Catholic wedding help, please
EDIT: Thanks to those who have responded - to be clear - this question is *not* about readings. Rather, it is about everything else that accompanies a Catholic wedding. If you know specific psalms, gospels, etc I should be looking into. Short of reading the Bible, can anyone direct me to some resources? Thank you again for your assistance.
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So... I wanted to have a completely secular ceremony and FH always envisioned getting married in a church, so we have compromised and agreed to be married outdoors at our reception location with the ceremony performed by a Catholic priest (yes, this has been OK'd by two priests). The priest we would like is unavailable our date but he suggested someone else. We exchanged several emails with the second priest and I have to say, he struck me as very flaky . We met with him and in person he was definitely more on the ball. He said he'd have no problem marrying us and he gave us some websites to look at and some readings to consider and said to contact him with any questions. After reviewing the information I had some questions and emailed him (as per his suggestion) and so far no response. Now, the man has every right to be busy, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence. In the meantime, I am turning to the lovely WPers to find out if someone can help me with my Catholic ceremony questions. The priest said we could expect our ceremony to be basically this:
Gathering Rite
Prelude (mother's song)
Attendants' Processional
Bride's Processional
Opening Prayer
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading
Responsorial Psalm (sung)
Second Reading
Gospel Acclamation
Gospel
Homily
Celebration of Marriage
Exchange of Wedding Vows
Blessing and Exchange of Rings
Hymn
General Intercessions (Prayers of the Faithful)
Concluding Rite
Final Blessing
Recessional
But what are these? To be specific, I don't mean what do to the words mean, I know *what* a psalm is for example; I fully understand the parts referring to "attendants walk in/bride walks in" etc, but rather - since we can select our own readings - do you also select your own psalm? Is it a standard wedding gospel? Does the priest choose? Is it a standard thing? Can anyone shed a little light on this for me? I am feeling really clueless.
Thank you for your help!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So... I wanted to have a completely secular ceremony and FH always envisioned getting married in a church, so we have compromised and agreed to be married outdoors at our reception location with the ceremony performed by a Catholic priest (yes, this has been OK'd by two priests). The priest we would like is unavailable our date but he suggested someone else. We exchanged several emails with the second priest and I have to say, he struck me as very flaky . We met with him and in person he was definitely more on the ball. He said he'd have no problem marrying us and he gave us some websites to look at and some readings to consider and said to contact him with any questions. After reviewing the information I had some questions and emailed him (as per his suggestion) and so far no response. Now, the man has every right to be busy, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence. In the meantime, I am turning to the lovely WPers to find out if someone can help me with my Catholic ceremony questions. The priest said we could expect our ceremony to be basically this:
Gathering Rite
Prelude (mother's song)
Attendants' Processional
Bride's Processional
Opening Prayer
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading
Responsorial Psalm (sung)
Second Reading
Gospel Acclamation
Gospel
Homily
Celebration of Marriage
Exchange of Wedding Vows
Blessing and Exchange of Rings
Hymn
General Intercessions (Prayers of the Faithful)
Concluding Rite
Final Blessing
Recessional
But what are these? To be specific, I don't mean what do to the words mean, I know *what* a psalm is for example; I fully understand the parts referring to "attendants walk in/bride walks in" etc, but rather - since we can select our own readings - do you also select your own psalm? Is it a standard wedding gospel? Does the priest choose? Is it a standard thing? Can anyone shed a little light on this for me? I am feeling really clueless.
Thank you for your help!