The Marriage Ceremony
The celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage will take one of two forms. Both are valid forms of marriage in the Catholic Church.
Nuptial Mass
The Nuptial Mass is the usual form of the marriage rite, in which two Catholics are to be married.
Marriage Rite outside of Mass
The Marriage Rite Outside of Mass is the form of the marriage rite celebrated outside of mass. This is usually for a marriage between a Catholic and a baptized Christian or a marriage between a Catholic and an unbaptized person.
Planning the Marriage Ceremony
During the Second Meeting, we will provide bride and groom with the booklet Together for Life, which contains the various readings and other liturgical options that you may select for their wedding. You will read, review, and select the readings from the Together for Life book in consultation with the parish’s liturgical wedding coordinators
The parish has its own authorized Parish Liturgical Wedding Coordinators (henceforth referred a Wedding Coordinators) who will coordinate the wedding liturgical ceremony. In the event the couple has its own ‘events coordinators’, they have to coordinate appropriately with the official Wedding Coordinators who represent the Pastor or his delegate in the overall coordination program.
The Bride and Groom will contact the Wedding Coordinators to set up a date to discuss their Pre-planning meeting, Rehearsal & Wedding ceremony. This has to occur three (3) months before the wedding date.
Pre-Planning Meeting
Meeting will be scheduled for 6:30 PM on pre-arranged date\. Meeting should last between 1 hour and 1 hour and 30 minutes.
This meeting will cover the wedding rehearsal, readings, set-up, procession, ceremony, flowers, photographers, the Wedding Preparation and the Wedding Mass Forms, etc…
The Wedding Preparation and the Wedding Mass Forms will be sent out to the Couple by the Wedding Coordinators to complete before the Pre-Planning Meeting.
It is the responsibility of the couple to go to the Parish office for the final payment and the submission of all required documents. These are due 3 months prior to wedding date
Rehearsal
The rehearsal is usually occurs the Thursday evening before the wedding at 3:00pm - 5:00pm . Please be on time, and please advise all of your wedding party that they must be on time.
Two hours are reserved for the rehearsal, so come prepared. Other rehearsals or events may precede or follow your rehearsal.
The parish liturgical wedding coordinators will run the rehearsal. Outside wedding coordinators cannot run the rehearsal at St. Catherine’s. If you would like them to attend, please coordinate with parish liturgical wedding coordinators prior to the rehearsal.
Priest Celebrant and Officiant of Vows
Canon Law governs the process of deciding who celebrates the mass in a parish setting.
As always, the Pastor, being the official delegate of the Bishop, has the final decision who will be the celebrant of the wedding mass in his parish.
If the couple intends to invite another priest, it needs the permission of the Pastor. In such a case, the couple is responsible for the stipend and mileage cost of the invited priest.
Unless otherwise there are valid reasons, the priest at St Catherine’s is always presumed as the celebrant and the invited priest can be the homilist and officiant of the wedding vows.
The valid reasons for allowing other priest than the resident to be the celebrant may include, but not limited to, the following: the invited priest has close blood relations to one of the couple, the celebrant is a prelate and/or the priest at St. Catherine’s is not available, etc.
If the couple intends to give a gift to show their gratitude to the resident Priest celebrant, it should be treated as a personal, private and spontaneous donation. Priests are not to solicit directly or indirectly. The marriage fee above, with the exemption of the wedding coordinators’ fee, goes entirely to the church.
Financial issue should NOT be a reason for not having a Catholic marriage. As always, the church should always be of assistance for those who have a verified and real need for financial consideration. The Pastor can have a say in this regard.
Music
If an outside person is brought in to play music they should be familiar with the Catholic Liturgical Services. Appropriate Non-Liturgical wedding songs can be played prior to the start of the wedding and/or wedding processional/recessional.
Otherwise, all music played during the Mass must be liturgical songs.
If the couple requires music, the Wedding Coordinators can provide a list of the Church Choir Directors that can be contacted directly. Please note that fees do vary.
Flowers
The Wedding Coordinators will discuss with the Bride and Groom:
The height and size of floral arrangements around the altar, tabernacle, ambo, pews and any other location around the church.
The person/s responsible for decorating is allowed into the church one hour prior to the wedding. This same person/s or any other designee will be responsible for any clean up of all flowers and debris left behind after the wedding mass. Otherwise, a cleaning fee will be charged after the fact.
Any church flowers in place need to be removed and placed in a temporary safe location. If the bridal arrangements are to be removed after the wedding, the church flowers are to be returned to their original location.
If the Bride & Groom want to donate their floral arrangements to the church after their wedding, they need to notify the Art & Environment Lead thru the Church Office at least 4- 6 weeks before their wedding date. The A&E Lead needs to know how many & the size of the arrangements. This will allow the A&E leader to make a decision as to whether or not additional flowers will be needed to decorate the church for that weekend's masses.
No tapes or wires are to be used on the wooden pews. Placement of floral arrangements will be relocated if not in the appropriate place around the altar. The use of a floor runner is not recommended and the use of flowers, rice, birdseed or bubbles on the carpet or outside church grounds is prohibited due to potential falling hazard due to possible injuries.
Photographers and Videographers
The Wedding Coordinators make sure that the photographers and videographers understand the parish guidelines as regards taking photos and videos at the wedding day. They are to sign a form manifesting they receive a copy, understand its content and promise that they will follow the rules
It is important to record/photograph memories of your important day. In the same context, the church is a sacred place. Since weddings are happy and solemn events, the movement of photographers/videographers during the mass should be kept to a minimum in order to minimize distractions during the mass.
No photographers/videographers are allowed on the following:
The Sanctuary (brick area including steps),
By the brick towers near the Baptismal Font, Choir or surrounding area by the Tabernacle,
The catwalk in the back of the church.
The carpeted area surrounding the altar steps.
The use of drones, which is allowed outside the church only, needs permission.
Wide angle & zoom lens should allow the photographers/videographers to take pictures/recordings with little problems during the mass.
Use of flash photography/external lighting is not allowed during the mass due to the distractions, but can be used during the photo ops after the church ceremony.
The main thing is that the wedding ceremony is a solemn event and should be respected as such.
If you plan on taking pictures with the Priest celebrant, please notify him prior to the wedding day or prior to your ceremony.
This picture should be one of the first ones taken so that Priest celebrant can leave the church thereafter.
It is expected that 30 minutes photo taking after the mass will be enough.
Decorations
Floral decorations should never impede the ritual movement and action of the liturgical celebration. There are many places that could enhance the liturgical space with floral baskets and bowls (steps, ambo, candles). The whole church is considered the arena for decoration, not merely the sanctuary. A floral arrangement may be placed on the narthex table. Pew decorations can be secured with a thick rubber band. ABSOLUTELY NO SCOTCH TAPE, NO MASKING TAPE, NO TACKS. If tulle or netting yardage is draped it should NOT be secured, but easily removed before Holy Communion. Aisle runners are discouraged for safety reasons.
