Today: Our wedding Mass.
Let’s get down to wedding business, shall we? I truly appreciate all the kind comments and tweets and am excited to catch you up on our wedding and honeymoon over several hundred posts. And yes, I promise to tell you all about those killer bridesmaids dresses. While I was extremely excited for our reception (and the aforementioned dresses), the highlight was definitely the moment we exchanged vows and our marriage became “official.”
For Catholics, many – if not most – of life’s greatest milestones are marked by the seven holy sacraments. Since I will never receive the sacrament of holy orders (obvi), that leaves six:
- Baptism
- Eucharist
- Reconciliation
- Confirmation
- Holy Matrimony
- Anointing of the Sick
Holy Matrimony (or the sacrament of marriage, if you’re feeling casual) is a public sign of giving oneself totally to your partner, while also making a commitment to our faith. Because Nick and I have such a warm, welcoming faith community, our decision to get married at our parish, St. Cecilia, was an easy one.
For the Mass itself, we were encouraged to choose the readings and music that best spoke to us and our relationship. Not surprisingly, we chose readings and songs about love (truly creative, I know) and joy and peace. In addition to our bridesmaids and groomsmen, we had a chance to involve family members in a special way at our Mass. We chose two readings from the New Testament that I adore. Ordinarily a Catholic Mass includes one Old Testament reading and one New Testament reading, but most of our OT (…if I may) options were a little too “wife, obey your husband” for us. I do what I want.
- First reading: Philippians 4:4-9, read by my sister-in-law Colleen
- Second reading: Colossians 3:12-17, read by my uncle Bob
After the Gospel reading (John 15:9-12), Fr. John gave such a touching homily. I am so grateful for the way he welcomed our family and friends, and shared bits and pieces of our conversation with him in the days leading up to the wedding. He talked about the things we love most about one another and reminded us how important it is to continue to “bring these words to speech.”
[Photo taken by Tina… and snatched from her blog]
I managed to keep my composure (mostly), but teared up a number of times throughout Mass. The music and readings were just perfect. Being walked toward the altar by my father, and seeing so many loved ones on each side of the aisle, was incredible… especially knowing that Nick was waiting for me just a few yards away. To have so many people gathered around us as we exchanged vows was such a gift. At the risk of sounding like a cheese doodle, I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we felt that day.
Overwhelmed… and ready to dance.
Also On Tap for Today:
- Back to reality… and 9,001 work emails
- Amanda‘s Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge starts today
- Learn more about our parish
What is your signature dance move?
Comments (8)
Michelle
November 19, 2012 at 10:47 am
Congratulations again!!! I love your focus on the Mass itself. I loved our Mass, too, and I remember that I simply could not wait to get to the end of that aisle to Erm. (Not that I didn’t enjoy the walk with my Dad). Did they bring in a Salsa Dancing instructor at pre-cana as a “special surprise”? No? Just ours, then.
Jessica @ Dairy Free Betty
November 19, 2012 at 10:52 am
awesome! I’ve only ever been to one Catholic wedding and it was in Austria (aka – all in German), so I had no idea what was going on! haha… Looks so beautiful! Isn’t it a crazy feeling now that it’s all over and done with though?
Sarah @ Blonde Bostonian
November 19, 2012 at 11:18 am
Congratulations again! Beautiful wedding and beautiful couple!
Kelly@BalancedDaily
November 19, 2012 at 11:46 am
Sounds like you had an amazing wedding mass and I definitely like the idea about the class beforehand (they include financial talk? cool, I feel like money is a tough subject in relationships). I’ve got to say I’m pretty good at the robot, but my go-to would probably be the running man, haha!
Danielle @ Itsaharleyyylife
November 19, 2012 at 12:08 pm
yay! congrats i can’t wait to read all of your {hundreds} of wedding posts! (:
Amanda @RunToTheFinish
November 19, 2012 at 6:17 pm
yeahh i can’t wait to see all the details…especially the honeymoon I won’t lie travel makes me giddy. Loved your bike ride 🙂
Congrats, it looks like an amazing day!!
Diane Sarmento
November 20, 2012 at 2:36 pm
Look like was a beautiful day for you.
Stephanie
November 21, 2012 at 12:52 am
Congratulations! Didn’t know you could do pre-cana at the Paulist Center…they’re pretty laid back, right? My boyfriend is afraid of most of the religious and ceremony parts of a wedding, which is making him a little hesitant on getting married. Was Nick into the ceremony and fanciness? Or just more interested in the being married to you part?