The Arras and the Lazo: Two Catholic Wedding Traditions Explained

Two customs show up in Catholic weddings across Mexico, Spain, much of Latin America, and the Philippines, and they surprise guests who have never seen them: the couple exchanges a small box of coins, and at some point someone loops a cord over their shoulders.

These are las arras matrimoniales and el lazo. Neither is a decoration added on top of the liturgy. Both are printed in the ritual book that priests in the United States use, so they are a real part of the Catholic marriage rite for couples who want them.

Las arras: the thirteen coins

The arras are thirteen coins, usually presented in a small chest or dish. During the ceremony the couple give them to one another as a pledge to share everything they have and to provide for each other and for the household they are starting.

The older form of the custom had the groom giving the coins to the bride, and you will still see it done that way. The current rite is mutual: each gives to the other, which reads much better as a promise about a shared life rather than a transfer of property.

Why thirteen?

The most common explanation is Christ and the twelve apostles. You will also hear that the coins stand for the twelve months of the year plus a share for the poor, or simply that thirteen represents a full and complete measure. The Church has never fixed a single meaning, so if a relative tells you a different one, they are not wrong.

Who provides them

Traditionally the padrinos de arras, sponsors chosen by the couple, buy the coins and present them at the ceremony. Being asked is an honor, similar to being asked to be a godparent. Many families pass down the same set of arras across generations, and some couples have theirs engraved.

El lazo: the wedding cord

The lazo is a loop laid over the couple's shoulders while they kneel, drawn into a figure eight so that each of them sits inside one loop. It can be a braided cord, a large rosary, a string of flowers, or a length of silk, depending on the family.

The meaning is direct and needs no explanation once you see it: two people, one loop, bound together. The figure eight is often read as a sign that the bond has no end. When the cord is a rosary, it carries the added sense that the marriage is held together by prayer.

The padrinos de lazo place it, usually a married couple whose own marriage the couple admires. It stays on through the prayers said over them and is lifted off afterward, and it is common for the padrinos to keep it or give it to the couple.

The lazo and the veil

Some families use a veil instead of a cord, or both together: the veil is placed over the bride's head and the groom's shoulders before the cord goes on. This is the velación. If your parish offers one, it usually offers the other.

Where they fall in the ceremony

The arras come right after the blessing and exchange of rings, while the couple is still standing at the altar. The priest blesses the coins, and the couple give them to each other.

The lazo comes later, after the Our Father, and is placed just before the Nuptial Blessing is prayed over the couple. That is the point of the timing: the cord is on them while the Church asks God to bless their marriage.

Parishes do vary, and some priests place the lazo at a different moment or fold both customs into one part of the rite. Ask when you meet to plan the liturgy, and whoever prints your program should match whatever your priest actually intends to do.

If you are planning a wedding with either one

• Tell your priest early. Both are approved options rather than automatic, so they need to be part of the planning conversation, not a surprise on the day.
• Ask who is presenting. Padrinos need to know where to stand and when to come forward, which is worth a minute at the rehearsal.
• Put them in the program. Half your guests may have never seen either custom. A line of explanation under each one saves a lot of confused glances.

Our wedding program builder includes both the arras and the lazo as optional sections, with wording you can edit to match your parish. Adding them is free. If you want a short explanation printed under each part of the ceremony for guests who are new to the Mass, that is the optional Guest Guide, described in our guide to attending a Catholic wedding as a non-Catholic.

For the full order of service these fit into, see what happens at a Catholic wedding Mass.