MARRIAGE PREPARATION GUIDELINES
Weddings are a special time for the bride and groom, families and friends as well as for the parish community. The Church welcomes its members to celebrate and solemnize their weddings in the context of Christian prayer.
Great care is taken to see that the prayer for this special occasion is reverent, graceful, beautiful and open to the movement of the Spirit among us. All sacraments are always rooted in listening to Scripture so that we can be nourished and strengthened by God’s word. We celebrate as a community with song, prayerful gestures and silence.
In this spirit, Our Lady of Victory provides the following guidelines for celebrating weddings in the building which shelters the prayer of our community.
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
While we know there are many preparations taking place for this special day, do not forget the spiritual side since this is a sacred undertaking. Your participation in the Eucharist in the weeks and months before the wedding is a tremendous way to prepare yourselves. Likewise, the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important part of your preparation.
PLACE OF MARRIAGE
By custom, the parish of the bride is the place of marriage but you are free to marry in the parish of the groom, if you so choose. Inter-faith marriages usually take place in the Catholic party’s parish. It is possible for the marriage to take place in the other party’s community.
MARRIAGE PREPARATION
It is required that couples attend either this program, the Engaged Encounter Weekend, or the Archdiocesan Pre-Cana Program. Details of this will be explained by the priest/deacon who is preparing you for marriage. FOCCUS, a pre-marital inventory, will be administered by a married couple who are part of the parish Marriage Ministry Program.
Other items required are the Ohio marriage license and a baptismal certificate issued within six months of your wedding.
PRESIDER AT YOUR WEDDING
Usually a priest or deacon from the parish will witness your wedding. Another priest or deacon who is a relative or friend of the bride or groom is welcome to witness the wedding if they desire. The person who witnesses your wedding will take care of the necessary preparations.
MUSIC
A Christian marriage is an act of worship in which the couple, along with their families and friends, come together to offer thanks and praise and to ask God’s blessing on their life together. It is a communal celebration at which the guests are not merely “spectators” but active participants. As participants, all present are highly encouraged to express their support, joy and faith through prayers, acclamations and songs. The following guidelines, therefore, have been developed to insure that the music for weddings at Our Lady of Victory supports the communal and liturgical aspects of the celebration in accordance with the recommendations established by the Archdiocesan Office of Worship.
Since music during the wedding liturgy ought to express not only the faith of the couple but also the common faith of the whole Church, all music before and during the wedding liturgy must be sacred (liturgical) in nature. Secular or non-religious songs are not appropriate at any time before or during the liturgy. You will be provided with a pamphlet containing appropriate selections once contact with Director of Music has been made.
Music selected for the liturgy should enhance the movement of the celebration rather than unduly delay its progress. Hymns or songs chosen should express thoughts or emotions which relate to the action of the liturgy at the time sung.
Since the wedding liturgy calls for active participation, there are certain parts of the liturgy which are to be sung by all present.
No pre-recorded music may be played before or during the liturgy.