Hiring a Priest and Rabbi to Co-officiate an Interfaith Wedding

As a newly engaged interfaith couple you may decide that you want your ceremony officiated by both a Priest and a Rabbi. This trend is becoming very popular and can help to relieve some of the stress involved in marrying somebody of another faith. Parents and extended family seem to be more at ease when they realize that both religions and traditions are extremely important to the couple and both are going to be equally incorporated into the ceremony and into the your life together.

Finding A Priest And Rabbi Willing To Co-officiate.
The Internet provides extensive information on Priests and Rabbis who already work together to perform wedding ceremonies. Use the search engine of your choice to search for interfaith weddings and co-officiants for interfaith weddings. You will find many organizations that specialize in just this type of wedding. If you prefer to use your family Priest and family Rabbi you will have to schedule appointments with both of them to determine whether or not they are willing to participate in this type of ceremony. If they are not willing to do this, you will have to decide as a couple whether you want to choose one or the other to perform the ceremony or if you would rather search outside the family church or synagogue to have an interfaith ceremony.

What To Expect When Working With Both A Priest And A Rabbi.
When you have decided as a couple on a Priest and Rabbi to co-officiate your ceremony you will be working with both of them before the ceremony to determine what traditions will be incorporated into the ceremony from each religion. You will also be working with them on premarital counseling to prepare for being married as an interfaith couple. The extent of the planning and counseling will vary from clergy to clergy. Some interfaith officiants have packages the couple can choose from regarding premarital counseling and the ceremony. Others are much more personalized and let the couple decide down to the last detail. Most all of these types of ceremonies allow a couple to mix and match the traditions most important to them as a couple.

Your Ceremony And Your Interfaith Lives Together.
All of the planning has occurred and the time has come for the bride and groom to be wed. The Priest and Rabbi will both do parts of the ceremony that were predetermined by the bride, groom and officiants. Typically, they both perform equal parts of the ceremony, but it doesn't always work like that. Some couples decide to have one of the officiants do more of the premarital preparation and have the other officiant do the majority of the ceremony. The important thing to remember is that this is your wedding and your lives together. The bride and groom should decide as a couple what they want and continue to search until they are able to find exactly what they want and what makes them comfortable for their wedding and their future.