Priest at Disney???

[Mamapapa]

Sorry for this odd question - I'm new here! If you get married at the Wedding Pavilion or on Disney Resort property, can you have a Catholic Priest do the ceremony or does it have to be a Justice of the Peace?... Any info appreciated - thanks in advance!

 

[PhilHarMaestro]

Idk if you can't have a priest, but I know that you can't have a full-fleged (sp?) cathlic ceremony. But there are a lot of non-dominational christian reverends to choose from. I think also you can bring an officiant from home? (Maybe)
Hope this helps.

 

[Mamapapa]

My friend isn't looking for a full fledged Catholic ceremony, but her Mom is looking for at least a Priest to do the ceremony... so it sounds like that might be possible?

 

[PhilHarMaestro]

i'm not entirely sure, b/c I'm not cathlic, but I think I read somewhere that it's against cathlic rules for a priest to marry someone outside of the church. But, like I said I'm a little ignorant to the whole thing. It might depend on the priest or diosese (I have no idea how to spell that word!)

 

[hiwaygal]

My understanding is that the Orlando diocese does not recognize weddings at WDW so priests won't perform ceremonies there. Many of the officiants can incorporate nearly all of the traditions of a catholic ceremony with the exception of communion (obviously).

You can try talking to your priest/diocese to see if they will recognize the marriage if it is done at Disney, if not, you can have a simple catholic ceremony at home and still have a Disney wedding.

 

[alissa2008]

As a former catholic, I can tell you that the church will not recognize a wedding that is outside a church or a cemetery (obviously no one wants to get married at a cemetery, but it's hallowed ground as well). So, I think you would be hard pressed to find a catholic priest that would even perform a ceremony outside the church grounds. However, I know that there are several officiants that Disney recommends that can perform a "catholic" ceremony -- meaning, word for word what a catholic ceremony would be (without the mass of course). I'm not sure, if you were a devout catholic, that this wouldn't be more insulting than helpful, but if you're just looking for it to "sound" catholic, that would be your best bet.

Also, I know some of my catholic friends who wanted an outdoor ceremony (at a gazebo or park or something) had a quick catholic ceremony in their home church and then had a "for show" ceremony outside because it was their "dream" wedding to be outside in the sun. Make sense? Kind of like an official spiritual ceremony (to appease the parents) and then their own sort of personal ceremony (where they exchanged hand written vows)... I don't know if I'm making sense -- but if you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask...

 

[alissa2008]

Ack! I finally just read what hiwaygal said and that was pretty much it in a nutshell!! sorry for the repeat!

 

[IndyBride]

There have been a lot of girls on here that are in the situation you are in as well. Malea, I think that's her name, had quite some trouble. She ended up doing a blessing or something. I hope you don't have too much drama on this topic!

 

[camara381]

I too wanted to do that was told many times NO. So we had to settle with having an offsite catholic wedding and a reception at Disney

 

[Dancermomof1]

I don't think you can. That is part of the reason we didn't originally get married at WDW and opted for a church wedding but now we are going back to renew our vows there after 4 years and that is always an option ! Good luck and congratulations

 

[hope1826]

Sorry for this odd question - I'm new here! If you get married at the Wedding Pavilion or on Disney Resort property, can you have a Catholic Priest do the ceremony or does it have to be a Justice of the Peace?... Any info appreciated - thanks in advance!

I started a similar post months ago and few others have asked the same question. Hope this helps...

1. You CANNOT have a Catholic or Roman Catholic Priest perform a ceremony at Disney, for the reason Alissa gave. This is not Disney's rule. It is the Catholic Church's rule.

A Catholic Priest in good standing with the Catholic church will NOT perform a ceremony not on hallowed ground. In some situations they can assist in blessing an interchurch wedding that has been approved by the Catholic church but is taking place inside a Synagogue or Protestant church. But even then, they will not be the one to perform the cermony. It will be the Rabbi or the Reverend.

2. You CAN have an ex-priest perform a ceremony at Disney. Technically they are still priests, but they are no longer recognized by the church because they are married priests. The following website was recommended when this question was previously posted....

http://www.rentapriest.com/web/?_p=1001

However, I am pretty sure the wedding will NOT be recognized by the Catholic or Roman Catholic Church as "valid".

Something along these lines is the ONLY way to be
married by a priest on Disney Property.

3. Several brides on this board have had a Disney wedding officiated by a Justice of the Peace or an ordained Protestant Reverend or Minister, in addition to Catholic wedding Mass or a Catholic Wedding Blessing (both are recognized as valid by the Catholic church). These second catholic ceremonies can be as large or small as you want. Some brides her have only had both sets of parents and grandparents attend their Catholic Ceremony while others have had huge Catholic ceremonies.

This is the ONLY way to have both a marriage that is recognized as "valid" by the Catholic church and a Disney wedding.

 

[Lindsay22]

2. You CAN have an ex-priest perform a ceremony at Disney. Technically they are still priests, but they are no longer recognized by the church because they are married priests. The following website was recommended when this question was previously posted....

http://www.rentapriest.com/web/?_p=1001

My friend used a priest from this website for her (non disney) wedding. She actually didn't know that this website existed until someone really liked her priest and googled him!! He is a real priest, just retired. The wedding isn't recognized by the Catholic Church but they were married by a priest. I think this might be the best option.

 

[hope1826]

My friend used a priest from this website for her (non disney) wedding. She actually didn't know that this website existed until someone really liked her priest and googled him!! He is a real priest, just retired. The wedding isn't recognized by the Catholic Church but they were married by a priest. I think this might be the best option.

Thanks Lindsay! I was actually referring to your post from a few weks ago when i posted this, but I couldn't find that thread and I couldn't remember all of the details.