Congratulations on your decision to get married. It’s an exciting time with lots of wedding planning ahead!

Anyone planning to get married in any parish must contact the parish priest in their own parish and give at least 3 months’ notice of their intention to marry. It is best to contact much sooner if getting married in the parish, to ensure the church and priest are available when planning a date.

Please contact Fr. McAleer, see here.

The priest will direct you to the civil and church requirements and the timescales involved, and the various documents required.

The following information will be helpful:

• Go to a priest in the parish of the bride at least THREE MONTHS before the date on which you plan to marry. The meetings of the couple with their priest are a key part of the preparation process. These meetings have taken on a new significance in recent times, because it can no longer be assumed that seeking a Church wedding is an expression of Christian faith on the part of one or both partners. These meetings are an opportunity for a couple to reflect on what Christian marriage asks of them.
• The priest will also begin the process of filling out Pre-Nuptial Enquiry Forms and advise you about the various documents that you need to collect. You will need to get a Certificate of Baptism from the parish in which you were baptised and a Certificate of Confirmation from the parish in which you were confirmed. These documents should be issued no less than six months prior to the date of marriage.
• If you have lived somewhere else, other than your present parish, since you were sixteen, then you will need to get a Letter of Freedom from each parish in which you lived for more than six months to state that you did not get married while you lived there. Any priest from the parish (or parishes) where you lived will supply you with this document.
• All couples who are getting married must attend an approved Pre-Marriage course. It is better to attend the Course well before the date of the Marriage. These courses are organised by Accord (the Catholic Marriage Advisory Agency). Due to the demand and popularity of these courses, you are advised to approach ACCORD to be placed on the waiting list at least 10 months before the wedding. Click here for Accord N.I. or call the office on 028 3822 4781.
• The bishop’s permission is required for a Church marriage involving someone under 18. Christian marriage requires the capability for a mature commitment and therefore such permissions are only granted in exceptional circumstances
• Freedom to marry: The rules governing freedom to marry in the Catholic Church can be complicated. The best advice when one party has been married previously (either in a civil or religious ceremony) is not to make arrangements until the diocesan office has been consulted.
• Mixed Marriages: Special permissions are required for full church recognition of marriages between a Roman Catholic and a baptised non-RC or someone unbaptised. Applications are handled by the diocesan office once the priest of the catholic party has forwarded the standard paperwork.
• The marriage ceremony should normally take place in a church in the bride’s parish. If the couple have a good reason for getting married elsewhere, the bride should inform a priest in the parish where she is now living to give her the necessary Letter of Permission to get married outside the parish. Obviously, in this case, the couple will need to make arrangements for the use of the church in the parish where they intend to get married.
• Normally a priest from the bride’s parish officiates at the marriage ceremony, assuming that the ceremony takes place in the bride’s parish. If you wish to have some other priest (e.g. a relative or friend) officiate, inform the priest in the parish where the ceremony is to take place and he will give you the necessary guidance.
• Ask the priest who is to officiate at your wedding to help you with the task of creating your marriage ceremony. There are a variety of prayers, blessings, readings, etc. Read through these together and choose the ones you prefer. Choose the person(s) who will read at Mass, person(s) to read the Prayers of the Faithful and the people to bring up the gifts at the Offertory. The priest will help with arrangements to rehearse the ceremony in church before the wedding day.
• To celebrate the sacrament of Marriage does not require the celebration of Eucharist (Mass). While it has been generally the custom, it may not always be appropriate for example in a “mixed” marriage or when a couple are not regularly practising. Some couples today find the celebration of Marriage without the Eucharist, to be more appropriate for them.
• Marriages on Sundays, Holydays and some special Church celebrations (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Feast of All Souls) are not permitted in this Diocese.

The sacrament of Matrimony celebrates a couple’s commitment to share the whole of their life together and to show the love of God to each other, to their children and to others through their relationship. Christian marriage is the place where husband and wife, children, family and friends meet God.

The Church rejoices in your decision to get married and offers its continued support to you as you journey together. The Church (the people of God) sees your marriage as a sign of God’s love among us. As ministers of the Sacrament of Marriage to each other you choose to live your married lives within the community of the Church.

The Sacrament enriches your lives in a very special way but it also enriches the community in which you will live. You become witnesses for Marriage to all with whom you make contact. Your parents, family members, friends, colleagues and neighbours celebrate your entry into Marriage and by their attendance at your wedding ceremony offer their continued support to you for your future.

Your decision to get married is a sign of your love and of your desire to be together as husband and wife.