[Crystal0322]

Hello everyone!! I am currently in a military relationship, and my fiance and I want to marry asap... He is leaving for Iraq in february and we're hoping that if we can pull this off in the next month that will leave us with some time to get settled before he goes... The only problem is, yes we are young, and my mom is a bit upset that we arent having an elaborate church wedding, and she is afraid because our marriage wont be blessed. My original idea was to get married just legally before he leaves and then for the 9 months that he will be away, plan the big elaborate wedding my mother dreams of! Well... The only problem with that is convincing my mother. She is afraid like i said that we wont be able to have the church wedding. I was wondering what kind of ceremony the Catholic church offers for these circumstances. I was also wondering what you think would be appropriate for this situation...I would love you hear some opinions on this! Thanks for your feedback!

[the_admin]

You can certainly be married civilly now and then in the church when your husband arrives back in the states. The church doesn't recognize civil unions so it will be like marrying for the first time in their eyes. This does bring up some issues with the church, though, since I assume you will be living together before your marriage is blessed by God. Perhaps you could be married by your pastor with a few friends and family gathered before he is deployed and then, upon his return, have a huge part to celebrate the marriage as well as his retun! Set up a meeting with your pastor and bring your mom along. Then you can all discuss the options available.

Hopefully, the nine months your soon-to-be-hubby is gone will go quicly for you. Wish him well and thank him for defending our country!