So I Went To A Wedding This Past Weekend...

[Basilisa Marie]

...and I just had to share some of the highlights.

Five priests concelebrated, with a deacon. One from each of the bride and groom's home parish (deacon was from the bride's parish), two friends who were in seminary while the couple was in college, and the campus chaplain.
Incense was used liberally.
A full choir was up in the loft.
The Gospel reading was...John's account of the crucifixion.
The couple processed in together.
The couple said their vows with their hands joined around a crucifix.
The couple presented flowers to statues of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. Before the Virgin, they renewed their consecration to the Blessed Virgin with St. Maximillian Kolbe's prayer of total consecration, and the "program" invited the congregation to discern a consecration to the Immaculata as well.
Myself and the other bridesmaids wore lace boleros to go with our strapless gowns, and the bride had a floor-length lace "jacket" over her gown.
The priest giving the homily made a joke about the groom making dinner for the wife after she came home from a long day at work (he's a youth minister, she's getting her PhD in moral theology).
The flowers were organic, and the dinner's meat ethically treated.
During the reception, our place cards each had a date on them. After the toasts, the bride and groom announced that the date on our place cards was the day they had dedicated in prayer for each of us individually.

I don't think I've ever heard of a couple customizing almost every aspect of their celebration and the result being even MORE Catholic than the rubrics.

[PadrePioOfPietrelcino]

I think that sounds absolutely beautiful.

[PhuturePriest]

That sounds really nice. Probably unnecessarily expensive on some parts like the meat, but if they had the money and it didn't put them into the poor house then that is cool too.

[LinaSt.Cecilia2772]

That's quite impressive.

[Ed Normile]

Sounds like an ostentatious affair.
Matthew 6: 1 -8

ed