Today, you begin a journey towards the day of your marriage, where our Lord Jesus Christ will seal and strengthen your love for one another with His grace, elevating it to the sacrament of His love for His Church.  You have been called to love each other until the end of your lives on earth and -surrounded with the gift of children- to bear witness in the world of God’s perpetual, faithful and fruitful love of everlasting love for mankind.  We pray that the love you will pledge for one another may bear fruit of everlasting life for each one of you and your family.

Before you move forward and make your first appointment, please read the following parish and diocesan policy:

• Prepare your wedding at least six (6) months before the tentative wedding date.  Be aware that delays and unforeseen situations in the paperwork process NORMALLY occur.
• The dates available for weddings are the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month.  There are no exceptions.
• All provided documentation MUST be an original copy.
• Whenever a priest or deacon is invited from outside the parish or to witness the wedding ceremony , the pastor of the parish or a local ordinary must delegate the visiting cleric.  The delegation is required for validity.
• The tentative wedding date CANNOT be finalized until the assessment process has been completed.  Please DO NOT MAKE ANY RESERVATIONS for receptions UNTIL ALL THE PAPERWORK IS DONE and the wedding date is officially booked.
• The Diocese of Sacramento DOES NOT APPROVE of outdoor weddings.
• For marriages occurring outside the Diocese of Sacramento but within the United States, the Parish is to submit the required paperwork to the Tribunal of the Diocese of Sacramento at least one (1) month prior to the wedding.  (Paperwork for weddings in Hawai'i must be submitted to the Tribunal four (4) months in advanced; the Diocese of Honolulu requires paperwork three (3) months before the wedding.)
• For marriages occurring outside the United States, we (the parish) will submit the required paperwork to the Tribunal at least two (2) months prior to the wedding.
• The marriage of a Catholic with a baptized Christian who is not Catholic is to take place in the parish church of the Catholic party.
• The marriage of a Catholic person who is not baptized is to take place in the parish of the Catholic party.
• You will take care of the decoration and contacting the choir for your wedding.
• Consult Wedding Fees with the Office Manager.

STEP 1: STATUS ASSESSMENT OF THE ENGAGED COUPLE

Fill out the Wedding Application Form and submit it to the Front Desk.  On submitting it at the Parish Office, make an appointment with the Priest of Parish delegate, which will be confirmed by the Secretary at the proper time.

At the first meeting with the Priest or Parish Delegate, you will know what documents you will have to gather, and what your specific journey will look like until the day of your wedding.  Only when you have gathered and submitted all the necessary documentation, then you may make another appointment to move onto the next step.

STEP 2: PRENUPTIAL ENQUIRY (FORM A)

Make an appointment through the Parish Office with the Priest or Parish Delegate, who will interview you and your betrothed separately to establish freedom to marry and identify any impediments to the proposed marriage.

STEP 3: PRENUPTIAL WITNESS FORM (FORM B)

Make an appointment with the Priest or Parish Delegate to interview your witnesses, all on the same day if possible.  Each party must provide two witnesses to attest their freedom to marry. Ideally, they should be your parents or siblings.  The Prenuptial Witness Form is to be used to verify freedom to marry, to investigate the attitude of both parents when a party is under twenty-one (21) years of age, to investigate stability of the proposed marriage when either party is under eighteen (18) years of age; and to assist in proving baptism when a certificate is unavailable.

Witnesses who live outside the Sacramento Diocese meet with authorized parish delegate (priest, deacon, or lay minister) at their parish (or the closest Catholic parish if the witness is not a Catholic).  Form B is completed by the authorized parish delegate.  The form is then signed and dated by the witness and signed by the authorized parish delegate.  The parish seal/stamp is affixed to the form.  The form is then sent to their diocese's Judicial Vicar who signs and seals the form attesting to the validity of the authorized parish delegate's signature.  The form is sent to the Sacramento Tribunal, where it is reviewed and then sent to the parish where the marriage is taking place.  The Form B will be added to the marriage preparation packet.

Once this step is done, you may now book your wedding date and pay the fee.


STEP 4: WEDDING ARRANGEMENT

If your wedding is taking place at our Parish, you will fill out a Wedding Planning Sheet and submit it to the Priest/Deacon Celebrant at least 2 weeks before the date of your wedding.  Whoever you choose to be the lectors of your wedding, make sure they are familiar with the Mass and have had the experience of proclaiming the Word of God.  Celia Melendez is the coordinator for wedding rehearsals, which takes place the day before the wedding.

We hope you find this information helpful.  Please do not hesitate to contact us for any questions.  We are here to support you.

Blessings.