Weddingbee Blog

As we are now in the home stretch, it is time to talk about something that Mr. CA and I have been thinking a lot about lately. What might that be? Well, it’s the backbone behind this whole wedding shebang—our nuptial mass. Yep, our wedding ceremony, where Mr. CA and I will pledge to stand by each other for the rest of our lives, in front of God, our family and our friends. That’s deep stuff right there, and sometimes it gets a bit lost in all of the floral inspiration, the oohing and aahing over invitations, and the meal choices.

Now, none of this ceremony stuff is a secret, per se, but, well, wouldn’t you guests of the CA wedding prefer not to know about every single little thing beforehand? I didn’t think so. Let’s keep some of the mystery, shall we? Okay, then…

Whew, now that they’re gone… let’s talk Wedding Mass!

Give us this day, our daily bread. Photographer: Rudolf Eickemeyer. Library of Congress.

A key component of our Catholic faith is the service of others, and the giving of our resources to help those in need—financially, spiritually, emotionally, intellectually. Growing up, volunteering my time to serve others was emphasized by my parents, and I am so glad that they have instilled in me a desire to serve. Mr. CA and I continue this tradition through giving of our time, energy, and financial resources to those who need it.

What better way to demonstrate this at our wedding than to have our first act as wife and husband be to distribute the Eucharist during holy Communion?

The Holy Eucharist. Published by N. Currier, 1848. Library of Congress.

I was actually very surprised when our officiant brought this up in a recent Skype session with him (yes, he is super awesome and uses Skype). I had never heard of the couple doing this at a wedding before! As soon as he said it, though, it just made so much sense.

Rev. J explained that, in distributing the consecrated bread, we “demonstrate, with one of (our) first actions as husband and wife, (our) desire to serve the community side by side.”

I fell in love with the idea immediately, and demanded that we do this during our ceremony. I was slightly concerned, as Mr. CA and I aren’t Eucharistic Ministers, but Rev. J assured us that this is fine, and that he is able to make us ’extraordinary’ Eucharistic Ministers for the day. Excellent!

During Communion, all of our guests will be invited forward as a sign of the role each one of our guests is playing in our ceremony. Those who are not receiving the Eucharist will also come forward to receive a blessing, placing their hands over their hearts.

In this way, Mr. CA and I will show our unity with our family and friends, and each other, as we serve them as husband and wife.

I cannot wait to do this. What a meaningful thing to work into our ceremony! I am so glad that Rev. J suggested it.

Are you and your future spouse planning on distributing the Eucharist during your nuptial mass? Have you been to a wedding where the couple did this?