Marriage Preparation: A Summary of the Guidelines

All couples must receive “sufficient preparation” before their wedding day.  This is to include, at a minimum:
1. Couples need to declare their intention for marriage by meeting with a parish
priest no later than (6) months before the anticipated wedding date.
2. A parish preparation program should involve, at least,
a) a parish priest (preferably the one who will witness the couple’s vows) or the
Parish Life Coordinator
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b) a trained “sponsor couple,” who are married in the Catholic Church.
3. A “couple-relationship inventory” will be used for purposes of dialogue and
discernment.
4. The engaged couple and priest will plan the wedding ceremony according to
the appropriate liturgical guidelines. For questions on Archdiocesan liturgical
policies, please consult the Office of Worship.
Through adequate sacramental preparation and appropriate liturgical planning, weddings
should be a testament to the gathered assembly that “this man and woman lovingly
pledge themselves to a permanent union … in trust and fidelity they hope to be a
sacrament – a sign of God’s faithful love for his people” (from “So There’s Going to be a
Wedding”).
There may be special circumstances that need to be addressed before and/or during preparation.