Contemporary and Traditional Catholic Weddings

Father Jason was absolutely a pleasure to work with! As a Catholic marrying a Buddhist, my wife and I wanted an outdoor/offsite ceremony while still having a traditional ceremony/mass. We were very glad to find that Father Jason was able to accommodate both of our needs and was... Read More helpful through each step from martial counseling, availability for questions, wedding rehearsal and day of wedding. During counseling, Father Jason helped us by initiating various conversations and allowing us to work through various scenarios. He did not pressure or try to persuade one side or the other that something was right or wrong but observed, listened and guided us accordingly. Leading up to our big day, Father Jason was easily reachable by email when we had questions about readings, songs, day of logistics, etc. On the day of our wedding, Father Jason arrived early and our ceremony went without a hitch. The ceremony was beautiful, his homily was personable and the experience was oriented towards our love and our families. After our wedding, everyone commented on how much they enjoyed the ceremony and Father Jason! We highly recommend Father Jason!

In short, Fr Jason Lody made our wedding ceremony incredibly personal and engaging, and we feel so very lucky to have had him officiate. If Fr. Jason is available for your wedding, I cannot imagine anyone better to officiate your ceremony and be present as you begin your... Read More marriage. We cannot say enough about him and plan to visit him in Centreville as frequently as we can. THANK YOU, FATHER JASON! Background: My husband and I were both raised Catholic on Long Island- he was married once before and did not have an annulment, and neither of us ever became part of a local congregation (officially or otherwise). Additionally, we both wanted to hold our ceremony outdoors, while maintaining the tradition of a Catholic ceremony. The task of finding a religious officiant seemed slightly daunting, but after a few days of searching using various key words, we found Fr. Jason. Initial Communications: From the first communication, we wanted Fr. Jason to officiate our wedding. He was quick to respond to e-mails, and when we decided to meet him, he asked us to come after mass at St. Anthony’s. We decided to attend to get a feel for his style, and have never been part of a warmer, more personal service. A few of his future couples were in the audience – he remembered their wedding dates, names, and even cited the readings they chose. Our introductory meeting after the mass felt like meeting of old friends- his sense of humor meshed easily with ours and we were immediately comfortable. The process to confirm the date was simple with a donation to the church, and we were relieved he was available. Preparation/Rehearsal: Fr. Jason provides a very simple outline of the traditional Catholic ceremony, and allows each couple to select readings and a unity ceremony that speak to them. When we sent him our readings he provided great feedback, as well as tips/tricks for executing the unity candle ceremony outdoors. He does not attend the rehearsal when there’s no mass, which was no problem for us. We had a prep call the week of the wedding, where he walked us through each and every detail, more so than any other rehearsal. Wedding Ceremony: Fr. Jason arrived to the ceremony site an hour early and worked directly with our wedding coordinator to confirm the details, timing, placement, etc., all of which aligned directly to our previous discussion. Fr. Jason made it so that my husband and I didn’t have to think about anything but the moment and each other. For each part of the ceremony, he told us exactly what to do and how to do it. His homily and blessing were funny, sweet, and poignant. Our absolute favorite part was when he paused and encouraged us to look out at our family and friends smiling back at us. It allowed us to truly absorb the moment and for me, see everyone for the first time, since my laser focus all the way up the aisle was on my groom. Post Wedding: After a sweet moment with just my husband and I just after the ceremony, Fr. Jason took a selfie with us and confirmed his plan to send out the signed marriage license (which he did the following day). So many guests asked if he was our parish priest, and how long we knew him. Every guest felt that the mass was simply “us,” which is all we could’ve hoped for.

Father Jason was fantastic! We highly recommend him!! He was kind, thoughtful and gracious throughout the entire process. His humor (not too much, not too little) and spot on for the ceremony delighted our guests and brightened our evening. We have him to thank for making our... Read More wedding an effortless and wonderful event. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND Father Jason!

Father Lody was amazing from pre-wedding to day of! We were so lucky to find him and click from the first meeting. Having a Catholic wedding outside was important to me and who would marry us even more so. Father Lody was everything we could ask for and more! Our guests... Read More laughed, cried and treasured all the moments of our ceremony. After, we received numerous emails about Father Jason and where they could attend mass. He was a huge hit with our guests and our families. To have almost 200 people witness a ceremony and feel intimate is no small task and he did it. You felt the emotion as he included everyone and made the ceremony what it should be- togetherness. We are thrilled we found Father Jason.

Fr. Jason Lody, was amazing. We, along with our friends and family really enjoyed his sense of humor! He made the ceremony prep painless and is awesome with communicating and making you feel prepared!

Fr. Jason was exactly what my now husband and I were looking for. Very professional and punctual. He answered all our questions and had us ready to walk in to our ceremony with no doubts. We are very happy. Highly reccomend!!!

Father Jason Lody was a pleasure to work with! He was flexible throughout the entire process and allowed my father and uncle to be a part of the ceremony; my father sang "Hallelujah" while my uncle played the guitar. It was really quite special! Thank you, Father Jason for... Read More making my wedding day a beautiful and memorable one!

Fr. Jason Lody did a wonderful job officiating our wedding! I am Catholic and my fiance is a non-practicing Methodist. We also were getting married outside. While other Catholic churchs would not bless our marriage because of our "nontraditional" relationship, Fr. Jason did so... Read More beautifully. He made our ceremony personal, even though he did not know us personally. I highly recommend Fr. Jason if you want to have a Catholic ceremony but aren't having a traditionally Catholic wedding.

Father Jason Lody is a compassionate, caring celebrant whose gentle smile and calm demeanor reassure those who come to him. He is a wedding officiate whose passion is serving as a conduit for those seeking to receive the graces a marriage ceremony bestows. Ours was an intimate... Read More celebration for a mature, divorced couple seeking to bless their union within the norms of Catholic tradition. Father Jason guided us in structuring an event suitable for the ten witnesses we selected. Our invitees included members of the Buddhist tradition, the Jewish faith, and those whose attendance at a house of worship was less than occasional. Father Lody ensured our readings and vows were tailored and unique to our shared experiences, the sequence of events embraced the intimate chapel surroundings, and that he, as celebrant, remained flexible and fully committed to ensuring our union was a blessing for all involved. We attribute our memorable, stress free, and consecrated event to the sprit filled, joyful, and practical insights of Father Jason Lody. We highly recommend Father Lody to any couple seeking a contemporary and traditional Catholic wedding officiate as well as those seeking to merely bestow blessings upon their union.

Father Jason was great! I'm a (lapsed) Catholic and my now-husband is (lapsed) Baptist, plus my father's side of the family is Jewish and several of our guests are LGBT. We wanted everyone to feel included, but still have a touch of the religious background we both grew up with.... Read More Father Jason to the rescue! Our initial meeting with him went much longer than expected as he explained his practice to us and we felt it was a really great fit. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to do the pre-marital counseling, but even without it many people asked us afterwards how long we had known Father Jason. They could not believe that we had only met with him twice! He puts everyone at ease and is extremely accommodating. Everything was perfectly timed and was formal enough to satisfy traditionalists (like my mother) while still having a touch of fun. Matt and I had my aunt do a reading, wrote our own vows, and did a knot-tying in lieu of a unity candle or sand. Father Jason rolled with whatever we decided and got in on the jokes when appropriate (like our ringbearer forgetting to take back the football and baseball our rings were tied to). Overall, a wonderful experience for both us and our guests. Highly recommend!

Father Lody is AMAZING! We wanted to still have a Catholic wedding, but outside. Father Lody met with us, and let us run with our ideas for the ceremony. He did the traditional Catholic vows, and allowed my husband to give a vow to my daughter as well. It was a beautiful day,... Read More and many of my guests commented on how beautiful the ceremony was, thanks to Father Lody. You won't find a more thoughtful and kind pastor. He was a wonderful and integral part of our wedding.

Father Jason Lody is the best! We grew up Catholic, but have always dreamed of having an outdoor wedding, so when we informed us that he could perform a "spiritual" Catholic wedding outside, we were thrilled. He even offers an included pre-marital counseling session. He had both... Read More me and my husband fill out a pre-marital questionnaire before coming in to meet him and we talked to him for over an hour like he had known us for years! The ceremony was beautiful. He kept it the exact length we wanted, incorporated the exact prayers we wanted, and coordinated with the rest of our vendors before the ceremony to make sure everything went smoothly. He had all of guests crying tears of joy at certain parts and laughing at others. People even came up to us immediately following the ceremony to say how beautiful it was. We highly recommend Father Jason!!

We feel very blessed to have found Father Jason Lody. Me and my husband are both Catholic and wanted a Catholic wedding in a beautiful vineyard that we both fell in love with. Father Jason was so supportive and wonderful to work with. He was familiar with Filipino wedding... Read More traditions and was very helpful throughout the planning processes. We met through FaceTime and we instantly felt comfortable working with him. He drove far (twice!) for the rehearsal and for the wedding day. He coordinated our rehearsal and was very accommodating. The wedding ceremony was just perfect! The sermon was beautiful and was tailored to us and the setting. Everybody, including our families who are strict Catholic and our guests who are not Catholic, enjoyed the ceremony and was still raving about him after the wedding. Thank you Father Jason for making our dream wedding come to life...it was very memorable. We definitely recommend Father Jason Lody!

Father Jason Lody was a delight to work with! My husband and I are both Catholic but had fallen out of regular practice. Fr. Jason made us feel so comfortable when we first met with him and walked us through our ceremony and readings. He was always very responsive whenever we... Read More emailed him with questions or guidance on what readings to choose. All our guests kept complimenting us on what a wonderful job Father Jason did. Our wedding was a beautiful day and made even more special by having him join us in marriage!

I am a Catholic convert and my wife is a non-practicing Christian and we both wanted a religious ceremony for our big day. Church wasn’t a desired location for my wife so I began the search for a Catholic Deacon, Priest, Bishop etc. that would do a ceremony outside of the... Read Moreauyfcbefvrafaxtfuutwwtrufxwrzdburayxxw Church. As you can imagine that is almost no one… Cue Father Jason! We meet with Fr. Jason and conversed several times via phone and email. Fr. Jason was always prompt in responding and answering questions. The ceremony was perfectly handled, his presentation was polished and timed perfectly. For those that want a religious feel to the wedding without the usual politics of church requirements Fr. Jason should be you go to. He is professional, respectful, and attuned to the traditional aspects of religious ceremonies. We highly recommend Fr. Jason whole heartedly for your wedding, you will not be disappointed!!

We had a great experience with Fr. Jason Lody! I was raised Catholic and my husband was not, and we both wanted something spiritual that would also appease our families. With my family being strict Catholics, I had to find an option that would allow us to have a Catholic... Read More ceremony outside of the church as my venue was at a historic manor house with a beautiful outside ceremony location. Fr. Jason was the answer to our problem, he served as a great "happy medium" between having a religious ceremony without it being overly long, and it did not have to be inside of a church. We met with him once before the wedding at his church one evening after work. He was very pleasant and open to discussing anything and everything with us regarding our religious views and our idea of the ceremony. You are able to decide how many readings you want to do (if any), if you would like a unity candle/sand etc or not, and he tells you from the beginning that the ceremony will be between 20-25min which is a perfect length in my opinion. Throughout the process he was responsive and easily communicated via email. The only reason I did not give 5 stars is because I wish he attended the wedding rehearsal. He lets you know that his standard practice is to not attend the rehearsal because he views it as something for the coordinator/wedding party. Being a planner/ type A like myself, it bothered me that he was not at the rehearsal just to quickly run through the vows and order of events. However, he showed up as promised right on time for the wedding and did a wonderful job! The only snafu is that my father and I assumed he would ask the standard "who gives this bride in marriage" once we got to the altar, so that my father could say her mother and I. That did not happen, and my father was awkwardly lingering for a bit before he took his seat. This was really no big deal, its just that it could have been easily worked out had he been there for the rehearsal. Just one of the very small details that you do not think about until the day of! Overall he really did a wonderful job and we were happy with his homily/wording on the day of. The ceremony was to the point and a perfect length of time. I would highly recommend him, especially to someone of a Catholic faith who's spouse may not be!! Thank you!

We had a wonderful experience with Fr. Jason. My husband is Catholic and I am not, but he felt that it was important to be married by a man of the cloth. Fr. Jason was very understanding and listened closely to what we wanted out ceremony to be like. It was the perfect... Read More balance of traditional and progressive. We didn't have a chance to attend pre-marriage counseling with Fr. Jason, as our timeline for the wedding and schedules were quite packed, but I have no doubt that his pre-marital counseling sessions would be just as wonderful and helpful as he was.

Father Jason was wonderful. He was incredibly responsive whenever we had questions about how our ceremony would go, and the ceremony itself turned out great. He's incredibly kind and I would certainly recommend him to anyone looking for an officiant!

Father Jason Lody was very friendly and accommodating and he did a great job officiating our ceremony. He even came out to Frederick, MD for the event. We were so glad to have him as our officiant!

Father Jason Lody was incredible to work with! My husband and I were both raised Roman Catholic, but we wanted to be married outside at our wedding venue versus in the church. Father Jason made the whole process so easy for us with the planning documents, and really took the... Read More time to get to know my husband and I, leading up to the wedding. He worked with us to craft a ceremony that was perfect for us, and we received countless compliments. Father Jason was always available to answer our questions and made wonderful suggestions. We would highly recommend Father Jason to anyone in the DC area!

Fr. Jason was wonderful to work with. He’s so genuine and cared about us. We worked with him to personalize the ceremony and his homely tied in perfectly with us as a couple and our venue. We also really appreciated the reflection questionnaire exercise - it helped us get to... Read More know each other from new angles and share those discussions with Fr. Jason. He also did a great job of balancing the spiritual and religious aspects of the ceremony to make everyone feel included.

My husband and I got married on Sept 16th, and we have nothing but great things to say about Father Jason Lody! He is responsive and took his time to listen to any request we had for our ceremony. Our ceremony was beautiful! We really enjoyed the readings and Father Jason kind... Read More words throughout it all. Our guest are still commenting on what a thoughtful and heart felt ceremony it was! Father Jason is very easy to talk to, made us feel very comfortable throughout the whole process and even provided guidance when we moved together as we where starting our life together at that very moment. We are truly grateful to have found him and we would recommend him to any couple! Thanks Father Jason! You made our day even better!

I am Catholic and my husband is not, however, we both wanted a spiritual ceremony. We got it. Jason is very personable and easy-going. We felt comfortable instantly. He responds to emails quickly and gave us the liberty to tailor make our ceremony. Finally, he is reliable. He... Read More arrived an hour prior to the ceremony and made sure everything was in order.

My husband and I knew we wanted a religious ceremony, as both of us were raised Cathloic, but we also knew we didn't want to get married in a church, because we wanted to get married at our venue. We were so happy to find Fr. Lody who was able to make our dreams come true! We... Read More met with him shortly after getting engaged. He was so easy to talk to and to get along with. He was easily reachable and helpful during the whole planning process. Our ceremony was absolutely perfect, everything we wanted! Our guests thought that Fr. Lody was a childhood priest of one of us, that's how personal and relevant our ceremony was to us and to our lives. We couldn't have been happier !!

I had always wanted to be married in the Catholic faith; however, I knew I was unable to be married in the Roman tradition. Then, I came across Fr. Jason Lody & his wedding ministry through the Franciscan Community of Mercy and the American National Catholic Church. It was an... Read More answer to my prayers! Fr. Jason was very friendly & accommodating to our requests and ensured that we had exactly the type of wedding we always dreamed of. Those in attendance said that it was the most romantic and sincerely spiritual wedding ceremony they had ever attended. Today, my wife & I are members of St. Anthony of Padua and enjoy attending mass there. It is so welcoming! If you were raised in the Roman faith and have become disenchanted, fear not! The American National Catholic Church is the answer to your prayers. I know it was for us!