Getting married in the Catholic church

Many people can find getting married in the Catholic faith confusing...  Being through it myself I thought it might be handy to take you through the steps.....

Firstly, either the Bride or Groom ideally needs to be Catholic - it is NOT the case that you both have to be.  The next thing you should do is speak to your local Priest.  He can help you set dates, and discuss your ceremony.  Our Priest was fantastic in helping us in the Order of Service etc....

If your partner is not Catholic you need to write to ask for a dispensation to marry a non-catholic.  This sounds scary but believe me it isn't.  I wrote to our Bishop, and again my local Priest helped me through-out.

Another necessary stage is to attend a marriage preparation course.  This is usually held locally to you, in our case it was held in the Cathedral in Aberdeen.   To be honest, I really wasn't sure what to expect.  However, it was really relaxed and more to my surprise I actually enjoyed it.  The course takes your through succeeding in marriage, listening to each other, as well as various other topics.  This is essential to complete if you wish to be married in the Catholic faith.

But your first step is to speak to your local parish Priest!

Find out more about marriage in the Catholic church here