Outside and catholic ceremony.

I understand why you would have both. But I do think if you’re going to do two, it makes more sense to have the Catholic Church ceremony first. From what I understand, they do not recognize a marriage unless it’s in the church. So if I were catholic and it was important enough to marry in the church, I would want it to be there first and foremost. That being said, maybe you could do a small ceremony in your church before going to your venue to do the outside wedding. That way it’s all in the same day.

View Quoted Comment You’re right. I think that’s the best way to go!

You should check out Mass on the Grass liturgies to get an idea of how you could blend both together.

DH and I were told, in no uncertain terms by the priest at his church, that the Catholic church will not perform any mass outside of an actual church.

I don't think what you want is possible.

DH and I were told, in no uncertain terms by the priest at his church, that the Catholic church will not perform any mass outside of an actual church.

I don't think what you want is possible.

View Quoted Comment I recently saw pictures of an outdoor wedding done with an obviously catholic priest in full regalia. It might vary a little between individual churches... Even amongst catholic ones, some are more traditional than others.

View Quoted Comment

The priest was very likely operating outside of the church, then.

We did not end up getting married in the Church, but this was not a parish by parish thing. This was Doctrine from the Pope kind of Thing.

I know people who have had a Catholic wedding outside, but it wasn’t a mass. I don’t know any of the details on how or why this was able to happen.
Your best option is to talk to your priest about what your options are. My priest was more than willing to work with me, but we wound up just having the ceremony in the church.

Definitely check with the priest. Convalidation is not a given thing - it's up to the discretion of the priest/diocese and absolutely does not have to be granted. Typically it's for extenuating circumstances, like one spouse didn't convert to Catholocism til after the wedding, or an annulment was recently granted,etc. "we wanted to get married outside" is not going to be a good enough reason in a lot of cases. It for sure just depends on your church - so I would ask before making any solid plans!