Catholic Church Fee - NYC

But doesn't the Catholic church not recognize any ceremonies performed outside the church? Sounds like a religion based issue to me.....

Rock and a hard place, sounds like.

IHJ, it's not just land, it's the fact that in order to be recognized as an actual union in the eyes of the church, you HAVE to do it in the church, and therefore you HAVE to pay.

@M, its the cost of living in NYC. Everything here is expensive! Not just churches. Food, apartments, drinks, etc. Its a trade off for living in or near one of the largest cities in the world. The county I live in is one of the most expensive places to live in the country because of its proximity to NYC.

If I were to just rent a park thats at least $100. Thats not including the officiant, linens, food, etc.

Also, please don't turn this into a religious vs secular debate. Around here renting just the officiant is around $200 and up. Thats not including the cost of location and music (which I bet was quoted to her as part of the package).

ETA, The cost of a JOP wedding around here would probably also be within range. The price I quoted includes both secular and non secular officiants. I know its a tough pill to swallow for non New Yorkers, but NYC isn't a cheap place to live or get married!

Thanks all for the feedback given thus far. My fiancé and I have done our paperwork with our parish priest and our pre-cana marriage prep classes begin next Monday. And I am most definitely open to marrying during a scheduled Mass so will look into that option also. And I have no intention of marrying outside a catholic church. I can honestly say I am one of those people who believe catholic people should be married inside a catholic church (hence my search). My fiancé and I have both lost our mothers so I know if they were both here, they would love to see their children marry in a church. I guess you could say we're (especially myself) are fulfilling our mums' last wishes.

@mm, it's more complicated than that. The Church recognizes many marriages as valid even if they're not sacramental. They recognize baptisms of other churches too provided that it's done with the proper formula.

Agreed with other posters, it's a regional issue. Our church and use of the parish hall is free. We'll provide stipends for the priests and servers, but they're voluntary.

If anything, with the amount of resources, free classes, etc that local churches offer, they're not trying to prohibit marriages at all - it's the opposite. They want to make sure that people are prepared and know the meaning of what they're doing instead of going into it blindly or not having discussed important issues.

NY (and the surrounding area) is an expensive place to live too, which is part of why officiants here charge more than officiants even in south Jersey. The least professional officiants I know charge at least 250.00; the best, up to 1000.00 and more.

Fees for church members are what they are because common wisdom is that members tithe 10% of their income as a donation.