5 Top Tips for a Catholic Church Wedding

Sitting Down Together Before the Big Day

If you were sitting across from us right now, coffee cups on the table and your phones face-down ready to talk “wedding”, this is probably where the conversation would start. Not with timelines or shot lists or even photography, really. It usually begins with a deep breath and a sentence that sounds a lot like, “We’re excited… but also a little overwhelmed.”

We’ve heard that sentence in parish halls, coffee shops near downtown San Antonio, and once, memorably, whispered in the back pews of a church while the organist was practicing. Catholic weddings have a way of carrying a little extra weight—beautiful weight, meaningful weight—but weight all the same. And after photographing so many of them, from quiet weekday Nuptial Masses to packed Saturday ceremonies echoing with incense and song, we’ve learned a few things that couples don’t always hear early enough.

This isn’t a checklist. It’s more like the kind of advice you’d get from someone who’s seen the doors close, the music begin, and the nerves melt away more times than they can count.

The Church Moves at Its Own Pace—and That’s Not a Bad Thing

One of the first things couples tell us, often with a half-laugh, is that the Church timeline feels… different. Slower. More deliberate. Sometimes frustrating. We remember a couple who were planning a spring wedding and assumed everything would fall into place once they had the date. What they didn’t expect was how much of the process would unfold on the Church’s schedule rather than theirs.

At first, it felt like obstacle after obstacle. Meetings that couldn’t be rushed. Paperwork that needed signatures from places they hadn’t lived in years. Marriage prep sessions that forced them to pause and talk about things no one else had asked them yet. But somewhere between the second meeting with their priest and a quiet drive home afterward, something shifted. They told us later that the waiting changed how they approached the day. It stopped being about getting to the altar and started being about what it meant to stand there.

From our side of the camera, we’ve noticed this again and again. Couples who lean into the rhythm of the Church tend to arrive on the wedding day more grounded. There’s less urgency, less panic. The ceremony feels less like a performance and more like a moment you’re stepping into, together.

Marriage Preparation Isn’t Just Preparation—It’s a Mirror

There’s a moment that happens during Catholic marriage prep that no one really warns you about. Somewhere between the questionnaires, the conversations, and the quiet drives home afterward, you start seeing yourselves more clearly. Not just as two people in love, but as a partnership that’s about to be stretched, strengthened, and sanctified.

We once photographed a wedding where the couple told us their favorite part of engagement wasn’t the ring or the planning or even the excitement—it was sitting at their kitchen table late at night, talking through questions they’d never thought to ask before. Money. Faith. Family boundaries. Forgiveness. They laughed when they told us that the prep brought up disagreements they didn’t know they could have. But they also said it taught them how to have them well.

On the wedding day, you could see it. In the way they stood close during the homily. In how they looked at each other during the vows, not nervously, but with a calm familiarity. As photographers, those are the moments we’re drawn to—the subtle ones that reveal depth. Catholic preparation has a way of carving that depth early, long before the first photograph is taken.

The Ceremony Is the Point, Even When It’s Quiet

This is something we wish every couple could hear early on: in a Catholic wedding, the ceremony isn’t the prelude to the celebration. It is the celebration. Everything else flows from it.

We’ve photographed weddings where the church was full and weddings where the guest list barely filled a few pews. And honestly, some of the most powerful moments we’ve witnessed happened in near silence. A bride squeezing her father’s hand before stepping forward. A groom swallowing hard during the consecration. The way the light shifts across stained glass while scripture is read aloud.

Catholic churches often have rules—about movement, about where photographers can stand, about what can and can’t happen during Mass. We’ve learned how to work within those boundaries quietly, respectfully, without ever pulling focus. But what we love most is how those limitations invite something deeper. When you can’t choreograph every moment, you start experiencing them instead.

Many couples tell us afterward that the ceremony went by in a blur. That’s normal. What lasts are the feelings—the weight of the vows, the stillness, the sense that something holy just took place. Those moments photograph differently. They’re slower. Fuller. More real.

Expectations Are Gentler When You Name Them Early

One conversation we always encourage couples to have early—whether with their parish, their families, or their vendors—is about expectations. Catholic weddings often come with inherited assumptions. Family members remember how it was done “back then.” Parishes have traditions that may be unfamiliar. Couples bring personal hopes shaped by modern weddings they’ve seen online.

We remember a wedding where the couple initially felt disappointed that they couldn’t customize certain parts of the ceremony. But instead of fighting it, they chose to personalize what they could. They selected readings that reflected their story. They chose music that felt reverent but meaningful. They prayed together before the ceremony, just the two of them, in a quiet side chapel.

By the time the doors opened, there was no frustration left—only intention. That intentionality shows up in photographs. It shows up in the way hands are held a little tighter, in the way eyes meet across the aisle, in the calm that settles over a room when expectations align with reality.

The Day Feels Different When You Remember Why You’re There

There’s a moment we always watch for, usually right after the vows. It’s subtle. The couple relaxes just a fraction. Shoulders drop. Breaths deepen. Sometimes there’s a small smile, sometimes tears. It’s the moment they realize they’re no longer preparing—they’ve crossed the threshold.

Catholic weddings tend to amplify that moment. The ritual, the prayers, the community witnessing it all—it creates a sense of permanence that’s hard to describe unless you’ve felt it. We’ve seen couples walk out of the church beaming, not because the day went perfectly, but because something meaningful was sealed.

Years later, those are often the couples who reach back out to us. For anniversaries. For baptisms. For family sessions where toddlers tug at wedding albums and ask who everyone is. They tell us the day mattered more than they realized at the time. That the preparation shaped their marriage in quiet ways they’re still discovering.

Looking Back, With Perspective

After photographing so many Catholic weddings across San Antonio and beyond, we can say this with confidence: the couples who approach the process with patience, openness, and trust tend to experience something richer than they expected. Not easier, necessarily. But deeper.

If there’s one thing we’d want you to walk away with, it’s this: your Catholic wedding isn’t something to get through. It’s something to enter fully, even when it asks more of you than you anticipated. Especially then.

And when you’re standing at the altar, hands joined, surrounded by centuries of tradition and the people who love you most, you’ll understand why it unfolded the way it did. We see it every time. And it never gets old.

If you’re planning a Catholic Church wedding, you deserve photographers who understand the why behind the day, not just the schedule. Couples often tell us they felt more at ease simply knowing we’d been there before, that we knew when to step back, when to lean in, and how to document the moments that matter most without ever pulling focus from the altar.

If that sounds like the kind of presence you want on your wedding day, we’d love to hear your story. Reach out, tell us where you’re getting married, and what this season has been like for you. We’d be honored to walk alongside you—and quietly behind the scenes—as you step into your marriage.