Out of everything that goes to make up your wedding day, it will be the ceremony that you will remember most. Your ceremony should be an expression of the sacred reality of your love -- whether you are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, any other faith, or no particular faith. God has blessed you with the gift of love, and that overrides anything else … whether you are of different faiths, whether you have been married before, or other particular circumstances of your life.
Sometimes the rules of different religions can get in the way of the spirit of those religions. There is today often a conflict between spirituality (many people, especially younger people, "feel" spiritual ... everyone "is" spiritual) and religion (many people are turned off by the structured demands of organized religion). Yet, the spiritual core beliefs of most religions today are very similar and the areas of disagreement are relatively minor. Virtually everyone believes that love is the essence of God, and that God's primary command is for us to become better, more loving, more compassionate, more caring people, and that we become more loving through our relationships with other people. A lot of ceremony can be built around those universal beliefs.
God lives in all people, Christians and non-Christians. Divinity is within us all, and we are within divinity. God loves every human being completely and unequivocally. Christians believe that love is paramount, that if "God is Love". It follows, then, that those "in love" are in God. That spiritual reality overrides a religious rulebook. Don't worry if you feel more spiritual than you do religious. Both are okay; God lives in us all.
When the atmosphere and words of your ceremony reflect the love you and your fiancé feel for each other, it will be a powerful launch into your new life together. To think that marriage is an arrival, a settling in to a life of love, is to miss what marriage is about. Life itself is the continuing and spiritual quest for becoming a more loving person; marriage is the choosing of a soul mate, a unique and trusting partner with whom we can best make that journey to greater love more happy, more successful and more beautiful. Marriage is the magnificent continuing passage into greater love; it is not the destination itself. A wedding ceremony that builds on the values of your past and looks to the future will speak eloquently to you both throughout your life together. Spirituality is what counts! Religion can be a gift for many, but it is not a necessity.
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