying things like this is why you distance yourself from the Church is weird to me. It's one post. From one person. On and Internet forum. Not everyone who is religious is judgmental. ETA: we didn't have a gap. Our reception venue was a 10 minute drive from the Church. I personally think a destination wedding or a weekday wedding requiring people to take off work are much more inconvenient for guests, but maybe that's just me.

I would have thought it would be the other way around. Younger couples are more likely not to have a religion. Even if they have, they are more likely to move around a lot and thus not have a regular church that they would think of when planning a wedding. Older couples grew up at a time when a church was pretty much the only place people had first weddings, and are more likely to continue that tradition.

Whatever the statistics may be, NotFroofy and I were 56 and 41 when we got married. It was my second marriage, but her first. And we got married in a synagogue.

I think it really just depends where you live now and days. Since I moved to California, only 3 weddings I have been to/in were in a church, but most were presided over by some sort of minister (not a layman officiant). When I still lived in Georgia, every wedding I went to was in a church. Ours is in a nondenominational chapel because my church isn't really set up for weddings anymore. I think it is just more of preference, and not age.

It was convenient to have everything in one location for us. Less planning, less decorating. Less work in my opinion.