No Bridal Party? Catholic Wedding

I have not personally had a Catholic ceremony. But, I am Catholic and I have been to several wedding. Yes, the bridal party sits in the front pews. Usually males on one side and females on the other, but that's not always the case. I have seen people from the bridal party do the readings but sometimes in another family member / friend not in the bridal party.

It's pretty normal not to see a flower girl in Catholic weddings. I have seen it once but they had someone come by after the ceremony and pick all the flower petals up.

I did not have a flower girl at my Catholic wedding. I didn't want to deal with small children other than my own daughter, who was a jr bridesmaid. I had 3 bridesmaids and groomsmen though. Also a reader and alter server. Don't let the deacon talk you out of it if that's what you want. Just make sure you have the other positions filled as well.

We're not allowed to have flowers thrown either, but I am extremely close to my nieces and wanted them to be a part of the day, so we're still having them walk down in flower girl dresses.

BP is up to you. You don't need one, but if you want one, it is your day!

As former flower girl in my cousin's wedding years ago, we handed out flowers to the first person in each pew.

And the wedding party doesn't need to do anything beyond sit or stand where they're supposed to and support you both. So what if they don't serve a ritualistic purpose. If you want a wedding party, do it!

You can have all these people if you want them.

He is right, most are not necessary.

But you need two witnesses at the least.

If a bridal party is what you want, that is what you should have

And fwiw, you two are the important ones and the deacon facilitates. In the Catholic rite, the couple performs the sacrament.

Sounds like he may be trying to speed the ceremony along. I could be wrong of course

Instead of throwing petals your flower girl can just hold a bouquet.

My priest didn't make any comments like that I think because he's not marrying us inside the church, he's going to our venue. However, he did talk about how he wants myself and the BP to dress. I already bought my dress at that point and it just happened to be okay in his eyes, but he was saying he wants all BMs to have their shoulders covered. I have one BM who is wearing strapless and another who is wearing a dress with one strap. I am not going to make them change. It's more important to me that my BMs are happy because I know they are hurting no one in their dresses. He can't stop the wedding over it, and I feel like he's just required to tell me because it's under their guidelines. Churches in general are very judgmental so just have that in the back of your mind. You have the wedding you want. I went to a church wedding last September with 9 BMs and a flower girl. You can have what you want even if your priest doesn't see the value in it. You're paying them to officiate your wedding, and while they can tell you what they'd prefer to see, you and your FH have the final say on everything.

Didn't run into any of this for our Catholic wedding. Both our families and a lot of our friends are Catholic and I've never heard of this. The Church did say our flower girls couldn't throw petals, but they just carried a small bouquet instead.

Our church hasn't said anything like this. We're planning on having people not in the party do the readings to include more people. I've never been to a wedding where the flower girl actually throws flowers, even when I was a flower girl for my aunts wedding when I was six, I just carried a basket of flowers. But it definitely made me feel special, so I'd say worth still including her.

I've never seen flower girls throw petals in a church, most don't let them. I've seen them carry bouquets or baskets of flowers. I was a flower girl in 1971 (that makes me feel old) and just carried a basket of flowers. Also, the bridesmaids have always sat in the first pew. Have the bridal party you want. Yes, the wedding is between the two of you but you can still incorporate a bridal party. He seems cranky.

I think the deacon may be over simplifying things a little. A bridal party doesn't mean what it used to but it's a tradition, if you want bridesmaids then have them. If you have some picked out for flower girl do it. The priest prepping us said the bridal party are likely the people closest to you so that's why they should stand out as not just a regular guest.

I've attended lots of Catholic weddings and yes the WP sits, stands, kneels in the first row. Whether or not to have them is totally up to you. Not being able to throw petals doesn't mean you can't have a FG if you want.

Thanks guys. I understand we can do whatever we want, I really just wanted to understand what others have done to get some ideas of what we could do. We don't really care about having a bridal party one way or another. Our close friends will be there no matter what either way. Becky C. I love the idea of handing out flowers to the first person in each pew. That's a super cute idea! Consider it stolen!

I didn't encounter any problem with our Deacon. Our wedding entourage are as follows:

1 male and female (witnesses/godparents)

Best man, Matron of honor, (1) Bridesmaid

And since we're having a traditional Filipino wedding, we're have a

veil , cord and arrhae sponsors . No flower girl or ring bearer.

We also have 3 readers

First reading; Second reading and responsorial psalm . These last 3 though are not going to join the processional march.

You definitely can have your niece join. Just have her carry a basket of flowers or a kissing ball. It may seem pointless to your deacon having an x number in your wedding party but it's not his wedding, its yours. Make your ceremony as memorable as you want. Congratulations and best wishes to you and your FH!

Here's a picture of what's a veil and cord ceremony looks like.