Traditional Catholic Ceremony- Guest count?

You invite everyone to both. If they are uncomfortable going to a catholic ceremony, they can choose on their own to skip it.

Catholics are Christian. Invite everyone to both. The church will make an announcement about how to handle communion.

Invite everyone to both. We had Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist, and Protestant friends at our Catholic ceremony. Our priest was great at always telling everyone when to sit, stand, or kneel and at explaining communion. They’re used to it.

Would you consider putting the elements of the Mass into your ceremony program? I grew up catholic but am getting married in the episcopal church that FH grew up in. They hand out a program for every service with the prayers, readings, etc. I plan to make this a part of my regular ceremony program.

So are you planning on inviting people based on their Catholic/Christian religion ? That's fu***d up! You invite ALL to recpetion and ceremony. Since you honed in on the religion thing, that's like saying one isn't good enough over the other for you to have at the ceremony.

You should invite everyone to both the ceremony and reception, otherwise it's a tiered wedding, which is very rude. The only exception to this is if you have an immediate family only ceremony.

Why not? I'm Catholic and go to Jewish, Hindu and Muslim etc weddings. No one is asking me to convert. And if he is not Catholic you will not be having a full Catholic mass with communion so it will be less awkward for other people.

We are having a Catholic ceremony and not a Mass with communion since FH isn't Catholic. Every guest is invited to the ceremony. I second having a program or the officiant tell people when to stand/sit.

Invite everyone to both. Give the priest a heads up that FH's family is not Catholic. They may incorporate a few things to help them feel more welcome. My cousin got married in a full mass a few weeks ago and FH's family is not Catholic. During the receiving of the host, the priest explained that you could still come up and receive a blessing if you were not able to receive the host, it was a nice way to include everyone.

I appreciate the comments everyone. We are having a fully Catholic ceremony, as tradition states that both people don't have to be Catholic, and it will be mostly in Latin. I was really afraid of making people uneasy about such a strict/formal/unusual wedding. Someone had told me that splitting up the invites would be a smart move but I wasn't sure so I figured I'd ask folks that know what they are talking about. Like I said, weddings are a whole new experience for me as mine will be the first I've ever been to. Thanks again for the opinions!

I was raised orthodox and am now agnostic. I've been to several traditional catholic wedding ceremonies, I would feel weird if I wasn't invited due to my religious background. I'm there to support the couple no matter what

We're both Catholic converts. Of 280 invited guests 40 were Catholic and only 30 or so are practicing.

Talk to the priest and the wedding coordinator. If it's a wedding between a baptized non-Catholic and Catholic there's a different format that is used and it typically does not include communion unless you insist on it. I'd certainly talk to your FH about that because it might be awkward to have it since he can't partake.

No need to limit the ceremony and in fact it can be a great tool to introduce people to what the Catholic church is.

ETA: We did not determine who was invited based on if they were Catholic or not clearly. We did have one person decline to come to the ceremony because he is uncomfortable being in churches.

I was raised Baptist and I would go to a Catholic wedding. I've never been to one so I'd be clueless and lost, but that's not a big deal. The vows are the what everyone will be there to witness.

I wasn't raised in church, but I went to Catholic mass with my cousins all the time. Even as a child, I could take cues from the others in the room on when to sit, stand or kneel. And furthermore, no one is required to do those things. They can sit quietly and respectfully.

Invite everyone to both.

I went to a Catholic mass in Italy once, just for the experience of it. It was in Latin and I understood exactly 0% of it, I'm not even close to Catholic, and I could figure out what to do to look appropriate by watching other people.

Also, by "Christian", you mean Protestant. Catholics are Christians too. So many people get that mixed up, and it weirdly bothers me, even though I'm not religious.

You can do a couple options in the ceremony. You can have a full or a partial. You have options. I'd invite them to both