we are getting married outside of the church by an American Catholic Priest and not a

However, he is charging us $550! That seems like an outrageous amount of money for a priest. your thoughts?
I did not say he was from Rome. He was referred to me by one of the top wedding venues in our area. He said the only difference between American and roman priests is that they don follow the guidelines of the pope. I didn't know there was such a person. My fiance is not Catholic which is why we sought him out. Due to time constraints we were not able to go through the transformation process for him to become Catholic, however we will....believe me now?
OK..so i have taken into consideration all (well, most) of your comments and did some checking. He is not a Catholic priest but a minister who performs all types of weddings. Not happy that he called himself an American Priest, but he did. Thanks for all your input..but, by the way...why are some of you such "haters"? Chill out...i just asked a simple question.

unfortunately weddings are outrageously expensive

sounds reasonable... we had a wedding officiant with no religion and he cost us 450$ or 475$ i dint remember, but you have to think that you have to not only pay for his services but also for his travel to where your having your wedding and travel back.

Watch out, he'll try to rape you.

WTF?! You know that Roman Catholic priests aren't Roman, right?
American Catholic i= Roman Catholic

I actually don't believe your story now. because you can't get married by a priest unless you do the Prue-cana, and if you did Th epee-cana, then you'd know there is no such thing as "American Catholic".

Do it or you'll go to hell.

it is on the high side, but still not abnormal. most wedding officiants charge anywhere from 150 to 600 dollars, depending on where you live and how far they have to travel and what kind of ceremony you want.

I think a judge would be a bit cheaper.....

LOL, no matter WHERE the priest is from, Rome or America, he is still a ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST. Roman Catholic is a religion, not a signification on where the priest is from. There is no such thing as American Catholic! I say get married at city hall, since you are obviously NOT religious or Roman Catholic. It's obvious from how silly your question is... plus, you are paying THE CHURCH to do your wedding not the priest. It's not as if the priest is pocketing the money or something. All that money goes to the church.

BTW, you can't get married in a Roman Catholic church unless you have gone through your "canonical form." 1. Baptism, 2. First Holy Confession, 3. First Holy Communion, 4. Confirmation 5. Marriage. There are 2 more Holy Orders, and Last Rights, but those don't have to do with marriage.

Most states will allow a notary to officiate a wedding. Find a friend and ask them to do it! My backup plan for my Uncle (who is a preacher in AL) was a Florida notary from my job.

She was more than happy to do a small ceremony for free!

Lil IDK, my husband and I got married at the courthouse and we only paid the judge in pizza! Lil true story. If its too much, don't pay it, go somewhere else.

weddings are expensive.

<<We are getting married outside of the church by an American Catholic Priest and not a Roman Catholic Priest.?>>

That makes no sense. When the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony is administered by a Catholic priest, the wedding IS taking place INSIDE the Catholic Church. . .

UNLESS, the wedding is at a local other than a Catholic house of worship. But that doesn't make sense either because, in order for a Catholic priest to administer the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony outside a Catholic house of worship, he needs the permission of the bishop.

Something does not add up here.


<<However, he is charging us $550! That seems like an outrageous amount of money for a priest. your thoughts?>>

No. Priests don't "charge" for Holy Sacraments. What they do is ask that you give a charitable donation to the Church, or the charitable organization of your choice. They often suggestion an amount around $200 but, again, it's a suggestion, not a demand.

$550 is excessive UNLESS all this is taking place in a ritzy area.

As if you're not confused enough, American Catholic priests ARE Roman Catholic priests.


<<I did not say he was from Rome. He was referred to me by one of the top wedding venues in our area.>>

What is a "wedding venue"?


<<He said the only difference between American and roman priests is that they don follow the guidelines of the pope.>>


No - that's crap!
All REAL Catholics EVERYWHERE are subject to the pope.

Are you certain this priest isn't in schism with the Church?


<<I didn't know there was such a person.>>

There isn't.


<<My fiance is not Catholic which is why we sought him out.>>

That doesn't add up either. You sought out a Catholic priest because your fiance isn't Catholic?
Your fiance doesn't have to be Catholic in order to be married in a Catholic Church. He just has to be a validly Baptized Christian.


<<Due to time constraints we were not able to go through the transformation process for him to become Catholic, however we will....believe me now?>>

I'm not really believing any of this, no.

I was in the same situation. The minister I hired was an ex-Catholic deacon and he charged us $400 (so no, depending on where you live, I don't think $550 is completely outrageous). He referred to himself as "Old Catholic" rather than "American Catholic." Long story short, we're getting a "Catholicesque" ceremony in a non-denominational church because it would mean a lot to my Catholic family without having to do the Prue-cana and swear you'll raise your kids Catholic and all that nonsense. Sounds like that's the avenue you're going down as well.

So your marriage won't be recognized by the Roman Catholic church because your officiant isn't an ordained Roman Catholic priest, but it will be legal and you'll be able to have the religious ceremony that you want.

Mary Ann,

First, there is no such thing as am American Catholic priest. Obviously, this is a retired priest, who will be providing this service for you. I question why you are wanting a Catholic priest if you are not getting married inside the church? Yes, that amount is a lot. And, yes, you probably can get someone cheaper - a judge for instance.

Also, just so you know, as long as YOU are Catholic and have been baptized, you can still get married in the Catholic Church. Your fiance does NOT need to go through any "transformation process" (as you put it) in order to marry in the church. As long as one person of the couple (bride OR groom) is Catholic...that is all that is required. I did it, so did my daughter, and also my son, so I have some experience with marrying a non-Catholic in the Catholic Church.

In any case, you either pay that amount $550 or find someone else cheaper.

I only know two types of Catholic Church

Roman Catholic
Greek Orthodox Catholic
Both can be found in America

There is not such thing as a American Catholic

I would check this person out
Because Most Americans are Roman Catholic and they do follow the rules of the pope

An independent contractor can charge you whatever he wishes. This is called Capitalism and Free Enterprise.

By the way, the Catholic Church allows marriage between Catholics and non-Catholics. The non-
Catholic does not have to convert.

The interfaith couple will have to get permission from the bishop

Anyone married in the Catholic Church has to:
+ Take a Prue-marriage course
+ Promise to baptize and educate their children in the Catholic Church.

Here is a good article with suggestions on how to help an inter church marriage succeed: http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0690.asp

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 1633-1637: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt3art7.shtml#1633

With love in Christ.