Will a Catholic Priest renew a couples vows in a formal ceremony outside?

My husband and I had a small ceremony at the local Marine Corps League and are planning a renewal of vows/formal ceremony and reception for family and friends. I would LOVE to have this ceremony outside. However, my mother insists that it is done by a catholic priest and I don't know that the priest would perform the ceremony outside. Also, we do not belong to a church and we would be traveling cross country to our home state of Wisconsin to have the ceremony. Is this also an issue? Wedding planning SUCKS!Will a Catholic Priest renew a couples vows in a formal ceremony outside?
Sorry, I have not run across the situation before.





Just call the parish near where you plan to have your renewal ceremony and ask.





With love in Christ.Will a Catholic Priest renew a couples vows in a formal ceremony outside?
A priest would possibly do a vow renewal ceremony outdoors or in other settings outside of church, but that's not what you're asking for. You're asking for a convalidation of your marriage -- a ';blessing'; to make it recognized by the Church.





So you have a couple of problems here. First, if neither you nor your husband are Catholic, it can't be done. Mom's insisting upon it is meaningless if you aren't Catholic. If you are, you're not actually in communion with the Church because you don't belong to a parish, which I assume means that you don't go to Mass. That would put any Catholic in a state of mortal sin (not to mention the fact that you married outside the Church without dispensation and without the benefit of clergy), so you'd have to go to confession, possibly make a renewed statement of faith, join a church and start going regularly again before you could possibly get a priest to convalidate your marriage.
So you're already married, you aren't Catholic, you don't belong to a parish and you don't want a church ceremony - but you are actually thinking that a Priest would agree to this farce? Wedding planning does not suck if you know at least enough to respect the rules of the different churches! Doesn't matter that you're travelling ot of state because you're already married so there's no license or registration involved. This is just a little ';show'; that you're planning for photos. Hire an actor to play a Priest and have your little theatrical outdoors. Doesn't matter a bit. If mother objects, too bad. If she is actually a practising Catholic, she'd know that a Priest won't perform a REAL wedding outdoors and the only thing one might do is attend the ceremony and give a Blessing to your marriage. That actually can be very nice and should make her happy enough. A Priest can give a Blessing to anyone.
If you want a Catholic wedding, then it has to be in a church. Exceptions are not made just because you want to be married outside.





You can have the reception outside, if you want, but the ceremony must take place in a church. Marriage is a sacrament in the eyes of the Church.
Well... Catholic teachings say that you should be married in a church!


I don't think it matters if you don't belong to the church if your mother's priest will be the one doing the ceremony. He will do it for her.


If the priest is nice and the church has a good courtyard or something outside he might be lenient enough to move it out there.


Other than that I'm thinking you're going to have a hard time trying to have it outside with a Catholic Priest!


Us Catholics are hard core!!! ; )


Hope everything goes well!
I can help you simplify the planning: always ask the person who has the answer, don't clutter your life with ';advice.'; What you're doing is fretting and preplanning, it's not planning.


Get on Google, find contact info for the Roman Catholic Diocese that includes Wisconsin. Contact the diocese, and ask this question.
No. The Catholic Church will only allow ceremonies inside their buildings. They refuse to do anything wedding-related outdoors. It's not your mother's wedding anyway.





But since neither of you are Catholic, they won't allow you get a blessing (which is what you would be going for) unless you both are willing to convert to Catholicism.
You have to contact a Catholic church and ask the Pirest if he will perform the duties.
You keep saying ';ceremony'; in your question which is confusing. Also, you do not say if your spouse is Catholic. If you married OUTSIDE of the Catholic Church and you are Catholic you have a few challenges.





1. If you and your spouse are Catholic, and you married OUTSIDE of the Church, i.e. civil marriage, you've committed a serious sin. Catholics are required to be married in the Catholic Church, even if the other spouse is non-Catholic. Only a special dispensation by your Bishop can commute this requirement. Therefore, the Church does not recognize you as married. Your marriage will need to be CONVALIDATED.





2. If you are seeking convalidation, more than likely the priest will ask you and your husband to cease marital relations until the convaldiation. Why? because you're not technically married in the eyes of the Church.





3. You and your husband will probably need to be catechized about the Sacrament of Marriage. No offense, but it doesn't sound like you know much about the Sacrament of marriage given your current situation.





I think the location of your ';ceremony'; i.e., outside, should be the least of your concerns. The Sacrament of Marriage is a sacred event and should be celebrated in and inside the Church, the place where most Sacraments are celebrated. I think you need to ask yourself if you and your husband are willing to live the Catholic faith. If yes, you will accept the Church's mandates on the Sacraments, contraception, etc. However, if you want things ';your way'; even if it is contrary to Church teaching, then you're not just not ready to live your faith and be married in the Catholic Church.
No. Catholic priests will not marry you outside of a church. (I'm bummed myself. I would like to get married outside and my family is Catholic, so its a bit of an issue) As far as traveling to renew your vows, depending on the circumstances it should be ok. Most parishes will allow it if you have a good reason (relative is a parishoner, you're having a destination wedding etc) I did sit through a lecture once (it was supposed to be a sermon but the priest went off on a power trip) about how the pastor of a church I used to go to had recently refused to marry an out of state couple there. He said they contacted him and said they'd seen how beautiful the church was in pictures on the internet and would like to get married there. The pastor turned them down because he said weddings were community events and should not be based on vanity and they should get married in their own community (this is where my mouth kind of dropped open in shock that he told them no). But anyways, perhaps you'll have better luck, especially if you're getting married in a church that a relative belongs to.