Catholic Wedding Q&A

May we have two separate wedding ceremonies—for
instance, a civil ceremony and a Catholic ceremony, or a Jewish wedding
ceremony followed by a Catholic wedding ceremony?

Church law forbids two separate ceremonies (Canon 1127) in order to
avoid confusion. By definition, once you’re married, you’re really,
truly united in marriage once and for all. It is impossible to get
married again—unless the first marriage was somehow invalid. Having a
second wedding ceremony would imply the first wasn’t “real.”

If a Catholic is married in a ceremony that is not recognized as valid
by the Church, the couple may have their marriage convalidated—that is,
they may celebrate the Catholic rite of marriage to make their marriage
valid. In some cases, another option would be to request a sanation, in
which the Church simply recognizes the validity of the marriage without
a formal ceremony.

This question is sometimes prompted by a desire to incorporate two
different faith traditions into the wedding ceremony; couples in this
situation have several options for doing so. See the link below for more
information.

For more information

If one of us is Catholic and one is not, what are our
wedding ceremony options?

Other websites

Marriage
Convalidation in the Catholic Church
A detailed article on the steps involved in convalidating a
marriage, as well as how to plan a convalidation ceremony, by Kay
Flowers (co-author of Catholic
Annulment, Spiritual Healing)

Statement on the Implementation of the Apostolic Letter on Mixed
Marriages
Statement of the U.S.
Catholic bishops.

Interchurch Marriages: How to Help Them Succeed

At AmericanCatholic.org. This article takes a positive approach to mixed
marriages, offering some background as well as eight pointers for
helping them succeed.

Theology of marriage and the problems of mixed
marriages
The final report of the
Roman Catholic-Lutheran-Reformed study commission, 1971-1977, on the
topic of mixed marriages, from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

A Guide
on Catholic-Orthodox Marriages for Catholic Clergy and
Other Pastoral Ministers
From the U.S.
Catholic bishops at USCCB.org. (PDF)

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