Getting Married at Our Lady of Peace

Getting Married at Our Lady of Peace

We, the Pastoral Staff at Our Lady of Peace, take seriously our call to help you prepare for the sacrament of marriage.  Please read this policy sheet carefully before beginning the planning for your wedding.  We hope it will help in answering your questions. 

If you have any further questions about the marriage preparation procedures at OLP, please contact us. We look forward to assisting in your marriage preparation and wedding planning.

Requirements

• The bride and groom, or their parents, must be a registered member of Our Lady of Peace.
• At least six months of preparation are needed before the wedding date, for paperwork, Archdiocesan requirements, and liturgy planning. Consequently, a couple must contact Our Lady of Peace Parish a minimum of six months prior to the wedding date.

Requirements include:

• A retreat – At the first meeting with the pastor or deacon, resources for selecting a retreat time and place will be given out. The couple is responsible for scheduling and paying for the retreat. The retreat must be completed at least one month prior to the wedding day.

• the PREPARE inventory – The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis requires that the parish offers the couple an opportunity to reflect on their relationship together with an experienced mentor couple, facilitated by a nationally recognized relationship inventory. This experience is designed to help the couple affirm their relationship, talk to one another about issues they have not discussed, and talk with one another and an experienced couple about relationship concerns they may find difficult to discuss. The PREPARE couple is selected by the parish and assigned to the engaged couple. This PREPARE couple will contact the engaged couple and make arrangements for administering the inventory and setting up feedback and sharing sessions. The PREPARE process must be completed at least one month prior to the wedding.

Scheduling a Date

• The date for the wedding will be scheduled in person during the first meeting with the pastor or deacon, not before.
• Weddings are scheduled on a first come, first served basis.
• Weddings are never scheduled during Advent (the four weeks before Christmas), or Lent (the seven weeks before Easter).
• You must confirm the date on the parish calendar with the pastor or deacon before making any other wedding plans.    
• The church is available for weddings between 10 am and 3:30 pm (end time) on Saturdays, and between 5 pm and 8 pm (end time) on Friday evenings. Weddings on Saturday may begin no later than 2:00 PM.

The Wedding Rehearsal

The rehearsal usually takes place the night before the wedding and is scheduled at the same time as the wedding. The Pastoral Associate for Worship usually conducts the rehearsal. All who participate in the ceremony - bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girls and ring bearers, ushers, readers, gift bearers, Eucharistic ministers, and parents of the bride and groom should be present at the rehearsal.   Every church has its own procedures; we want to be sure that all goes smoothly and that you have a beautiful and prayerful wedding ceremony. Please remind everyone to arrive at the rehearsal promptly. The rehearsal lasts about an hour.

Fees

Please bring a check to the wedding rehearsal.  One check, totaling $600, made out to Our Lady of Peace, covers all expenses for wedding preparation, liturgy, and music. The parish provides a keyboard player (organ and/or piano) and a cantor.  If you wish to give a gift to the priest or deacon, that amount is handled separately.
           
Any extra fees for additional music/musicians will be discussed and agreed upon before the rehearsal.

Marriage License

The marriage license must be in the parish office at least one week before the date of the ceremony. The office staff needs to fill in the appropriate information before the rehearsal.  Your two witnesses will sign the license at the rehearsal.   The presider (priest or deacon) will sign it after the ceremony.

Please designate someone - your personal attendant, perhaps - to come to the sacristy to pick up your copies of the marriage certificate/license, along with other items such as the unity candle, if you have used one.

Completion of Planning

We would like all preparing and planning to be completed by one month before the wedding, and finalized with the Pastoral Associate for Worship.   This gives the parish staff and all involved time to prepare and implement the particular aspects of your wedding.  It also gives you the opportunity to cross this aspect of the preparation off your list so you can relax and/or take care of other last-minute details.  Be sure you allow yourself some breathing time and time to rest.