IT won't make him popular with hoteliers, wedding planners or florists, but a priest has come up with a novel way for couples to save money when it comes to tying the knot.Group weddings after Sunday Mass, followed by a joint reception in the parish hall, is the brainchild of Fr Paddy Byrne, who wants to provide a thrifty alternative to "must-have" weddings costing tens of thousands of euro.
Now, the Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, priest is hoping to gain the backing of his diocese and the church authorities at large, and his concept may bear fruit next year.
He told the Irish Independent that he came up with the idea after noticing a number of couples postponing their weddings since the onset of the recession, because they were concerned about the prospective cost.
"This is a fairly common occurrence at the moment. I sense stress and I sense apprehension and a lot of anxiety to wedding list issues and wedding reception issues and so on. I often say to myself, when is the penny going to drop in our culture?"
Describing €25,000 as an average budget for a wedding day, he insisted it was time to become imaginative when it came to planning nuptials.
"I'm not giving out about the cost of weddings, but does saying 'I do' have to cost €30,000," he asked.
Fr Byrne suggests setting aside certain Sundays, probably during the summer months, when a number of couples could get together and have their wedding ceremony performed after Mass, with a local hall then acting as a venue for a party or barbecue or whatever celebration they decide upon.
"I'm amazed at the response I've got," he said. "I'm amazed with the amount of couples who have said they'd like to do this."
Fr Byrne points out that baptisms are often performed jointly on designated days, while first communions and confirmations all take take place in group settings.
"Why not celebrate marriage as a community, together," he asked."As a culture, we need to define a new way for ourselves to celebrate marriage. In early Christianity, it (the wedding) was always done in a public place," he said.
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