The Words Matter Blog
How to Plan Your Catholic Wedding in Vancouver
Sept. 15, 2025
Welcome to beautiful Vancouver, BC.
The city of mountains, water, rain, and... Catholics?
According to a 2021 census, there are approximately 356,000 Catholics in the Greater Vancouver Area. While we hope that number continues to grow, it's easy to imagine that the city hosts many Catholic weddings every year.
Let's be honest, though...
Vancouver is such an eclectically diverse city (just hop on a city bus and you'll see) that Catholic communities, and resources for planning local Catholic weddings, can be hard to find.
As an engaged person planning a Catholic wedding in the Lower Mainland, I've learned a few things. The aim of this post is to consolidate what I've learned into a post that hopefully will help others!
We'll break down the process: what you need to get married in the Catholic Church in this diocese; how to start booking your venues with your faith in mind; awesome local Catholic vendors to consider; and ways to keep your faith at front of mind amidst it all!
Let's start from the very beginning... (a very good place to start)
Okay, so you're engaged. CONGRATS (!!!!!) Live in the joy and bliss of the moment, and try and hold onto it as the reality sinks in that you've got to get to work.
You and your fiancé have already sat down and agreed that you'd like to plan a Catholic wedding. That's great. The first thing you need to know is that the Archdiocese of Vancouver requires completion of a marriage preparation course prior to getting married in one of its churches.
This is a five-week course where the first and last sessions are held in person at the Archdiocese headquarters. The sessions in between are held virtually, such that couples can attend via Zoom from wherever they are located. This arrangement makes it challenging to meet other couples, as you only get to interact briefly at the start and end. However, the online sessions make it way easier to attend, especially if you live out in the Valley or have to deal with some serious rush hour traffic to get there (sigh).
I highly, highly recommend doing this early in your engagement. My fiancé and I did it two months in, and we are SO glad we did. We are now six months in, and there are so many more things to attend to and decisions to make. Doing it early means you really get to be present to the process, and aren't yet as distracted thinking about flowers, dresses, and cutlery. Obviously, 10 hours over the course of five weeks barely scratches the surface as far as getting into the weeds of what marriage is all about. BUT there is some genuinely good stuff in this course that you want to pay attention to. The material on couple communication and conflict resolution is really helpful. You'll also do a VERY thorough assessment of yourself that will be compiled into a report along with that of your future spouse - insightful info, and you get to have a follow up with a facilitator after the course to discuss it.
The course costs $270, and will require you to give up either a Wednesday evening or Saturday Morning. It runs every month except July, August, and December.
Around the time you're doing the course, you will want to be discussing where you want to get married.
You will need to have decided on your church by the time you are done the course. You will be provided with a form that you will need to review with the priest at said church, and will need to return the form signed prior to course's end. They will remind you about this every week - just a heads up.
If you're Catholic, chances are that you'll choose to get married in the church that you and/or your fiancé attend regularly.
There are lots of beautiful churches in Greater Vancouver, and it's usually required that you contact your church of choice at least 6 months prior to the wedding date. You probably want to budget closer to a year if getting married during the summer months.
Of course, the most iconic church in Vancouver is Downtown's Holy Rosary Cathedral. It's easily the grandest in the city; just be aware that it's also the most expensive one to get married in. Most local churches charge $250-500 to host your wedding ceremony; the Cathedral requires $500-1000. Still not bad for a wedding venue, but good to know up front in case budget is tight. Altar servers will also cost you about $50 per person unless you can provide your own.
Once you've picked your church, it's time to book vendors!
This is both the fun and stressful part.
Photogenic as our city is, there are so many wedding photographers here that it can be hard to know who to choose. I'll leave the Instagram deep-diving to you, but I do want to bring your attention to a few local vendors who specialize in Catholic weddings. In no particular order:
1. Laura-Anne Smid. I've met this woman and she is an absolute ray of sunshine, despite the many things she's lived through (read her blog for more!). That, and she's been photographing Catholic weddings and events here for so long that she's almost a household name. Book her early if you want her, because she books up fast. You won't regret it, I promise - if not for her photography expertise, then for her joy, holiness, and wonderfully effervescent personality.
2. Fiat Lux Photography. Newer on the scene, but don't count Fred out! He photographed a friend's wedding at the Cathedral and did a beautiful job.
3. Hidden Lives Photography. Carly is actually photographing our wedding next year! She is a sweet soul who primarily does family photography, but does a limited number of weddings each year. She's flexible, accessible, insightful, and lovely. We can't wait!
4. Ambrosia Floral Studios. Unsure if she's Catholic or Christian, but Melissa does beautiful work!
5. And of course... US!!! Signage, custom art, invitation addressing, you name it. All with a Catholic touch!
This is probably a sufficiently long post for you to chew on for a while.
Part two to come!!!