Many couples, even though they feel ready for marriage, delay their wedding and even start their life together without first celebrating the sacrament of marriage, because they do not have the money to celebrate. 

Of course, everyone wants to be able to have a nice dress for that day, and invite family and friends to join in their joy by having a big party, with flowers, music and good food. However, if that is the case for you, we would like you to consider the following:

• Celebrating a marriage and having a party are two separate things. The celebration has to do with the sacred moment when the couple stands before the altar and gives themselves to each other, having God as their witness and foundation for their total and faithful surrender. The party is the way in which family and friends are invited to participate in this joy, but it is not essential to the marriage itself.
• The wedding day is just a moment, marriage is for life. Nowadays, cultural influences pressure couples to spend a lot of money on the wedding party. The high cost of these celebrations often means that couples start their married life in debt, which ultimately brings them more problems than joy.
• The only thing that the Church asks of you as a financial contribution to celebrate the rite of the Sacrament of Marriage is the cost of using the church (cost of electricity, etc.), when the ceremony takes place outside of the normal hours of Mass for the faithful. But if you still cannot make that contribution, speak to the priest in charge and he will surely give you some help. Additional costs depend on music, flowers, renting an aisle runner, etc. But all of these costs are incidental and can be omitted.
• The benefits that the grace of the sacrament brings to the couple and their future family are priceless. God Himself guaranteed His presence among those who promise to love each other as He loves us. This gives couples who are starting their life together or those who were already living together the possibility of relying on His special assistance to carry out their love and commitment.

Certainly, marriage is not a purely private matter but rather, as a sacrament and the basis for the formation of a stable family, it has repercussions for the community and society. That is why it makes sense to celebrate it in front of family, friends and the ecclesial community. For this reason, the Church welcomes fitting alternatives, such as the one created by Sister Jan Mengenhauser (Office for Family Life of the Diocese of Omaha), which is known as “Simple Weddings.” 

The “Simple Weddings” program invites several couples who are going to get married, or sacramentally convalidate their union, to prepare the rite and the festivities together. In this way, couples feel like the protagonists of their celebration, as the Church indicates. The reception can be held in a parish hall, where in a simple but elegant and heartfelt way, the newlyweds can make a toast, cut a cake and offer some appetizers to all those who decided to accompany them for this very special moment in their lives. If there are other couples preparing at the same time, they can decide, by mutual agreement, to have a collective celebration. This way, expenses are shared and everyone has a chance to celebrate.