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Catholic Wedding Services in Venice
If you are planning a Catholic Wedding Service,
Italy is the perfect destination for your
wedding. No matter if it’s Rome, Venice,
Florence, Tuscany, Chianti, Amalfi or Sicily,
Italy weddings are rich with Catholic religious
history and tradition Italy offers a large
number of church locations to choose from. You
will need to select a church for your Catholic
Wedding Service in Italy because Catholic
services are not permitted outside the walls of
the church.
There are two basic types of service with a
Roman Catholic wedding: a ceremony without a
mass; or a wedding ceremony incorporated into
the mass. The first option, about twenty minutes
in length, is quite straightforward, with
readings and hymns; similar to the Protestant
service. The second option with a mass may take
just over an hour.
As Catholics enter the church, they bless
themselves by dipping the fingertips of their
right hand into a font containing holy water,
and then they make the sign of the cross,
touching their forehead, heart, left shoulder,
and right shoulder. Other guests, who are not
required to do this, may simply proceed into the
church or be guided to their seats by the
ushers. Some Catholics, on arrival at the pew,
make the sign of the cross while genuflecting
(bending the knee as a sign of reverence). Some
may go directly to their seats and sit down
while others may kneel and pray before sitting.
After entry into the church, a greeting is
usually issued by the priest, first to the bride
and groom and then to their guests. This is
followed by an opening prayer.
There are readings and prayers. Standing is
required at times. Sometimes, there may be
kneeling, but non-Catholic guests can just sit
quietly while others kneel. When the
congregation is invited to participate in the
recitations out loud of the Lord's Prayer, Roman
Catholics omit the Protestant version's final
few lines, "For Thine is the kingdom, the power
and the glory, forever and ever."
The Liturgy of the Word includes readings from
the Old and New Testaments, a responsorial
psalm, the "Alleluia" before the Gospel, and a
Gospel reading. The selections may be read by
the priest or by honored members of the family
or wedding party.
The homily, or sermon, elaborates on the
marriage theme. If the priest knows the couple
well, he may interlace his homily with personal
references.
The exchange of rings follows the exchange of
vows. The best man, who usually has both rings,
gives the bride's ring to the priest, who
blesses it and gives it to the bridegroom, who
then places it on the bride's finger. In the
double ring ceremony, after the bride receives
her ring, the blessing and presentation will be
repeated for the bridegroom's ring. Some brides
honor the role of the Virgin Mary as Christ's
Mother by presenting flowers at a side altar
dedicated to Mary.
The Prayer of the Faithful follows which may
also include personal prayer by the couple.
During a mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist is
said at this time. Those who are chosen to bring
gifts of wine and bread to the altar carry out
their role at this point and the liturgy
begins.
The priest then offers the Nuptial Blessing.
Just before Communion is served, there will be
the "sign of peace". The priest will say, "Let
us offer each other a sign of peace," which is
an indication for everyone to turn to their
neighbors, shake their hands, and say, "Peace be
with you," or some other friendly greeting.
Sometimes, relatives or very close friends will
hug and a mother may kiss her child at this
point.
Communion in the Roman Catholic Church is
technically reserved for baptized Catholics
only. The priest will indicate what the local
custom is. Communion, the commemorations of
Christ's last supper, is the ceremony in which
bread and wine are consecrated and taken as the
body and blood of Christ. To take communion,
people walk down the center aisle to take the
bread, usually a thin wafer, and sometimes a sip
of wine, then come back up the sides to their
seats.
After communion, the signing of the register
takes place. After that is completed, the priest
introduces the newly married couple. At this
point, people may applaud, depending on local
custom. The conclusion of a wedding without mass
is the Lord's Prayer and a blessing. At a mass,
the service ends with a blessing and dismissal.
If you have been divorced, you will not be
allowed to marry again in a Catholic Church. The
ceremony could be done only if you can acquire
an annulment for your previous marriage and have
it recognized by the Church. If that cannot be
done, you may still have a “Mixed Ceremony” or
“Blessing Ceremony” provided in a Catholic
Church. In this type of ceremony, only one of
the bride or groom needs to provide proof of
baptism and confirmation and does not combine
the civil aspect of the wedding. That means that
you will need to have a civil ceremony completed
prior to the blessing ceremony.
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Protestant and Anglican Wedding Services in
Venice
Unfortunately in Italy It's no possible to have
a legally recognized protestant/Anglican
weddings. Protestants and nAnglican couples must
previoulsy celebrate their civil marriage in the
Town Hall of Venice.
This just means that you get the pleasure of
marrying twice! First at the civil hall (the
ceremony only takes about 20 minutes) and then
later the same day or another day in a religious
ceremony held in the Anglican Church of St.
George, near Accademia.
In these cases ,we normally organize
a civil ceremony with only the parents as
witnesses and guests. In the afternoon the
couple celebrates their wedding mass with none
of their other 35 guests aware that they were
"secretly" married in the morning.
Originally you may think it would be annoying or
anti-climactic to have a civil ceremony in
addition to the religious but instead, it was an
added pleasure and moment for celebration.
Many of the Protestant ministers are flexible
and will perform the ceremony wherever you would
like. Since the ceremony is largely symbolic,
there are few requirements and vary from one
minister to the next. The minister will provide
verification that you can take to your home
church to demonstrate that in addition to being
legally married (the civil ceremony) that your
union was recognized within the Protestant
church.
Some opt to be married in a civil ceremony in
their home countries and have only a religious
ceremony here in Italy.
For the religious authorization, it could be
asked a baptismal requirement, church membership
requirement and some other documents in case
that one or both of you have been married
before. Marriages between people of different
faith are possible.
Protestant Wedding is considered one of the
easier ceremony to plan. Protestant services
have less restrictions and present much easier
instructions to follow thus making them a very
requested choice as a type of religious
ceremony. we will have to be contacted in
advance to discuss both the conseils and
restrictions so we can assure the complete
fulfilling of the requirements.
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Orthodox and Coptic
Wedding Services in
Venice
The churches of the Eastern rite, including
Russian and Greek Orthodox are similar in many
ways to the Catholic tradition. While not
encouraged, interfaith marriages are allowed,
providing that the non-Orthodox party is a
baptized Christian. Remarriages are also
acceptable if religious decrees of annulment
have been received, followed by a civil divorce.
The banns of marriage may be published or not,
as desired.
The Orthodox ceremony is long and full of
symbolism. It usually takes place in the
afternoon or early evening, but not during
seasons of fasting or certain holy days. The
ceremony begins with a betrothal ritual in which
the rings are blessed, exchanged three times to
signify the Holy Trinity and then placed on the
bride’s and groom’s right hands.
At the close of the betrothal ritual, two crowns
are placed on the heads of the bride and groom
and exchanged three times. A Gospel is read. The
couple then drinks from the same glass of wine
three times. This signifies their everlasting
love and commitment to share both the happy and
sad times in marriage. The ceremony closes with
the bride and groom, hands bound together being
led around a ceremonial table three times while
the congregations sings “God Grant Them Many
Years.”
At least one of you and one of the witnesses
must be baptized in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Interfaith and second marriages are permitted if
church requirements are satisfied.
In general, however, the Orthodox wedding
ceremony follows this outline:
1. The Rite of Betrothal, in which rings are
exchanged as a sign of commitment and devotion
to one another.
2. The "Crowning," in which crowns or wreaths
[customs vary in each parish] are placed on or
held above the heads of the bride and groom.
This signifies that in marriage there is a
certain amount of sacrifice, especially in the
area of "give and take." It also signifies that
in a certain respect the bride and groom become
the "king and queen" of their own "kingdom," or
family, which is an integral part of the Kingdom
of God.
3. The sharing of a common cup of wine, which
signifies that in marriage all things are shared
equally.
4. The procession around the sacramental table,
during which the priest leads the couple three
times as they take their first steps together as
husband and wife.
5. The removal of the crowns and the final
blessing, in which all gathered wish the couple
many years of blessings.
There are no "vows" in the Orthodox ritual, as
found in other confessions.
Wedding services are not held during seasons of
fasting or on certain holy days. You’ll need to
plan far enough in advance to assure that your
Orthodox Venician Wedding isn’t held on one of
the restricted days.
Here are some of those days
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During all the 4 long fasts
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During the Meat Fast.
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On the Bright Week (Easter).
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During the period from Christmas (January 7)
to Baptism (Jan.19).
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On the eve of the 12 great feasts.
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On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
throughout the year.
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On September 10, 11, 26 and 27 (due to
strict fast on the day of commemoration of
beheading of John the Baptist and the
Elevation of the Cross).
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On the eve of the church holidays (each
church has its own days).
Coptic Wedding Services in Venice
For your Italy Wedding, Coptic Wedding Ceremony
are also available. While Coptic Ceremony are
similar to and based in Orthodox belief – many
still prefer to maintain their religious
integrity and will choose to stick to the strict
guidelines that encompass the wedding mass of
the Coptic Orthodox.
Planning for Coptic Wedding Ceremony in Venice
like other religious services will require the
bride and groom to do very specific things to
meet the church’s requirements. Planning to
marry in Venice it is best if you begin
preparing for your Italy wedding well
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Jewish Wedding Ceremony in Venice
Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and
Reconstructionist are the four main groups
within the Jewish religions, with Orthodox being
the strictest in following Jewish law.
Conservative falls in the middle while Reform
and Reconstructionist adherents are the most
liberal of the four.
Some of the differences between the traditions
are as follows: In the Orthodox interpretation
the rabbi will not marry divorced persons unless
they have a religious as well as civil decree.
The men and women are seated in separate areas
of the synagogue. Even though the conservative
ceremony is less rigid in adhering to the Jewish
law, many of the traditions are the same as the
Orthodox. With both, service is in Hebrew and
English. Neither a Conservative nor Orthodox
rabbi will officiate at a marriage of mixed
faiths. The wedding attire is very conventional.
The men wear caps or yarmulkes in these
ceremonies. Another similarity is that the ring
is placed on the index finger of the bride’s
right hand during the ceremony (it may be
switches to the left hand after the ceremony).
The ceremonies are preformed under a chuppah by
a rabbi. The chuppah is a canopy, which
symbolizes cohabitation and consummation.
The Reform service is usually in Italian though
some Hebrew may be used. The ceremony is
generally performed under a chuppah, but this is
not mandatory. Men may wear yarmulkes, if they
desire.
The ceremony begins and ends with the blessing
of the wine, and the bride and groom taking a
sip from a joint cup. The exchange of rings in
the Jewish ceremony has slightly different
significance in that it represents the exchange
of material goods, which must take place in
order to validate a Jewish wedding.
The Ketubah is a marriage contact, usually
finely decorated that lists the bride’s rights
in the marriage. It is given to the bride after
the ring exchange, and then she usually hands it
off to her honor attendant for the rest of the
ceremony.
The ceremony ends with the reciting of the seven
blessings. The bride and groom drink the blessed
wine from a glass; the glass is wrapped in a
napkin and then smashed beneath the groom’s
foot. Many times, mazel tov is said at the end
of the ceremony. This means good star or good
position of your stars, which, over the years
has come to mean good fortune.
The bride and groom then withdraw for a few
minutes of seclusion, known as the Yichud. It is
a few private moments in which the bride and
groom have an opportunity to savor their new
union. In the past, the bride and groom withdrew
to consummate their marriage, but luckily that’s
no longer the case!
The Jewish wedding may take place at any time,
other than on the Sabbath, major festivals, or
other holy days. It may not take place during
the forty-nine days between Passover and
Shavuot, with the exception of the thirty-third
day. in advance. This is especially true for
Coptic weddings. |
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