American Weddings Blog

Here’s the scenario. The wedding is still a ways off -- because you’re a smart couple, and you’re starting the ceremony planning early -- and you realize that the Bride’s mother’s Catholicism needs to be indulged. She’s old-school, and these sorts of things really matter to her. Further complicating matters, neither of you are religious, and the last thing you want is a wedding ceremony that feels like Catholic mass. 

How do you make everyone happy?

Last month, we published an article about how to create a wedding ceremony that reflects the religious values of the couple and surprise, surprise, it was all about communication. Now, we want to unpack that idea a bit more by looking at non-religious couples with religious families....(continued)

The bride might have been smiling, but everyone knew that she was deeply uncomfortable with the language used by the wedding officiant. And as the ceremony went on, the audience felt her discomfort, and they, too, grew increasingly uncomfortable. Despite the fact that the wedding was being performed by her uncle, it was clear that his religious language was making the bride, an atheist, unhappy. With all of her friends in attendance, her big day was being turned into a religious ceremony, and we all knew that behind her smiles, she was disappointed. 

What went wrong?

It turns out that her well-meaning but uninformed uncle was not aware that his references to God were exactly what the couple wanted to avoid. 

...(continued)