Weddingbee Blog

Our Catholic Engaged Encounter featured a great cross-section of humanity — whatever quirks you think you have, there will be someone with some other quirk you will find absolutely bizarre. So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the freak show. I mean, they are all good people, but the situation makes for very interesting people watching, ya know? Don’t put any pressure on yourself. SOMEONE will be the “talker” of the group and take the pressure off everyone else.

The best quote from our table at our Saturday session (from a non-Catholic groom marrying a very Catholic bride): Responding to the question, “What do you need from your partner to have a successful marriage” ….. “SEX!” (we were the front table and the bride seriously looked like she was going to take her groom’s head off)

Start practicing your “gosh”es, “goodness”es, and “oh my word”s!

My FI is Catholic and I am not. We have had to do private counseling (three LONG sessions) and the Catholic Engaged Encounter. I get so nervous at these things too, Miss Kiwi… ESPECIALLY when the priest starts out with, “Now… you AREN’T Catholic… are you?” and then manages to discount every little thing I say because I am not in the Catholic-club. I sit quietly and take it because it is so important to my FI… but inside, I am swearing like a trucker who has been on the road in rush-hour traffic for 6 hours.

My stepdad is Catholic, my mom’s not really religious. The first time I went to mass I was four. When everyone lined up to go to communion a very confused me called out in a very loud voice, “Do all those people have to go to the bathroom together?”

When he was young my MOH’s son developed a certain curiosity about breasts. His mom tried to answer his questions, but told him that there were places it wasn’t appropiate to discuss body parts. In mass one day he starts whispering something about women’s chests and not wanting to get into an argument, she just nods and says okay or whatever and he goes quiet. Then in an outraged tone calls out, “Mom, we’re not supposed to talk about boobies in church.”

Just avoid hanging around little kids and you should be fine.

Don’t worry Miss Kiwi! It isn’t that bad. My FI and I attended our 8 hour Pre Cana last weekend. We mostly listened to the speakers, completed exercises in the workbook, and then discussed our individual answers with our significant other. The session ended with a mass. All in all, it wasn’t as bad or boring as I had originally expected! Plus, it was nice to get it done in one day!

we were forced to do the engaged encounter retreat. my fiance (who isn’t catholic) was dying by the next day.

Good luck. You’ll be fine, be yourself there to get the most out of it.

FI and I went to an Engaged Encounter and neither of us are Catholic. FI said something that I guess was “inappropriate” because it was not in line with Catholic ideology and everyone was cool with it because they knew we aren’t Catholic.

The weekend was open to us to do as “non-denominational” and people were pretty tolerant to of all kinds of mishaps that were done by almost every couple there. Including odd church language.