When you book your wedding, it is important that you register immediately for a pre- marriage course. Courses can be booked through ACCORD T 028 3833 4781 or check www.accord.ie/. Some couples are put off by the idea of marriage preparation. A few even think that the Church is interfering. In fact, quite the opposite is true. We encourage you to attend the Marriage Preparation Course as it offers both of you the opportunity to reflect on how you communicate, to explore your understanding of commitment, how to manage conflict, how to be responsible parents and to live the sacrament of marriage.
Pre-Nuptial Enquiry
There is a considerable amount of paperwork associated with a marriage and this can vary depending on your circumstances and plans. Papers may have to be obtained from one or several other parishes and in some cases approval may even be required from the Diocesan Bishop. It is therefore important to contact a priest as soon as you decide to marry so that you can be made aware of all relevant documentation.
(i) The usual procedure
Normally speaking, it is only when you have completed your pre-marriage course that you should make an appointment to complete the Pre-Nuptial Enquiry Form. Church law requires that each partner is interviewed separately.
If either of you were baptised and/or confirmed in another parish, you should bring along with you a recent Certificate of Baptism and Confirmation, and a Letter of Freedom from that parish and any other parish in which you have resided for six months or more since you reached the age of sixteen.
If either of you are not currently living in the our Parish, you should contact a priest in your current parish, well in advance of the wedding, to have your Pre-Nuptial Enquiry Form completed. That priest will then forward all documentation to Eglish parish.
(ii) Special circumstances or arrangements
Circumstances may be such that other procedures have to be followed; e.g. If the marriage is to take place abroad, or one or both parties to the marriage is currently living abroad etc. Details or factors of this kind, which will affect preparation, should be brought to the attention of the priest at the earliest opportunity.
(iii)Mixed Marriages
If your marriage is one of mixed religions or denominations then a particular procedure is adhered to. The non-Catholic party will be asked to provide a Certificate of Baptism, (if he or she is baptised) and proof of freedom to marry. After all pre-nuptial papers are prepared, they are sent to the Diocesan Office for approval of the Diocesan Bishop. The celebration of Mass is not essential for a wedding and, if desirable, a Wedding Service can be arranged.
