Can non-religious couples get married in a church?

Jay59express

Senior member
Jun 7, 2000
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My fiancee and I are recently engaged, and we are starting to think about where to have the wedding. I was raised Catholic, but do not practice religion anymore, and my fiancee is not religious, nor has she been baptized. So, are there any churches that will marry a couple of non religious people? Or are we going to have to have a non-church wedding and get married by a J.P.?
 

aircooled

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
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You can still get married in a church.

edit: You may need to talk to several preachers to find the right church, and you may need to find a non-denominate or unitarian church.

 

TwinkleToes77

Diamond Member
Jul 13, 2002
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my husband and i arent practicing catholics.. we didnt tell them that though... and they married us in a church.. we just had to show proof of baptism and holy communion. And say we dont go to church but we will try harder and our kids will go to church too :p
 

Gand1

Golden Member
Nov 17, 1999
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Non religious, why bother with a church? JP's do perfectly fine and cost a hell of a lot less than a church! Get married outdoors or someplace more original. Wifey to be would think your the superman if you wanted something like a wedding on the beach or something corny like that.
 

TwinkleToes77

Diamond Member
Jul 13, 2002
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Originally posted by: Gand1
Non religious, why bother with a church? JP's do perfectly fine and cost a hell of a lot less than a church! Get married outdoors or someplace more original. Wifey to be would think your the superman if you wanted something like a wedding on the beach or something corny like that.

Not all churches are expensive to get married in.. and its more expensive to have an outdoors wedding.. especially when you never know if its going to rain or not. A church is a nice setting and you dont have to rent seats or a tent!
 

notfred

Lifer
Feb 12, 2001
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I would feel really weird getting married in a church. Actually, I've never even been to a wedding in a church.... They've generally been outdoors.
 

Heisenberg

Lifer
Dec 21, 2001
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It's really up to the church I believe. You're probably better off trying a protestant or non-denominational one as they tend to be a little more relaxed.
 

Jay59express

Senior member
Jun 7, 2000
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Wow, thanks for all the fast replys guys! I think we would rather get married in a church, it seems costly to rent the tent, chairs, etc. as mentioned. Besides, the more money we save on the wedding, the more kegs we can have at the reception :beer::D:beer:
 

TwinkleToes77

Diamond Member
Jul 13, 2002
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Originally posted by: Jay59express
Wow, thanks for all the fast replys guys! I think we would rather get married in a church, it seems costly to rent the tent, chairs, etc. as mentioned. Besides, the more money we save on the wedding, the more kegs we can have at the reception :beer::D:beer:

You will have to take a marriage prep class if you are getting married in a catholic church.. but those arent as bad as they sound.. its not religion based at all.. and i actually found it quite enjoyable.. first things first though is call the priest at the church youd like and set up an appt with him.
 

DanTMWTMP

Lifer
Oct 7, 2001
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wedding = church..

reception, do it at a really nice place..


boom!

i'm not religious either so this thread is good info for me
 

Red Dawn

Elite Member
Jun 4, 2001
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Go with a Justice of the Peace and forget about those Charlatans who preach myth's and falsehoods.
 

stormbv

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2000
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The priest of our church wouldn't marry my uncle and his fiancee because they never came to church. But they ended up getting married at a different Catholic church, so I don't know what the deal is.

I can marry you! I got a ministry certificate over the internet! :p
 

Red Dawn

Elite Member
Jun 4, 2001
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Originally posted by: Heisenberg
It's really up to the church I believe. You're probably better off trying a protestant or non-denominational one as they tend to be a little more relaxed.
Go Unitarian. They are as Anal as Catholics or Protestants (as far as their myths are concerned)
 

stormbv

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2000
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I went to a wedding in a Methodist church three weeks ago, and the ceremony was only about 20 minutes long. It was the best wedding I've ever been to.
 

Red Dawn

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Jun 4, 2001
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Originally posted by: stormbv
I went to a wedding in a Methodist church three weeks ago, and the ceremony was only about 20 minutes long. It was the best wedding I've ever been to.
The less Religious nonsense in a wedding ceremony the better!
 

TwinkleToes77

Diamond Member
Jul 13, 2002
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Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: stormbv
I went to a wedding in a Methodist church three weeks ago, and the ceremony was only about 20 minutes long. It was the best wedding I've ever been to.
The less Religious nonsense in a wedding ceremony the better!

My wedding lasted 15 minutes in a catholic church!... for non religious ppl like us we opted out of having a mass with the wedding ceremony. So no eucharist. Our priest was cool with us not being very religious we just told him we would try harder to attend and then we attended 2 weeks before the wedding when we knew he was doing the mass and made sure to shake his hand on the way out the door :)
 

stormbv

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2000
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Originally posted by: TwinkleToes77
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: stormbv
I went to a wedding in a Methodist church three weeks ago, and the ceremony was only about 20 minutes long. It was the best wedding I've ever been to.
The less Religious nonsense in a wedding ceremony the better!

My wedding lasted 15 minutes in a catholic church!... for non religious ppl like us we opted out of having a mass with the wedding ceremony. So no eucharist. Our priest was cool with us not being very religious we just told him we would try harder to attend and then we attended 2 weeks before the wedding when we knew he was doing the mass and made sure to shake his hand on the way out the door :)

Heh...heathen! You sound lucky, though...some priests make the couples come to counselling to make sure they will be good, upstanding Catholics who won't use condoms and squeeze out many Catholic children.