Hrmmm... $400?

So, my fiance and I are Catholic. We can't have a traditionally Catholic wedding since we are 1. getting married within a month before he is deployed and 2. getting married in a botanical garden rather than a church. However, we found a priest that is willing to help us incorporate Catholicism in our wedding (he is a married Catholic priest, and a lot of married Catholic priests do things like this... yes they are not allowed to marry, but these ones have anyway). But he wants $400 to do the ceremony. Is this unreasonable? I explained to him about our situation, but he seems to be charging a lot to other officiants. What should I do?

Hrmmm... $400?
Actually, up until about 400(?) years ago, Catholic priests could be married, have families, and leave their money and property to them upon death. Which is why the Catholic church decided that priests should be celibate so that they would not produce offspring that could inherit their property, and then had the priests give over all worldly goods to the Church. It had nothing to do with faith, and everything to do with money. So those who are having a fit over this, calm down!
Reply:Our officiant is charging $650! We're having an outdoor wedding and we're doing a customized Southern Baptist ceremony (except we're not requesting everyone bring a casserole dish! (sorry, Southern Baptist inside joke!)) But my fiance and I both thought this was insane! However, he's the only one who will travel to our venue and do custom ceremony.
Reply:$400 is on par with what officiants in my area are asking (Central PA) so I don't think its too much, but for your area it may be.





Also, what sort of "catholic priest" is married? I've never heard of such a thing and seriously suspect this guy is claiming he is something he cannot be.
Reply:That's not unreasonable - we paid $300 for ours 5 years ago and that was just to come talk to us once and then perform the wedding. If she'd come to the rehearsal or we had more face time with her, it would have been more. I think that $400 is probably pretty common.
Reply:I didn't even know they charged that much!


I don't want all the religious stuff in my wedding.


I do want something spiritual, but I'm not going to pay a MARRIED Catholic Priest? that much money to perform the ceremony...
Reply:400 is about the norm but if this is bothering you or you can't do it go to the justice of the peace and have a nice get together after good luck
Reply:$400 is average. we got married in a catholic church and gave $400. it's not like it goes right in to the priest's pocket - it's a donation to the church.
Reply:this amount of money sounds rather high
Reply:Yeah, that's a lot. It's nice to want to incorporate a priest, but considering your situation, I'd get a judge, or a non-denominational person to do it. It doesn't make you any less religious, it just makes you financially savvy.





People that make a big deal about getting married in a church with a pastor/priest need to quit taking religion superficially, and realize that God looks at your hearts, not all the frivolous nonsense on the outside.
Reply:We had a married Catholic priest perform our ceremony as well! This might be a little off topic, but I had never heard of such a thing until we were planning our wedding. We decided not to get married in the church, but some relatives still were hoping for a Catholic "presence" for the ceremony. When I found this particular priest, I was pleasantly surprised, and everyone was happy! Anyway, to answer your question, I believe we payed our priest around $450. That included his travel to and attendance at the rehearsal, and his travel to and service at the ceremony. He also worked with us to compose a completely original ceremony, specific to us. Personally, I still thought the cost was a little high, but we got so many compliments from guests who thought the ceremony was traditional yet fun. So, it worked out really well. Good luck to you!
Reply:first off.... it would NOT be a Catholic marriage or accepted by the Church since these men are NOT TRUE PRIESTS. there ARE married Catholic priests but they do NOT go against the vatican as these men. so if you choose this - do NOT kid yourself - your marriage will NOT be valid in the Catholic Church.





I'm very curious -- if you are practicing members at a parish the priest should be able to marry you in the church. however since you opted OUT of the Catholic church when you chose botanical gardens - why does it matter. while priests will often "squeeze people in" in matters such as yours they will NOT defy the sanctity of the marriage sacrament. I am a staunch supporter of our military but you are sounding like you are using that as a copout / excuse.

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