choosing the form of your catholic wedding

Celebrating Matrimony Within Mass


Order of Celebrating Matrimony within Mass is a preferred form of the Catholic wedding liturgy when both the bride and the groom are Catholic.

The Order of Celebrating Matrimony states that the celebration of marriage "should normally be celebrated within Mass; receiving holy communion together strengthens the couple's love and lifts up all present into communion with Christ and one another.

Because this form includes both Mass and the Celebration of Matrimony, it typically lasts between 45 and 90 minutes, depending on the length of elements such as the readings, homily, music, procession, and so on.

Celebrating Matrimony between a Catholic and an unbaptized person

The Order of Celebrating Matrimony between a Catholic and a Catechumen or a Non-Christian is the form of the rite that is used when a Catholic marries someone who has not yet received Christian baptism; its wording and prayers are adapted to fit the circumstances. 

The outline of this form is similar to the outline of The Order of Celebrating Matrimony without Mass. It is the same approximate length, though the prayers differ slightly.

Celebrating Matrimony Without Mass

The Order of Celebrating Matrimony Without Mass is generally the preferred form when a Catholic marries a baptized person who is not Catholic.  A couple may celebrate their marriage during Mass with the permission of their pastor, but this option is generally discouraged because the person who is not Catholic may not receive communion.

This form of the wedding liturgy generally lasts between twenty minutes (for a bare-bones ceremony) and an hour, depending on the length of elements such as the readings, homily, music, procession, and so on.

Review your options for the readings

Unless your wedding falls on certain days, you will be able to choose the Scripture readings for your wedding along with the approval of your pastor. 

The part of the Catholic wedding ceremony during which selections from the Bible are read and sung is called the Liturgy of the Word; it usually includes four parts:
  1. The first reading, taken from the Old Testament.
  2. The responsorial psalm, taken from the Book of Psalms and usually sung by a song leader and the assembly.
  3. The second reading, taken from the New Testament.
  4. The Gospel reading, taken from one of the four Gospels.