How to have a Catholic wedding is one of the most common questions couples ask while planning their wedding day. A Catholic wedding is filled with meaningful traditions, intentional moments, and a structured ceremony timeline. Additionally, most Catholic wedding days begin early and include getting ready, a full Mass ceremony, family portraits, and a longer reception afterward.

Because of this, couples should plan for a longer photography timeline than a standard wedding day. Most couples benefit from at least ten hours of coverage with a full Catholic Mass included. Furthermore, Catholic weddings often include church guidelines, premarital preparation, and important ceremony traditions before the wedding day arrives. Throughout this blog, I will share how to have a Catholic wedding, what traditions to expect, and photography tips from a real Catholic wedding I photographed in California.

About Destinations with Dana

Hey! Dana Arnold here – photographer at Destinations With Dana. Since 2018, I have photographed weddings all over the U.S and parts of Europe. And since then, I also photographed several catholic mass wedding days in California, Florida, Virginia, and Italy. These are weddings I have experience in, and always love photographing. The days may be long, but the memories photographed, and delivered are always so beautiful and joyful! So, I wanted to share some tips when it comes to planning a catholic wedding and creating the right timeline for the wedding day.

Catholic Wedding Timeline – Getting Ready

I am going to share with you a timeline for a 135-guest count catholic wedding day. There is a wedding party, with 5 being on the bridal party and 5 being on the groomsman side. This wedding was also including no first look between the bride and groom. They did however, do a first touch and private vows. The bride also did a first look with her dad. Lastly, between the wedding ceremony end time, and the beginning of cocktail hour start time, there was a 90-minute gap for images.

• The bride and her girls started to get ready at 7:00am. They hired a team with multiple members of the HMU artists company, to ensure they are done by 11:00am for first touch photos between the bride and groom.
• Because the bride had a heavy wedding dress with detailed beading, a personalized necklace, and more, it did take around half an hour to have the bride get into her dress. It’s important to note that most catholic wedding require attire that is modest or at least covers the shoulder. This bride did not have that, but she did have a veil over her head, and beading on her shoulders. In short, please allow half an hour to get into your dress, go to the bathroom, etc.
• At 11:35, the bride had her first touch with her husband, with private vows. Immediately after, a first look with her dad in the hotel lobby with her veil on.

Catholic Wedding Timeline- Ceremony

Catholic wedding ceremonies usually last around an hour, and include many traditions. Such as unity candle, Marian Devotion, Offertory, vows and rings, Liturgy of the word, etc. There are also traditions of the lasso, Arras Matrimoniales (Unity Coins), and The Care Cloth. When each tradition is included, this can make the wedding ceremony last over an hour. My advice for this is to set aside 70 minutes total for the ceremony from the time you walk down the aisle, to the grand exit as husband and wife.

• For this wedding, the bride set aside the start time for 1pm, and the end time ending at 2:15pm. This mass was also including the Mexican tradition of having a mariachi band play, and so that was taken into account. They did include all traditions mentioned above.
• Majority of the couples who have catholic weddings do not do a first look, or really any photos with close family members or their spouses until after the wedding. So, from 2:30 to 3:00, this time was dedicated to family formals, sponsors, etc. Most of the time, this list is long, so ensure there is someone to gather family members.
• From 3:00 to 3:15, it was dedicated wedding party photos.
• 3:15 to 4:00, this was time meant for the couple. Note, the couple did not want any golden hour photos once the cocktail hour started. So, we had 45 minutes to take solo shots of both bride and groom, and of them together inside and outside. Having a photo/video team is important so you can have great photos captured in a timely manner.

Cocktail Hour and Reception Timeline

For this wedding day, the bride and groom wanted to spend every moment they could with their guests. So, this means they also wanted to enjoy cocktail hour fully without being pulled aside for any other photos (aside from with their guests). Throughout the Reception, there were also Mexican traditional games and activities for the guests. This kept the guest on their feet and having fun the whole time. Traditionally, you can expect speeches and toasts to be around 25 minutes. This is after dinner service that has a dedicated 45 minutes to an hour.

• Cocktail Hour from 4:00 to 5:00
• The couple enters as husband and wife and leads into first dance.
• Dinner is 5:15 to 6:00.
• Toasts to follow (both sets of parents, siblings, and sponsors spoke totaling in about 20 minutes)
• Games included: La Vibora De La Mar, El Mandilon, money dance, bouquet and garter toss totaling around 45 minutes of time.
• The couple also did a cake cutting.
• The last two hours 7:45 to 10:00 were for open dancing, and this wedding had so many guests on the dance floor all night long. With this, also came other group shots the couples wanted
• Lastly, the couple did have an after party at a pool hall with tacos, more dancing, etc. Something they also wanted to have photographed.

How to have a Catholic Wedding

In general, here are the tips for you to note and save on how to have a catholic wedding:

1. When getting ready, if you have multiple wedding party girls getting hair and makeup done, hire a team that has multiple people. Three for hair and three for makeup is ideal
2. Ceremonies usually start at 1pm. Some locations might have more than one mass a day, so consider that with timing. If you have a 4pm mass, consider doing as many formal images as you can before hand ( or even consider a first look), so you can still enjoy cocktail hour and have your dinner at a reasonable time without being pulled away for images.
3. When it comes to the church, most places do not allow photographers to go in front of the guests, walk up and down the aisle, use flash, etc. So. it is essential you hire two photographers for the ceremony, so nothing is missed. Ask for portfolio images from other catholic mass ceremonies or when flash was not used inside a church so you can see what the images look like edited with no light.
4. Allow plenty of time for photos after the ceremony. Especially if you are not having a first look or any other type of photos before the ceremony. 90 minutes top is ideal depending on need
5. Talk to the Priest about dress code. Some churches may even have strict dress codes, while some may be flexible.
6. Lastly, when it comes to photography – at minimum, if you want the day photographed from getting into the dress, to reception dancing, I would hire a photographer for at least 10 hours. If you want full day, such as details of getting ready to grand exit of the day, you can expect a photographer to offer 12-hour packages.

If you want to know more about the rules and requirements leading up to your wedding, here is a great blog with more resources, tips, etc.