Weddingbee Blog

One of the more difficult pre-wedding to-dos was creating a program for our ceremony. I was happy to just not have any, I do, he does, we kiss, nothing really out of the normal right? However, this was one of the things that Zeb wanted and since he let me do whatever I wanted while planning, I conceded.

I was lucky in that I had held on to some programs from weddings we had attended previously. St. Peter and Paul Cathedral had also given us a small packet of information on how to build a ceremony. Also, my wedding planning book had some suggestions as well. Armed with those three resources, I created our ceremony.

The first page had our names, a cleverly hidden Incubus lyric, the date, and church. The fourth page listed our parents, grandparents, and wedding party. You can imagine the first and last pages were the easiest.

The second and third pages were the meat and bones of our ceremony. You already know from my previous entries what songs I chose for the processional.

Celebrant

I had listed the priest we had been visiting with for the previous year in our program. When I reached the end of the aisle, I noticed he was not there. There was another priest, one whom we had not met in his place. I will admit I was upset by this. I had really hoped to get to know the priest who was marrying us. I was hoping for a slightly personal, heartfelt homily during our wedding celebration. Instead, our homily read like a research paper filled with quotations. We still don’t know why the original priest was not there. He could have had an important reason but neither Zeb nor I were told he wasn’t going to be there. Instead, they told our priest friend who was there to assist in serving mass. This was the only disappointing part of our wedding day. After feeling shut out from our home church, this did not make us feel like we were important members of any church. I don’t want to sound like a bitter Betty but I certainly was not happy not knowing the name of the priest who married us. Luckily I found it out after our honeymoon when picking up our marriage certificate. As with all wedding record scratches however, time heals all wounds.

Opening Prayer

Old Testament Reading

Genesis 2: 18-24

Reader’s Name

Responsorial Psalm

(We chose one that was written by the priest)

New Testament Reading

Romans 12: 9-18

Reader’s Name

Gospel Acclamation

Gospel

Mark 10: 6-9

Homily

A beautiful picture of our Priest Friend. He has since become a Deacon and we will celebrate his ordination with him this coming June.

Rite of Marriage

Statement of Commitment

Exchange of Vows

Blessing and Exchange of Rings

Presentation of Gifts

“Ave Maria”…Schubert

Vocalist’s Name

Names of Gift Presenters (our mothers)

Communion

“The Wedding Song”…Stookey

Vocalist’s Name

Final Blessing

“You may now kiss the bride.” * I might have gone in for seconds.

The priest presented us as a newly married couple and sent us on our way.

Recessional

“The Wedding March”…Mendelssohn

Song via YouTube

The final notes in our program were in acknowledgement of the organist and the soloist. I finished the program with a quick word of thanks to our guests and our parents.

*You should know that during a Catholic Mass the kiss happens after the vows. After the vows, communion is offered and then the couple is sent on their way. I mixed it up because I like it better when the kiss comes last.