Catholic church wedding

I would talk to the priest. Let them know you've been coming but haven't formally registered and let him know when you would like to get married. I'm sure they would be willing to work with you on that.

I would suggest you talk to the wedding coordinator from the church you want to get marry at, and tell them your situation (not registered but attend regularly, donation were in cash format - they can't track unless you are registered!).

For my church, the "active" time zone is X months before your wedding date, therefore you can secure the date and start "being active"!

Hi Juliana! Welcome to WeddingWire and congrats on your engagement! I agree, talking to the church/Priest is a great first step, here! I am sure they would be willing to work with you.

How many guests will you be inviting to your April 2020 wedding day?

Congratulations on your engagement! I would start calling the coordinator's of churches that you may be interested in booking and see what they say. My DH was set on having a family friend, who is a Catholic priest, marry us. His home parish didn't have much availability. We called other churches and in our experience not being an active member wasn't an issue. Of course I can't guarantee that it will be the same for you, but we talked to more than a dozen and they all were willing to check their availability for us. In the end, our priest's home parish became available on a Saturday and we ended up hosting it there. I wish you lots of luck!

I had been attending my church for 8 years and wasn’t a member. When I called to ask about our date, I asked if that was a problem and they said no. I went ahead and registered anyway.
You still have 16 months before your wedding. I think you have plenty of time. Go ahead and get registered and then talk with the priest.

This sounds weird. As a Catholic, I've never been forced to attend mass or have to be "active in the church" , even if it was to get married. Especially the restriction that you must bring your own priest?

Well those are the rules in Pittsburgh, Pa. check it out

View Quoted Comment Thank you Maren. About 120 guests.

View Quoted Comment Thank You. I will call them.

View Quoted Comment Thats what I thought. What if I didn’t register but was attending. Will do. Thank you

View Quoted Comment

That's a great number, Juliana!

View Quoted Comment In Catholicism there are 10 Commandments. One of the Commandments is, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy". By not attending mass on Sunday's then one is breaking the Commandment and commiting a sin.

View Quoted Comment So you're saying if you attend mass on Saturday instead Sunday, you're committing a sin?

There is a lot of diversity in how Catholic churches approach this so don’t be too discouraged if people here have different experiences. We had family friends who had to change their whole wedding plans due to finicky church rules. It all depends on the priest and the diocese. I hope you’re able to work something out.

Definitely talk to your priest. My fiancé wasn’t a member of his church until about a month ago and his priest is most likely marrying us. Obviously that’s within the 6 months that you mentione d

We ran into the same problem because we never officially became members of a church when we moved to Denver. I would talk to the priest of the church you tend to go to or talk to the head of the Diocese. We’re having our weddings in Pittsburgh where we grew up (not the churches our families belong to though) and the head of the Diocese really worked with us to find a church and priest to do the marriage. I’m not sure where in Pittsburgh you’re looking at but St. Stanislaus in the strip district have been very willing to work with us. The priest there is also new (we’re using a different priest that is now retired) so he may be more flexible with membership requirements that a lot of other churches really adhere to.

I am getting married in a Catholic Church that I have never attended mass to, I just really love the long aisle. What they did ask is if we are a member at any other we get a letter saying that they are aware of us getting married at a different church. You should be able to find a Catholic Church for your ceremony.

View Quoted Comment No, not at all.

View Quoted Comment Lmao. Good question.

View Quoted Comment Thank you Leigh