Getting Married

If you are planning on getting married, you are asked to make contact with the parish where you would wish the ceremony to take place.  A provisional booking will be taken.  As soon as possible, thereafter, you should arrange to meet the priest that he may commence the preparations with you and your fiancé.  These include:

    1. Providing recent copies of Certificate of Baptism and Confirmation (for Catholics)

    2. Completing a Pre-Nuptial Enquiry Form

    3. Attending a Pre-Marriage Course

    4. In some cases, where a marriage may involve people from different religious backgrounds or where other relevant circumstances may apply, there is need to seek certain dispensations.

You are required to give notification to The State of your intention to marry.  To do this, you and your fiancé need to contact the Register’s Office and make an appointment.  You will be advised what you need to bring with you. The requirements include; proof of identity, PPS Number, details of your wedding venue, the priest who is to officiate etc.  You will find a list of Registers’ Offices at this link. The priest you wish to officiate at the ceremony must be a recognised “Solemniser of Marriage” in this country.  You can check the list here.

If you are asking a priest relation or friend from another country to officiate at the ceremony he needs to be added to what is called “The List of Solemnisers”  Please click here for application form.  You might arrange to have your priest complete and return this to the name and address given on the form.  In addition, he is asked to get a Letter of Commendation from his own Diocese or Religious Order.  Your local priest will help guide you with this process.

PRE-MARRIAGE COURSE

The pre-marriage course is one way the Church wishes to help all who are getting married. At the pre-marriage course you will have time for yourselves as a couple, time to reflect with other couples on the meaning of this moment in your lives, time with counsellors who give of their time to assist you in every way, and time to further enrich your understanding of the commitments you make in Christian marriage. The key focus of the course is not on the wedding day but on your marriage to which you are committing with your partner.

The pre-marriage course is a time for relieving pressure rather than creating it. The course presenters respectfully recognise your free decision to get married. The providers of the courses do not seek to judge that decision and wish to support you and to assist you.

Your active participation in discussions with your partner, with other couples in small groups, and in open-floor discussions will be welcomed and encouraged—but never demanded. It is in your own best interest to book a pre-marriage course as early as possible; ideally, this should be done at least one year before the date of your wedding. This way, you will have better choices about which course you can participate in.