finding the perfect church

D and I are both Catholic and he wants a church wedding. Even when I said that I’m open for a civil wedding due to monetary constraints, he insisted on a church wedding and even said, maybe just to elate me, that I deserve no less than a church wedding (most Filipinos are religious and they often regard church weddings or those performed by religious officiants as “more blessed” than civil marriage rites). So who am I to object to that?

The next task is to find a church. Eversince the Catholic Church decreed that Catholic wedding ceremonies must be performed inside a church, a Catholic bride’s or couple’s dream to have an outdoor Catholic wedding–in a garden, on the beach, etc–became out of reach. It’s either you get married in a non-Catholic rites and by a non-Catholic priest, or you forget about the whole idea. So a church is non-negotiable.

{Photo by Marivi Hilos : marivihilos dot blogspot dot com)

But which church is it?

My first thoughts were “I want an old, historical church for the ceremony”. I want a picturesque church with the character of the past. But since the logistics (location and proximity to reception venue, accessibility to families and guests, availability, fees, etc) are complicated, we decided to limit the search on churches near us. And this time, the search is for a small chapel. If I can’t have my old, picturesque church, then I want a chapel. For me,  small chapels have a sense of intimacy and simplicity, and I love to exude this feeling on my wedding ceremony. Although, as per another Catholic decree (or is it a diocesan or parochial discretion?), not all chapels allow wedding ceremonies.

So I’m still pretty much in a roadblock in my quest to find THE perfect church. We have a couple of options but haven’t made any final booking yet. Although at this point, I know that my preference may have to give way to more important factors.

It’s ok, I’m not sad. After all, it’s the couple that makes the wedding, not the church.