Welcome and congratulations!
Blessings of peace as you continue to discern God’s will for your lives and what a marriage, sacrament/covenant relationship, in Christ means. As it is commonly said in marriage preparation, “A wedding is a day but a marriage is a lifetime.” The church truly cares about your future and offers opportunities to prepare for a marriage, more than just a wedding.
Below you will find information to guide you through the preparation process. Keep in mind that the Church cares about you and the activities below provide an opportunity for you to grow in your relationship with one another and with Christ.
- Select three possible dates for your wedding. Fr. Jeff will perform only one wedding per weekend on either Friday or Saturday at 6:30 PM. The rehearsal will be held the evening prior at 6:00 PM. Once you have e-mailed, faxed, or mailed your date choices back to the church office, you will be contacted with a confirmed date. Please allow up to several weeks for confirmation of requested date. Also, dates are assigned on a first come, first serve basis. Dates will not be confirmed until the paperwork is returned.
- Catholics must forward a baptismal record from the church of baptism. The date of the certificate can be dated no earlier than 6 months prior to the wedding date. It is recommended a request for the baptismal record be made 4-6 months prior to the wedding date. Non-Catholics need to forward a copy of their baptismal record to St. Patrick Church as well. If not baptized, no need to be alarmed, Fr Jeff will discuss this with you during the meetings.
- Meet with Fr. Jeff at least twice before your wedding. The 1 st meeting should take place six to eight months before your wedding date. Fr. Jeff meets with engaged couples on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons by appointment. Call the church office to schedule the appointments.
- If you are planning to have a visiting priest perform the wedding ceremony, the priest needs to contact Fr. Jeff before scheduling the wedding. This is to ensure all paperwork and marriage preparation is being handled by the appropriate person.
- Check the diocesan website at http://family.covingtondiocese.org/ . Click on the marriage preparation link. Here you will find a listing of marriage preparation activities and registration instructions. You will need to attend one of the listed marriage preparation programs 3-6 months prior to your wedding. Since marriage preparation programs often fill up early, it is wise to register 2 to 3 months before the program date. Natural Family Planning is also a marriage requirement. The Couple to Couple League information can be found here: http://www.ccli.org/ We must have both certificates on file before the wedding.
If you have any concerns, such as, annulments, previous marriages, a civil marriage that needs to be validated or blessed, and/or baptismal questions, discuss these with Fr. Jeff at the earliest possible date. If a person has been married before in a different religion, i.e. Baptist or Episcopalian, the Church recognizes this as a valid marriage and an annulment may need to be obtained. Most of these concerns can be solved in a simple manner.
*A fee for use of the church of $150 for parishioners and $450 for non-parishioners will be charged. A deposit of $50 is due with this paperwork. Checks should be made payable to St. Patrick Church. If a cancellation is necessary, the deposit will refunded only if St. Patrick Church is notified at least 60 days in advance.
Christ’s Peace,
Fr. Jeff
WEDDING REGISTRATION
Please complete the Wedding Registration form and return it to St. Patrick Parish & Shrine office via one of the following methods:
- In person during the secretary’s office hours.
- Leave it in the office drop box anytime.
- Fax: (859) 344-7042
- Email the parish secretary
- Send via standard mail to:
Secretary, St. Patrick Parish & Shrine, 3285 Mills Rd. Taylor Mill, KY 41015
If there are questions regarding the form, please contact the office at (859) 356-5151 ext. 10.