CatholicBrides.com receives e-mails from couples across North America. One of your most frequently asked questions is - Where can a Catholic Ceremony be held?

We are always amazed when couples ask if a Catholic priest will travel to a beach location to perform their weddings. We have had inquires as to the appropriateness of the most inappropriate locations. From mountain tops to butterfly museums, couples are mistakenly thinking that the celebration of a Catholic wedding ceremony can be held outside of a Catholic church.

We assume that these inquires are from newly engaged couples who have not yet met with their priests for an in-depth discussion on the requirements of a Catholic marriage ceremony. Perhaps they haven't started their required marriage preparation courses, but may have already bought numerous wedding magazines, so we understand their confusion.

"The Destination Wedding" featured in most wedding magazines is the newest buzz phrase in wedding planning. It's the hottest, it's the trendiest, and it's the hospitality and tourism industries' idea of a meaningful wedding ceremony. Currently the depiction of the outdoor or away from home wedding ceremony, seems to have become the current trend for the wedding industry.

So why aren't these breezy wedding options available for the Catholic couple? Is the Church trying to cramp your style with old fashioned rules and regulations? Do you feel pressured to conform to standards that don't seem to fit into the media's image of your modern world? If you've ever longingly looked at a destination wedding brochure and felt a little wistful that these options aren't open to you, we understand. Marketing is a powerful medium and few of us escape its influence.

Catholic couples approach their wedding ceremonies differently. It must not be with self-importance and pride, but instead with humility and seeking.

These couples recognize that their wedding ceremony and the celebration to follow, will last the day. However, their marriages will be a life long sacred journey. They are in search of the grace and blessing that will be needed to sustain their lifelong union. They understand that through their Catholic wedding Liturgy they will prayerfully request the gift of assistance from God to fulfill this vocation.

When you choose to be married in a Catholic wedding ceremony you are choosing so much more than a venue for your wedding. You're choosing a way of life. Your decision to be married in your Catholic faith is not just a public announcement that you are going to be living as man and wife. It is the forming of a covenant, (your promise) to serve God, your faith and your community, through your acceptance of a life long vocation

As you step through the door of your church you will leave the secular world and enter into a spiritual world. You will remove yourself from worldly distractions in order to immerse yourselves in the word of God. Through sacred music and sacred Scripture Readings, you will invite your guests and your entire faith community to pray and celebrate with you. The acceptance of this vocation is a momentous occasion for both the Church and your personal faith community. As with any significant occasion in a community, it must be accessible to all and celebrated through a ceremony that truly respects the dignity of the occasion.

Your ceremony will be rich in Catholic religious traditions and expressions of faith that have endured throughout the centuries. Whether your ceremony is centered on the word of God through Scripture Readings and song, or if you are also including a celebration of the Eucharist, it will become a sacred promise between the couple and God, made in the house of God. His house, your parish church, will become your spiritual home now and throughout your future marriage.

Sacred ceremonies are celebrated in sacred places. Your parish Church is this sacred place.