Marriage at Our Ladye Star of the Sea
If you are hoping to be married at Our Ladye Star of the Sea or if you live nearby and need to arrange your Catholic marriage elsewhere (perhaps overseas), this is what you need to know:
Contact the Parish Office, or speak to Fr. Tom after your usual Sunday Mass. With him you will begin your marriage paperwork.
The paperwork for a Catholic marriage includes assuring that one partner (preferably both) must be baptized Roman (or Eastern Rite) Catholic, and that neither partner has been previously married. Only when the marriage paperwork has begun can a date be fixed. At least SIX months’ notice is required in advance of the date of the proposed wedding - this gives enough time to gather all the required certificates and declarations.
Weddings can be held on any day of the week except Sundays, Sunday weddings are not available. There are some special liturgical dates during which a wedding cannot be celebrated, Fr Tom will discuss this with you.
The cost of processing marriage paperwork is £150, whether a wedding is at Our Ladye's or in another Catholic church.
The cost of a Wedding Service for non-Parishioners is £500 (this is also suggested for parishioners) and the suggested stipend for the priest is £200-300.
Catholic Wedding Service at Our Ladye Star of the Sea
After the marriage paperwork has been started, throughout the process you can ask Fr Tom about the wedding service. You will need to choose appropriate hymns and readings, and there is guidance about flowers and music choices.
Some general principals
-only readings from the sacred scripture can be used in the service
-only hymns may be sung, other music must be quiet and reflective
-flowers are most welcome but must highlight and not detract from the service being celebrated
-similarly photographers will be encouraged to highlight and not distract from the service
-confetti may be used outside the church grounds
Please bring any questions to Fr Tom during the paperwork preparation.
Catholic Marriage in General
The decision to marry is one of the most important choices in anyone’s life. The church teaches that marriage is a life-long partnership between one man and one woman, established by God. When asking to be married in the Catholic Church, you are accepting the Christian and Catholic understanding of marriage:
Marriage is an exclusive and indissoluble union.
Spouses have an obligation to one another of faithfulness, mutual love and support.
Spouses must be open to the possibility that God will bless their marriage with children.
A marriage is formed when a man and a woman freely and irrevocably give and accept one another as husband and wife, according to the rites and laws of the Church. God joins the spouses together in an irrevocable covenant and gives them His grace to help them love one another and be open to the possibility of having a family.
