Non-Denominational or Mixed Religion Weddings
This article explains a few things about weddings, and if you're
interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never
tell what you don't know.
Couples of mixed religions or who come from families that do not
have a strong religious background may choose to have either a
non-denominational wedding or a wedding that blends two separate
religions. This can be tricky however because many religions may
not honor or recognize a wedding unless it is performed
according to their own unique guidelines. For this reason it is
very important to check with potential officiants and church
leaders to ensure that your wedding plans will result in a union
that is recognized by both churches. This is significant because
you would not want to invest time and money on a marriage that
will wind up not being recognized by the church and possibly not
even recognized by the government. Whether a couple decides to
have a non-denominational wedding, incorporate aspects of both
religion into a ceremony that will not be recognized by either
faith or participate in two separate religious ceremonies, it is
important to remember that their love for each other and their
love of their faith are equally important.
If both the bride and the groom have very strong faith
backgrounds and wish to have their wedding recognized by their
respective churches, they may have to take a few extra steps to
ensure that their union is recognized by their churches.
Sometimes the only way to do this is to have a wedding ceremony
in both churches. This may seem like an unnecessary step but one
of the defining criteria of having your marriage recognized by
your faith, for many religions, is to have your wedding ceremony
in the church. It is simply not possible to do this unless the
couple takes the extra steps of having two wedding ceremonies to
ensure that they will be both be accepted as a married couple
into their faiths.
Another alternative to participating in two separate ceremonies
in order to have the union recognized by both churches is to
have a non-denominational wedding that is only recognized by the
government. Couples may choose this option if they do not have
the time or money that would be required to have two separate
wedding ceremonies. A couple may choose a compromise that
results in neither church recognizing the union. The theory
behind this type of choice is that the couple decides that their
love for each other is strong enough to survive and that they do
not need to have the approval of their churches in order to have
a successful and lasting marriage.
It seems like new information is discovered about something
every day. And the topic of weddings is no exception. Keep
reading to get more fresh news about weddings.
Still another alternative is to have a non-denominational
wedding ceremony at a location in a natural setting. At this
type of ceremony the couple has no restrictions and can choose
to incorporate either religion into the ceremony in any way that
they see fit. They may do this by using traditional prayers and
religious songs during the ceremony. While this type of ceremony
will not be recognized by the church is does offer the couple
the opportunity to incorporate some of the religious traditions
of both of their faiths into a beautiful ceremony that
successfully blends two religions.
A final alternative is to incorporate one faith fully into the
wedding ceremony and incorporate the other faith fully into the
wedding reception. This option results in the marriage being
recognized by one of the religions but does not allow the other
family to feel neglected because their faith is well represented
in the traditional activities of the wedding reception. This
option is only feasible if the member of the couple who will not
have their church recognize the union, is completely accepting
and understand of this fact. This is important because the
resentment and jealousy that could result from this could be
very detrimental to the couple.
Inter-faith couples are on the rise. Years ago it was unheard of
to marry someone outside of your faith but this is no longer
true and many couples today are inter-faith couples. It is
difficult but not impossible to integrate the two faiths in a
way that is satisfactory to all of those involved. While the
faiths can be blended to create a beautiful wedding, the problem
is that many churches will not accept this blended wedding as a
union. Sometimes the couple decides that their happiness
together is more important than having the church recognize the
union so they opt for a non-denominational wedding that is
completely devoid of any religious traditions.
I hope that reading the above information was both enjoyable and
educational for you. Your learning process should be
ongoing--the more you understand about any subject, the more you
will be able to share with others.