Bleudog Fotography
This is a hard one for me to write about, because I do have personal opinions about religion and marriage. While that is a whole different topic that I have no expertise on, I do my best to answer all questions I receive, in hopes of helping each and every one of you get to and through a stress-free wedding day!
So instead of discussing my view on the role of religion in marriage, I am going to give some of my tips on how to incorporate different religions into your wedding ceremony. And if any of your reading this have any prior expertise or ideas on the topic, we would love your comments below!
1. Make your parents happy.
Now before you get any pre-conceived notions about this one, I want to clear one thing up: No, I do not agree that you should participate in anything within your wedding ceremony, that causes you to worship another God or being. Your are an adult when you get married and no matter what your parents have brought you up to believe, you are now old enough to formulate your own belief system. So if you grew up Catholic and now have become an atheist, I am not saying you should worship God in your wedding ceremony, just because it would make your parents happy.
However, keep your family in mind, and don't allow them to be placed out of their comfort zones. Many ceremonies do ask guests to pray or worship or participate in religious activities, and you do not want anyone to feel uncomfortable.
So just be aware of your roots and aware that your guests will not all have your same belief system and if worship is important to you, you could even think about having a small, private ceremony and invite the rest of your guests to the reception only!
2. Don't worship what you don't believe in.
A ceremony is a very special time for the two of you, and oftentimes brings religion into the mix. Not all couples have the same belief systems (because love is love), but your personal belief system is still important. So if that means cutting worship out of your ceremony, in order to not worship another Being that you don't believe in, then that will have to do.
3. Worship is different than tradition.
There are plenty of religious traditions that don't involve worship, and I love when couples bring their cultural traditions into the ceremony! With mixed religions and cultures marrying and coming together for this celebration, it is always nice to bring your roots into the mix!
4. Decide on a plan before marriage.
Love is love, and can often trump religion. And while I won't say much on the issue, it is a great idea to discuss long and hard about each of your religions, before you decide to commit to one another for the rest of your lives
Could your religious differences cause you to drift apart in the future? Who and what will your kids worship? What belief system will you teach them?
Having kids brings strain on a marriage asit is, so make sure you have a plan before you say "I Do."
