When Colin Rainey and his wife, Gina, were looking for wedding venues, the great outdoors was calling.
“We just wanted that natural feel for our wedding,” said Rainey, a parishioner of St. Joseph, Cockeysville. “With COVID, it also made it easier to choose an outdoor venue.”
The pair was married June 11, 2021, by Monsignor Richard B. Hilgartner at Riverdale Manor in Lancaster, Pa. The outdoor reception followed at the same location. Monsignor Hilgartner, a family friend, baptized Rainey and three of his four siblings and officiated the wedding of his sister.
As a bonus, Rainey noted that having the event outdoors allowed them to keep their wedding pictures mask-free.
According to Dr. Diane Barr, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Raineys’ was one of 148 approved outdoor Catholic weddings in 2021. There were 815 total weddings in the archdiocese that year.
Archbishop Lori authorized a three-year experimental period for the policy allowing weddings outside of a parish church in 2018, and it became permanent three years later. The policy came about after conversations with couples who wanted to be married in the church but also wished to host the wedding at a special location.
“They were finding that couples were not coming for any kind of preparation or even conversation about marriage once they found out that their chosen venue was ‘not permitted,’ and they’d have to somehow identify a Catholic church for another ceremony,” Barr said. “In essence, the church was telling the couple that they would have to choose between getting married in a ceremony officially recognized in the church and a venue they had already chosen for this occasion.”
Barr said the number of couples requesting permission to marry outside a parish church (including both indoor and outdoor venues) has remained steady at about 20 percent. The policy states the chancery must approve the location for the wedding in addition to requirements for music, deportment and other factors.
According to Canon law, Catholic weddings should take place in a parish, but may be celebrated elsewhere with permission of the bishop or his delegate.
While Rainey was thankful for the option to wed outside, he said they still would have been married in a church if an outdoor wedding wasn’t approved.
“We knew we wanted to get married Catholic, said Rainey, 30. “We both grew up Catholic, and we want to continue with those values for our children.”
Father Matthew Himes, associate director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and chaplain at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, has performed six outdoor weddings in the past three and a half years he has been a priest. Locations include backyards of family homes, private venues and resorts. He said during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were more weddings outdoors due to couples’ health concerns.
According to Father Himes, outdoor weddings are not allowed to include a full Mass; instead, they combine a Liturgy of the Word and the Rite of Marriage.
“I believe that many of the couples who get married outside of a parish church would not get married in the church if it were not for the church allowing for this form of marriage,” Father Himes said. “Having this opportunity for couples is an opportunity to walk with and give couples a positive experience of the church.”
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