The Red Cloak — 7 years ago(December 28, 2018 09:04 AM)

I come from a huge Italian Catholic family so I have been to countless Catholic weddings.
I went to a Protestant one once; I thought it was strange. The church was really ugly. It looked like the inside of of a DMV. Plain as ****. It had very little art…and windows. And it didn't even have pews. It had a row of chairs you could buy at Wal-mart.
A protestant wedding is like the Honda Civic of weddings. But a Catholic wedding is like the BMW of weddings. You get the beautiful historic church with pretty art and statues, an ordained priest who marries you, the incense, the gifts, and the formal music (Pachelbel's Canon, Mendelssohn's Wedding March, Wagner, etc.), the organization, which combined with the aesthetic make for a Holy experience.
Now, about being married by priests or baptist pastors:
What's cool about a priest marrying you is they've chosen to live they're life that way; they're a small minority. Not everyone can be a priest. It's harder to become a priest than to join the military. It takes dedication. So you get this sense that something otherworldly is forming your union. You can't just call yourself a priest. The Catholic Church has to give you that title. It's a title you earn through years of clergy service.
But it's not as special when Chuck from down the street puts on a suit and marries you. Anyone can get their minister license with a $20 fee and marry another person. Anyone can open their own business, call it a Baptist church, and pastor it. There are no "higher-ups" in Baptist churches. It's completely independent. So when your average Joe Scho in a suit marries you, it's not as magical.
Have you ever, as a non-Catholic, wanted to get married in a Catholic Church, just for the nice wedding experience?