Q403 – Are beach, garden, or forest weddings allowed, or should weddings be celebrated only inside the Church?

Interview Organization: Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima
Interviewer Name: Christopher P. Wendt
Date: November 13, 2025
Bishop Schneider explains that marriage is a sacrament, a holy liturgy and official worship of the Church glorifying God. Sacraments belong in consecrated places, though in emergencies or persecution, like his parents’ secret wedding, they can occur elsewhere. Ideally, marriage should be celebrated in a church.
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Because it is evident that it is a sacrament, what is a sacrament? A sacrament is a holy liturgy. It is the official worship of the church. It is the official prayer and liturgy to glorify the Lord through the celebration of a sacrament. And so for Catholics, the wedding moment is a celebration of a sacrament. Holy things and holy things belong to holy places and to the consecrated places of the church.

Of course, there can be situations of emergency or persecution or others where there is no possibility to celebrate marriage in a church, and it was so in the case of my parents. They were persecuted, and they had to celebrate the sacrament of marriage secretly in a house. But when there is a church, it is more proper to celebrate it there, of course.

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