If you’re an unmarried woman, you probably have a board on Pinterest detailing everything you want for the day you finally tie the knot. You don’t know when or if you’re getting married, but you still pin everything from custom cakes to bridal dresses to burlap anything. But why not also include some Catholic ideas to your board? Just because you’re having a Catholic ceremony doesn’t mean you have to leave your faith at the altar and forget about it for the rest of your special day.
Here are my favorite Catholic wedding ideas for your Pinterest board:
1. Pray
You probably don’t need Pinterest (or me) telling you that you should pray, but prayer is the most important preparation you can make before you get married. Remember, your wedding only lasts one day, while your marriage will last a lifetime. So, don’t just pray by yourself for a good marriage; form good prayer habits with your husband-to-be that will last once you are married. One way to do that might be to pray a novena leading up to your wedding day.
2. Go to Confession
Is there any better way to go into a marriage than to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation on the morning of your wedding day? You could even ask the priest celebrating your Mass to hear the confessions of your guests in the hour preceding the ceremony. That way, you and your husband-to-be will be receiving three sacraments that day.
3. Have a “Lasso Ceremony”
Never heard of a wedding lasso ceremony? Neither did I before I started my wedding Pinterest board. A Spanish, Filipino, and Latino tradition, an oversized rosary is draped in a figure eight across the shoulders of the bride and groom by their sponsors. The priest then prays over them, asking for the intercession of the Blessed Mother.
4. Don’t forget the bouquet
If you and your groom have a favorite saint, you might want to add that saint’s medal to your bouquet. If you can’t decide on a saint, adding a rosary to your bouquet is also very beautiful.
5. Have a foot washing ceremony
While a foot washing ceremony is traditional for Holy Thursday Mass, it is becoming popular for weddings as well. If you don’t want to add anything to the Catholic ceremony or feel as though this would be too reminiscent of Lent if done during Mass, perhaps you and your groom could wash each other’s feet at the reception (before dancing, of course). It could even be done in place of the bouquet toss and garter toss, if you’re not a fan of that tradition.
6. Bridesmaids Gifts
After all that they’ve done for you on your special day, a bride giving a gift to her bridesmaids as a token of thanks is a popular trend. A chaplet can be a beautiful option for such a gift.
7. Rosary
If you’re crafty and adventurous (and you probably are if you are like me and spend far too much time Pinterest), then this one is for you. You can take your wedding flowers -you bouquet, the table centerpieces from the reception, any flowers you may have hung from the pews- and turn them into a rosary. You and your new husband will have this rosary for the rest of your marriage.
BONUS: Picture perfect wedding photography ideas:
Bride and groom praying
Especially before the Eucharist
Bride and groom silhouetted against a stained glass window
Bride and groom at the church doors
Wedding rings with a rosary
