Marriage Preparation Process at St. Joseph
a. Contact the Church Office at least 6 months prior to the desired wedding date
– The secretary will check for availability of the date on the Church
calendar and notify the priest or deacon to check his calendar for
availability.
– Inform the secretary of any prior marriages of either party. She will pass
this information along to the priest/deacon.
– Obtain the appropriate pre-marriage questionnaires in the appropriate
language. These can be taken home and filled out separately by each
fiancé and returned to the Church office. [These may be emailed and
completed electronically as well.]
b. The secretary will hand the completed questionnaires to the priest/deacon
who will review and assign an engaged sponsor couple to the prospective
bride and groom.
– The Engaged Sponsor couple will set up meeting(s) with the couple at a
mutually agreed upon time to discuss the questionnaires and share
experience. After these are finished the Engaged Sponsor couple notify
the office of the outcome and any concerns they have.
c. At the same time, the fiancé s may sign up for any of the diocesan Natural
Family Courses offered on the diocesan website [www.austindiocese.org] OR
may sign up for the Diocesan Marriage Course, Together in God’s Image
– If the diocesan marriage course is selected, the couple should contact the
parish office to set up a meeting to take a FOCUS exam. [Personality
indicator to be used by the diocesan presenter] There is a cost associated
with the scoring of the test. This cost changes from time to time.
d. After the couple meets with the Engaged Sponsor Couple, whether or not the
Natural Family Planning class is completed or the Together in God’s Image
course is taken, the couple will set up a meeting or meetings with the
priest/deacon.
– The meetings will cover the necessary paperwork. The couple will need:
• Baptismal Certificates with notations within 6 months of the marriage
• Affidavits of Free Status provided by the Church [Family member or
• Any letter of Decree of Freedom to marry that comes with any
• The marriage license to be obtained from the County Clerks office
date
friend known for a long time and at least 18 years of age may fill this
out]
annulments that are required if applicable
[please note the legal time requirements of not more then 30 days
and not less than 2 days prior to the marriage]
• Payments of fees to the secretaries
– The priest/deacon will file any necessary dispensation required [see #1
above].
– The priest/deacon will discuss the theology of marriage as understood by
the Roman Catholic Church
e. The secretary will give the couple the book, Together for Life, in which the
couple will select the appropriate Scriptures readings, prayers, and marriage
options and then meet with the priest/deacon again. At this meeting the
priest/deacon will discuss with the couple
– The ceremony in general
– Music options
– Hispanic or other Traditions [i.e. coins, lazzo, unity candle, etc.]
– The people in the bridal party and how to enter and exit the church
– Announcements to be made
– Any other options or concerns with regard to the ceremony
f. The secretary will set a time for the rehearsal which may be a Thursday or a
Friday evening depending on the secretary’s schedule who handles the
rehearsal. By this time, if the couple has not returned the marriage license,
they should do so by the rehearsal. [The priest or deacon may need to do
some preparation on the license prior to the wedding, depending on the
issuing county.]
– The entire wedding party should be at the church no more then 10
minutes prior to the scheduled rehearsal time. Due to this rule causing
undue stress among secretaries, there may be an additional added $50.00
fee if the rehearsal begins more than 10 minutes after the scheduled
rehearsal time.
– Any changes the couple wishes to discuss with the secretary to be given to
the priest/deacon should be discussed prior to the rehearsal so the
secretary can note it in her rehearsal plans and avoid confusion.
– Copies of readings will be available at the rehearsal if not picked up prior
to the rehearsal for practice purposes. There is no need to bring the
advanced practice copies back as the readings will be available at the
wedding in a binder notebook.
– The wedding party is to bring no food or beverage into the church proper
during the rehearsal or the wedding. Permission for covered drinks can be
sought from the secretary for the rehearsal but under no circumstances
should unattended minor children be allowed to drink in the church.
There is room in the Narthex or Old kitchen for this.
– Due to lack of facilities in the present church, to be remedied in the future
Associated Fees for Weddings at St Joseph
a. Focus: Various changing price ranges for interpretation of Questionnaire
b. Diocesan Wedding Course (Contains NFP course)
c. Natural Family Planning (NFP): Varies by type and location [check Diocesan
Website]
d. Church Fees: [explained in Church contract]
– Deposit
– Rental Fee [cost of utilities]
e. Stole Fee: as gift for priest/deacon
f. Musician Fees
g. Other Fees
building of the new church, all wedding party should come fully dressed.
Recent Comments