How to Dress a Priest for a Wedding?
The Important Extras! On Sep 28th, 2017 3938 0
A wedding day is a very important day in the life of a couple as well as the priest whose duty is the creation of a new family. Therefore, everything should be perfect on the day of a wedding including the decorations in the church and the clothes of all the people who are present at the wedding. Of course, the priest should have appropriate vestments too which will emphasise the importance of the occasion and honour the catholic traditions. Traditional wedding vestments of a catholic priest are a cassock, chasuble, mitre and liturgical stole.
Chasubles
A chasuble is a liturgical vestment which is traditionally worn over a priest stole or an alb. Usually, the colour of this element of priest’s clothes has the same colour as the colour of the Mass which is being celebrated in the church. When it comes to a wedding, gothic chasubles can be of a white, cream or golden colour.
A white colour is a symbol of glory, light, triumph, joy, innocence and purity. A golden colour symbolises joy. Therefore, such colours are perfect for celebrating the day of a wedding.
Gothic chasubles can be made of different materials, yet, one of the best textiles which can be used for the production of chasubles is brocade. This material is very attractive and makes the entire appearance of a priest quite festive. In addition to it, chasubles can be decorated with symbolic embroidery. This embroidery may have such symbols as golden crosses and golden rings. Such gothic chasubles can be found in the online store of liturgical vestments http://vestment.co.uk.
A Liturgical Stole
It has already been said that gothic chasubles can be worn upon liturgical stoles during a wedding or another type of Mass. A stole is a band which can be colourful, although white stoles are more popular for a wedding. The length of this vestment can be up to nine feet, whereas its width can be up to four inches.
Liturgical stoles are worn in a special way. The centre of this garment is placed on the back of the neck. The ends of a stole should hang down in front. The ends can be hanging loos or be attached to each other.
Liturgical stoles can be made of different materials including silk. It is good to choose a stole decorated with attractive embroidery for a wedding.
A Cassock
Cassocks, especially white cassocks, can also be worn during a wedding. Such vestments as the alb can be worn upon a cassock during religious services.
There are many types of cassocks which are used for liturgical services. The particular symbolism of this garment is thirty three buttons which are located in the front of a cassock. These buttons are symbolising the years of the life of Jesus. Sometimes, ornamental buttons are used instead of real ones. The traditional length of cassocks reaches the level of the ankles. A cassock can be worn we a band cincture.
A Mitre
A mitre is a headgear which used to be worn on particular occasions in the past. In addition to it, not all the priests were allowed to wear mitres. Nowadays many of the strict rules have been abolished and a mitre can be worn by a priest during a wedding as well.
It is better to choose a white mitre for this occasion, although it is possible to wear a golden mitre or a silver mitre in order to match the colour of a chasuble. Yet, a traditional colour of Catholic mitres is white. Some models of mitres are decorated with beautiful embroidery which is mainly done in a golden colour.
It is also possible to get a special vimpa which is a shawl-like veil for an altar server who will hold the mitre prepared for a wedding. A vimpa is used for hygienic purposes as well as a symbolically since it shows that the holder of the mitre is not actually an owner of it.
