FAQs on the Ceremony

Documents Required

Nuptial Bible Readings

Nuptial Mass Booklet

Nuptials without Mass

Your 'Solemniser'

A Bilingual ceremony?

A Papal Blessing

Other Ideas & Tips

Official Register of Solemnisers
In order for the religious wedding ceremony held in Ireland to be also a valid civil marriage in this jurisdiction, it must be "solemnised" or presided over by a person who is on the General Registry Office official Solemnisers' Register (large Excel file; or shorter html version here ), . Before inviting a Priest to act as your celebrant, you should check that his name is on that Register; and if it is not, ask him to rectify this before the wedding date.

Nuptial Booklet
Below, you will find the necessary components for compiling the booklet for your wedding ceremony, whether it is to take place within or without a Nuptial Mass.

Church and Celebrant:
Arrange early (at least 3 months before the wedding date). Book church for ceremony before booking hotel for your reception!

Place for the Marriage ceremony
Church law requires baptized Catholics to celebrate their marriage in the proper sacramental form. In Ireland , it must be within a church building. The normal place for a wedding to be held is in the Bride's parish, but this is easily dispensed by the Bride's parish Priest, for any good reason. There will usually be some set fee for the use of the church building and its facilities (lights, candles, other amenities) for a wedding ceremony.

Selecting a Celebrant
The normal celebrant for a wedding Mass is the parish Priest (or curate) of the place where the wedding is held. He will be responsible to see that the required marriage documents are to hand. If requested, permission is easily obtained for any Priest in good standing to officiate at the ceremony. Make sure he is listed among those authorised to solemnise a wedding, for civil purposes.

Stipend for the Celebrant:
There is no set fee for the Priest's sacramental services; but it is customary to make him a generous donation as a free-will gesture. In fairness he should be offerred something equivalent to about a day's salary (taking either the bride's or bridegroom's normal income as a measuring standard).

Thanking the Celebrant:
By the way, if you have your Celebrant present as a guest at your wedding reception, be sure that in one of the speeches (normally, the bridegroom's) a word of thanks is said for the manner in which the marriage ceremony was conducted. Not to mention this at all can be taken as a reproach, or a silent criticism of the way he led the ceremony!

Nuptial Mass Booklet
It is quite customary nowadays for a couple to prepare and print their own, personalised Nuptial Mass Booklet, for distribution to their wedding guests. The main elements of such a booklet are suggested below.

For a sample of a complete booklet, in RTF format, for couples to modify with their choices of texts, and inserting their own names, click here.

Elements of a Wedding, within a Nuptial Mass

1. Introductory Rites
Entrance Hymn & Greeting -- Light Candles -- Penitential Rite -- Gloria -- Prayer for the Couple.

2. Liturgy of the Word
Old Testament -- Psalm -- New Testament --.Alleluia -- Gospel -- Homily

3. The Marriage Sacrament
Address -- Declaration of Consent -- Blessing of the Rings -- Candle Ceremony -- Prayers of the Faithful

4. Liturgy of the Eucharist
Offertory -- Preface -- Eucharistic Prayer -- The Lord's Prayer -- The Nuptial Blessing -- The Sign of Peace -- Holy Communion

5. Concluding Rite
The Lord's Prayer -- The Nuptial Blessing -- The Sign of Peace -- Final Prayers -- Blessing -- Signing the Register

Elements of a Wedding, without Mass

In consultation with their Priest, a Couple may freely opt to have their wedding without the celebration of the Eucharist. This is often preferred in a mixed marriage (i.e. between a Catholic and a non-Catholic) but it also remains a valid option for Catholics who do not much frequent the church. This form of the ceremony omits the Eucharistic Prayer and Holy Communion, allowing more time to be devoted to the homily and to hymns. It has a fourfold structure:

1. Introductory Rites
Entrance Hymn & Greeting -- Light Candles -- Penitential Rite -- Gloria -- Prayer for the Couple.

2. Liturgy of the Word
Old Testament -- Psalm -- New Testament --.Alleluia -- Gospel -- Homily

3. The Marriage Sacrament
Address -- Declaration of Consent -- Blessing of the Rings -- Candle Ceremony -- Prayers of the Faithful

4. Concluding Rite
The Lord's Prayer -- The Nuptial Blessing -- The Sign of Peace -- Final Prayers -- Blessing -- Signing the Register

or simply modify this booklet/template (click here)
inserting your own names and your choices of texts, .

Church Offerings

Given to the parish Priest (whatever is locally set as the normal stipend for use of the church building & facilities)

and to the celebrant (a voluntary stipend for his services - e.g. about a day's pay, based on bridal pair's income).

Offerings may also be due to the sacristan and to altar servers, if their services were employed.

Documents needed for a Church Wedding

They should be delivered before the wedding date, to the Priest in charge of the church where the wedding is to be held. We suggest you ask about the required documents, during your first interview with this Priest.

A) Basic Documents (needed in every case)

• Baptismal Cert* (issued within the recent past; i.e. not more than a year ago)
• Confirmation Cert** (if the parties have been confirmed)
• Pre-nuptial Enquiry Form (Filled in by a Priest of your parish after interviewing you about marriage.)

B) Supplementary Documents (sometimes required)

• Certificate of attendance at a marriage preparation course. This is required in most of Ireland's dioceses.
• ***Letters of Freedom (or an Affidavit - a sworn affirmation of one's freedom to marry, made before a Commissioner for Oaths, is accepted nowadays in lieu of Letters of Freedom). Even a hand-written affirmation by one's parents may be acceptable.)
• Permission of bride's parish, if wedding is not being held in her parish
• Diocesan Office permission for a mixed-religion marriage. Also, if one of the partners has had an annulment, or one partner is from overseas, their wedding documents go to the diocesan office.
• Dept. of Foreign Affairs Document, attesting that there is no legal obstacle to the marriage, is required for the wedding of Irish citizens to be celebrated outside of the jurisdiction of Ireland..

* The Baptismal Cert fulfils 2 functions: Shows that the person is a baptized Catholic, and therefore eligible to receive the other sacramens of the Catholic Church.Serves as additional indicator that the person is as yet unmarried. Notice of a wedding is entered in the Baptismal register from which the Baptismal Cert was drawn.

** The Confirmation Cert will normally be requested by the Priest in charge of assembling your wedding documents Reason: the normal order of receiving the sacraments is: Baptism, Confirmation, Matrimony.

*** The Pre-nuptial Enquiry is filled in by with your local Priest, during an interview to ensure your readiness for and committed to Christian marriage.

Getting a Papal Blessing for your Wedding
Apply for it in good time. If you wishes to have a Papal Blessing read out at the wedding ceremony, apply for it almost three months in advance of that date.

1. Get letter of recommendation from your parish Priest (of one or other party,) indicating that you are a practicing Catholic - and suitable for this sign of adhesion to the Church.

2. Select the kind of scroll you want, and the wording you want on it. You might try Veritas in Abbey St., Dublin; Almost any major bookshop can provide this service.

3. Make your application, consigning to your agent the letter of recommendation from the parish Priest; and paying for the scroll in advance.

Alternatively…

Should you prefer a more personalised, hand-made Scroll, ask any experienced calligrapher to prepare one to your specifications... Scrolls can be made by specialists (e.g. srrosalieburke@eircom.net). Allow plenty of time for the preparation of your scroll, and do offer a generous donation to your calligrapher.

Other Ideas & Tips for your Marriage Ceremony

(these practical suggestions were made by Roisin Pye, and used with her permission)

Couple's Position, for the Wedding Vows

Rather than having your back to your family and friends throughout the marriage rite, you could stand facing each other at this point! You could even turn and face your guests. After all you have invited them to share in this moment. The Priest can then stand between you and the congregation, without obscuring your view.

Use of the Microphone

· Make sure that your guests can hear what you are saying as you exchange vows. This can be helped by using a microphone and by speaking clearly.

Placement of the Rings

· For the Blessing and Exchange of Rings make sure that the rings are already in place in the sanctuary area, perhaps on a cushion or appropriate holder.

Acknowledging the Family

· Generally couples marry in front of family and friends, those whom they will look to for support in the times ahead. Because of this some couples have chosen to have the Priest address the congregation directly, during the marriage rite. This address might take place immediately after the address to the couple and go as follows:

- Do you, the families and friends of N. and N., give your love and support to this new family?

(We do.)

- Will you help them and care for them as they seek to grow in love and faith together?

(We will.)

Exchange of Coins

There are a number of optional rites at this stage of the wedding liturgy that could be drawn upon. One is the exchange of coins or other tokens between the couple. Instead of giving coins, you might think about a symbolic gift that you might give your new spouse that says something of who you are or what is important to you in life. Alternatively, the lighting of your wedding candle together is a clear sign of intent to live as a harmonious partnership.

Personalised Intercessions

The marriage rite includes general intercessions, which can widen our perspective to remember the needs of people beyond the group gathered. Typically six prayers are used. You can compose your own prayers but if you do it is wise to follow some officially approved samples as a guide. On a practical level it is better to have one or two people lead these prayers rather than have six people making their way to the lectern.

Decoration of the Church

What time of year are you getting married?

The time of year when you get married can have a big impact on how the church will look. You will want to keep in harmony with both the season in the church year and in nature. For example if you get married in the middle of Easter you will be able to draw on all the festivity of this season in the Church calendar.

Where do you put the flowers?

You might take into account the following suggestions when positioning the flowers: Please avoid putting flowers on the altar itself - in front of them is great. Decoration of older, no-longer-used altars is not encouraged. Baptismal fonts should be free of flowers. Keep the space in front of the Priest's chair free of flowers (he's not meant to be hidden away!)

Are other weddings taking place around the time of your wedding?

It is a pity to see one nice worship space being taken down to replace it with another one! A worthwhile exercise is to check and see if there are other weddings or parish celebrations taking place. Perhaps then those who will benefit can share the cost.

Has the parish a policy about what you may or may not do in church?

The church is a sacred space and needs to be respected as such. Some churches have specific policies about what you can or cannot do with the space and this makes good sense from the point of view of protecting this space. Make sure you check in and ask can you do what you want to do, and try to see and understand the reason why if the answer is no.

Is there an art environment group in the parish?

More and more parishes now have what are called art environment groups - a group responsible for the decoration of the church through the church year. If your parish does have one they will probably have some excellent ideas and suggestions to share with you. Your Priest will be able to put you in touch with this group if there is one.The heating and lighting in the church

An important part of setting the scene for your celebration is the light and heating in the church. If you are getting married in January you will want the church to be warm and inviting for you and your guests. You will not want it to be dark and cold. These are practical details that often just need to be checked with the Priest or sacristan and that go along way in setting the tone for your celebration.