Q & A

Subject: Marriage in France.

Question: I am an American citizen from Georgia. I have plans to be married in France--May 25, 2002. My in-laws are French and are planning the wedding. My problem is that because I have not been baptized, my wedding cannot be in a church. Are there any churches in France that would marry us without me being baptized. My in-laws and my fiancé are Catholic and I am NON-DENOMINATIONAL. At this time in my life I’m not ready to convert to Catholicism. They have already chosen a Catholic church and are waiting on baptism papers from me that I don't have. I think that we should just have a civil ceremony, but I’m sure my fiancé wants a church wedding. He said that it really doesn't matter to him ,but I know that it does. ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GRATELYFULLY APPRECIATED. ps-I don't speak French another problem. Will need bilingual priest, minister, etc. Thank You in advance.

Answer: You don’t need to be Catholic to be married in the Catholic Church in France, only one of you needs to be. I am not Catholic and I was married in a Catholic Church in France, it was my wife that was baptized. Your French in-laws might not realize, as mine did not, that you’re not a baptized Catholic. Just about every person in France is baptized in the Catholic Church. The way a wedding works in France is that a couple will marry civilly first, then if they so decide may also have a religious wedding. In France you can not have a religious wedding without first having a civil one. The tradition is to have both on the same day, as we did. The civil wedding acts as kind of a family wedding and the church one as a public wedding. Traditionally there are also two wedding celebrations, one just after the church wedding, acting as a public party. Then after that, a dinner for the family and close friends. This all adds up to a long wedding. The last one we went to, started with the civil ceremony at three in the afternoon and ended with the wedding cake at one in the morning. As for not speaking French, the priest that married us, also married a couple where the man did not speak French. He said it worked out fine. At our wedding we had parts in both French and English. Everything went well.

Related Link:
http://www.americansinfrance.net/Culture/marriage.cfm