If you’re worried about religious roadblocks that might make your interfaith wedding less than perfect, worry no longer, there are a number of ways to help this journey go smoothly. With interfaith weddings on the rise, many other couples have had to deal with the trials of planning this type of wedding, so fortunately you can learn from their mistakes. The following tips will help to ensure you have the wedding of your dreams, regardless of how many religions are involved.
Engagement
The first step in making sure your interfaith wedding and marriage is planned properly is to have a long engagement. Take your time to discuss how you and your fiancé want to approach every step of the wedding planning process. Take this time to explore how each of you wants to approach religion in your lives as a married couple, as well as your future children’s lives.
Be Informed
Before you say your “I do’s,” make sure you are both well versed in each other’s religion. This way you both have a good idea of how you want to integrate both religions in your ceremony, as well as your every day lives post wedding.
Counseling
Reach out to your clergy from each place of worship for guidance and counseling. This won’t be the first, and most certainly not the last time anyone has or will ask for guidance from your place of worship. You could also explore couples' counseling outside of your religions, for a more objective point of view, with help on issues that may or may not be related to your religion.
Family
Be patient with your family if they do not approve, or are having a difficult time fully accepting the interfaith marriage. Try your best to be calm and loving toward their opinions on the matter, rather than defensive or frustrated. If need be, you could offer counseling for your family members as well. Prior to the engagement, make sure to spend time with both families, so as to give them time to warm up to you and the idea of combining their faith with yours.
Officiant
Finding the right interfaith wedding officiants is such an important part of this process. Find an officiant who approves and fully believes in your union and makes you and your fiancé feel more than comfortable. If you have friends or family in an interfaith marriage, they probably know of an officiant who could be just the person you’re looking for.
Combine Both Faiths
For your wedding ceremony, make sure to include both religions equally. If one religion is significantly more prominent in the ceremony than the other, then that could cause problems. The last thing you’ll want on your wedding day is for any or all of your family members to be offended in any way. Interfaith wedding ceremonies can be a delicate dance, in which both religions are represented equally yet fully. If you get stuck on how to pull this off then ask your family members, as well as clergy members for advice and guidance.
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