Evangelizing Through The Beauty of Your Catholic Wedding

Your wedding liturgy offers a wonderful opportunity to witness not just the love you and your fiancé share, but also the beauty of the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage and sacrificial love! There are subtle but profound ways you can evangelize to your wedding guests, all within the guidelines the Church has for liturgy .

Your guest list likely includes not just practicing Catholics, but also fallen-away Catholics, confused Catholics, Protestant and Orthodox Christians, and those of other beliefs, or even no beliefs at all. In fact, your wedding may be the first time someone has set foot in a Catholic Church or their first return in decades, and yet, they are there out of love for you and your fiancé!

With this consideration, make your ceremony a beautiful and welcoming exposure to the Catholic Faith.

Even for a small wedding, having greeters in the vestibule to hand out programs (or direct to a table or stand where the programs or worship aids are) is a nice touch and offers a part in the wedding for a young teen or a friend that offers help. Ushers are also a helpful, even for a small wedding, because some guests may not know where they should appropriately sit in a Catholic Church (many of our weddings utilize the groomsmen to help seat the arriving guests). This will also help if your church has limitations on where photographers can be, such as remaining behind the last row of seated guests.

One of the first things your guests will encounter when entering the church on your wedding day is likely the prelude music. Those selections are most often classic instrumental pieces appropriate for liturgical celebrations and/or more traditional hymns. Having a common theme with your wedding music helps to make a cohesive ceremony, from the first prelude piece on through the last postlude. If you choose a quiet piece for the bridal procession, try to avoid more upbeat or majestic pieces for the wedding party’s entrance. You want to build up the processional pieces to the entrance of the bride, regardless of whether you have chosen a soft song like Pachelbel’s Canon in D or something a little bolder, such as Clarke’s Trumpet Voluntary/Prince of Denmark March.

For those getting married in the Ordinary Form of the Mass (or having a liturgy of the Word ceremony), you can select readings from the Old Testament, Psalms, New Testament, and the Gospel.

Those selections can vary from country to country, the liturgical season may alter a few options, and if you are getting married on a solemnity, the readings for that day will be your ceremony or Mass readings.

When it comes to selecting your readings, take time with your fiancé to carefully read over the options. Be intentional with it, think, “what do I want my guests to hear from these readings”? or “what do I want their takeaway to be about the relationship between my fiancé and myself, and our relationship with God”? Which readings best share that overall, for the two of you? Check with your priest or deacon to see how he typically prefers to address the homily. Some priests will write one based on your readings and customize it to you and your fiancé. Others tend to have a “set homily” for weddings, and while they will of course, customize it to be fitting for you and your beloved, it may not specifically address your selected readings.

If one or both of you are recent converts to Catholicism and your conversion caused some serious contention with a beloved immediate family, know that it is perfectly okay to go with some of the more common and well known readings like Genesis or Song of Songs, instead readings from the books of Tobit or Sirach. You know your family the best and a ceremony where the readings are common to both Catholics and Protestants may be the best option for harmony.

For those marrying in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass or on a Solemnity, we still encourage you to read over the Sacred Scripture options for the Ordinary Form Nuptial Mass and include a favorite verse or two on your wedding program or worship aid, just as you would with a message to your guests or a “thank you for being part of our special day.”

Another custom to consider is a Marian Devotion or the practice of bringing flowers to an altar or statue of the Blessed Mother, which can bring a lot of beauty to your ceremony! Asking your priest to give a brief explanation as you prepare may help guests understand the significance of the moment which usually takes place right after the vows or after everyone is seated after Holy Communion. If your priest prefers not to give an explanation on this custom, have it in your program so non-Catholic guests understand that we aren’t “worshiping Mary,” but asking for her heavenly, intercessory prayers. There are many beautiful Marian hymns that are appropriate for this devotion; check with your musician and vocalist if you need suggestions.

Music, florals, readings, the architecture of our sacred Churches… Catholic weddings are rich in beauty, and beauty is one of the greatest tools we have to bring people closer to Christ! Strive to make your wedding Mass as touching, beautiful, and welcoming to your guests as possible. We aren’t always privileged to know what parts of our lives God has used to affect another, but your wedding might help bring another person into the fold of the Church!

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