Marriage:
What is the Sacrament of Marriage?
Sacramental marriage offers the couple a special strength and Grace to fulfil the duties of married life. The sacrament of Matrimony celebrates a couple’s commitment to share the whole of their life together and to show the love of God to each other, to their children and to others through their relationship. Christian marriage is the place where husband and wife, children, family and friends meet God.
The Church rejoices in your decision to get married and offers its continued support to you as you journey together. The Church (the people of God) sees your marriage as a sign of God’s love among us. As ministers of the Sacrament of Marriage to each other, you choose to live your married lives within the community of the Church.
The Sacrament enriches your lives in a very special way but it also enriches the community in which you will live. You become witnesses for Marriage to all with whom you make contact. Your parents, family members, friends, colleagues and neighbours celebrate your entry into Marriage and by their attendance at your wedding ceremony offer their continued support to you for your future.
Your decision to get married is a sign of your love and of your desire to be together as husband and wife.
Preparation Timeline
This timeline will give you a summary of what you need to do, and when.
First Steps
A. Book the Church
B. Book the Hotel
C. Contact the registrar (Minimum notice is 3 months!!)
D. Contact the Priest who will officiate at ceremony.
(Some people book these things up to 3 years in advance)
1 - 2 Years Before
Book and complete a Pre-Marriage Course (This can be completed up to the date of Marriage, but you are encouraged to fulfil this obligation as early as possible)
Arrange Church Musicians, flowers etc.
3 – 6 Months Before
Meet with priest to discuss ceremony & complete Marriage papers. (It is recommended to have Pre-Marriage Course completed at this stage.)
There are two options for a ceremony either a Mass or a Service.
* Mass Preparation document
* Service Preparation document
Weeks Before
Arrange rehearsal with the priest and the church.
24 - 48 Hours Before – Rehearsal
The rehearsal affords an opportunity to get into the mood in a relaxed way.
(*NOTE: In order to satisfy Civil Requirements a final declaration of freedom to marry needs to be made by the couple in the presence of their two witnesses within 48 hours of the ceremony taking place. For convenience sake the rehearsal is suggested as an opportune time.)
Marriage Preparation Course
Experience has shown that couples who undertake some form of pre-marriage preparation are better equipped to face their future together. Every couple preparing for marriage are obliged to complete a Pre-Marriage Course. There is no specific time by which the course has to be completed by in order to obtain maximum benefit from it, couples should complete a course as soon as possible.
ACCORD is the Diocesan marriage care agency that provides pre-marriage courses and we strongly recommend that you attend one of their courses. Early booking is essential as courses are in great demand and fill up quickly.
ACCORD can be contacted through any of their local Accord offices or website.
www.accord.ie – Accord Pre-marriage course
Church Marriage Papers
Filling out the Marriage Papers is not a big ordeal! Your priest really does all the work here!
When should I have the papers filled out?
Normally papers are filled out within six months of the date of Marriage.
Where do I go to fill out my papers?
Go to the priest of the Parish where you are currently living, providing you will have lived there for six months by the time of your Marriage.
What do I bring?
Bring the following documents:
* Baptism Certificate (Not a Birth Certificate). The Certificate you bring needs to be issued by the Parish where your baptism took place and should be dated no more than six months prior to the date of Marriage. If you are having your papers filled out in the Parish where you were baptised, then you do not have to bring the Cert as it will be issued with your papers.
* Confirmation Certificate. You can request this from the parish you were confirmed in.
* Letter of Freedom – When you are getting married you have to prove that you were not married before. The traditional way of doing this was through the Letter of Freedom, which should be obtained from every parish you have lived in for six months or more since reaching the age of 16.
OR
Affadavit – When you are getting married you have to prove that you were not married before. Letters of Freedom may be more difficult to obtain as people now move around more and may not know the priests, the Statutory Declaration Form also known as an Affadavit is an acceptable alternative and signed in the presence of a Commissioner for Oaths or solicitor.
* Pre Marriage Course Certificate
* The name and address of the Church where you are being married if its outside the Parish where you are having your papers completed.
* The name of the priest who will be performing the ceremony
* If either couple has been previously married and that Marriage was annulled – a copy of the Decree of Nullity.
Civil Registration of Marriage
Any couple proposing to marry should begin the process by contacting their local Registration Office to make an appointment to meet the Registrar to give him/her their marriage notification. Notification can be taken only by prior appointment with registrar.
While only three months’ notice is required by law, couples are advised to contact the Registrar as soon as they know their intended date of marriage to ensure they can get a timely appointment.
You will need the following information and documentation for your meeting with the Registrar:
* Photo Identity (preferably a passport or driving license)
* Names and dates of birth of witnesses
* Name of the Church where you wish to marry
* Date of Marriage
* Name of priest who will officiate at your marriage.
* If either of you has been previously married you must provide the Civil Registrar with an original divorce decree or death certificate if widowed.
The registrar will issue each party of the intended marriage, and their priest, with an acknowledgement confirming the date of the receipt of the notification.
When the registrar is satisfied that all required details have been provided and that the couple are free to marry, he or she will issue them with a Marriage Registration Form (MRF) based on the information they have provided. This is a critical document as it is effectively the civil authorisation for the marriage to proceed. All couples wishing to marry in Ireland must first be issued with an (MRF) which should be given to the priest celebrating the marriage prior to the ceremony. This is the responsibility of the couple getting married.
The law also requires that the couple make a verbal declaration of freedom to marry within 48 hours of the marriage taking place. This is done in the presence of the priest and the two witnesses to the marriage. For convenience it is suggested that this takes place at the rehearsal.
It is also the responsibility of the couple to ensure that the form is returned to any Registrars Office within one month of the date of Marriage. It recommended that this document be delivered by hand or failing this that it be sent by registered post. For couples who reside outside of the state, a postal application is available
If you are marrying abroad
More and more couples are choosing to be married abroad. If you are choosing a Church ceremony abroad, you follow the same procedure as getting married in Ireland.
For the civil requirements the couple should make contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the particular country to ascertain the proper procedures. This should be done in good time.
Department of Foreign Affairs, Consular Section, 80 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
Tel. +353 (0) 1 4082568 (Civil Letter of Freedom for marriage abroad)
Mixed marriages
It is becoming increasingly common that one party to the marriage is not a baptised Catholic. For a marriage to take place in the Catholic Church at least one party to the marriage should be a baptised Catholic. The marriage papers are completed in the normal way, except instead of a Catholic baptismal certificate the non-Catholic party should provide an original copy of their baptismal certificate from their own denomination or if they are not baptised, an original copy of their civil birth certificate.
One of the local priests can help inform you of what is involved with this process.
Ceremony arrangements
Mass or Service: There are two options for your wedding ceremony.
Readings: If you need help with this, the priest can guide you towards a selection of suitable readings for the ceremony. You can also find some Reading options in both the Mass and Service documents in the links above.
Music: Music for a church wedding should be in keeping with the sacred character of the occasion. It is important that you liaise closely with your priest when choosing church music and musicians.
Flowers: The use of flowers and plants, if arranged in good taste can heighten the joyous festive spirit of the marriage ceremony. Donations of flowers after the ceremony is welcome.
Photographs: If you are engaging a photographer or a videographer, choose the kind who do their work quietly and with minimum distraction. Make sure you consult beforehand with the priest in charge.
Confetti: We would ask you to refrain from throwing confetti or rice in the church grounds.
Coming from Abroad
There are more and more Irish couples who live abroad coming back to Ireland to get married. The process of organising a church wedding from abroad and completing your papers in your new home is relatively simple for the couple. After you book the church and arrange for a priest to marry you, make initial contact with the Catholic Parish where you now live, this is easier in some countries than others but other ‘Ex-Pats’ who have gone through the process will point you towards the local parish. Or if all else fails consult Google.
The local Parish where you live will be able to point you towards an accredited Pre-Marriage Course in the area, which can be completed at any time, but the sooner the better.
You should follow all the steps laid out in the relevant sections of this website, pertaining the completion of Marriage Papers and Civil Registration of your Marriage. Once you come within six months of the date of Marriage you can begin the paperwork. The first thing needed are copies of Baptismal Certificates and Confirmation Certificates from the Parishes where both parties were Baptised and Confirmed. These must be dated within six months of the date of Marriage and should NOT be photocopies.
In the case that either party is not Baptised then an original copy of their Civil Birth Certificate should be provided. Please note that Civil Birth Certificates need only be provided by people who are not Baptised as proof of age. It is essential that each party to the Marriage complete an Affidavit/Statutory Declaration Form and have it included with their papers.
Please consult the Checklist section of this website to ensure that you have all the required documents for completion of your papers by the local priest. Please note that not having the required documents will impede processing of your papers. The priest where you are completing your Marriage Papers may tell you that you need certain documents and not need others.
All documents listed in the checklist are mandatory for the processing of documents in the Archdiocese of Tuam and must be completed.
All papers processed through the diocesan office must include a signed affidavit
You can advise your priest that the papers should be forwarded to:
Fr. John Glynn,
Tourlestrane
Tubbercurry
Co Sligo
Through the Achonry Diocesan Office, the details of which are:
Sr. Pat Casey
Bishop’s Office
Convent Road
Ballaghaderreen
Co Roscommon
Note: Please note that all marriage papers coming from outside the island of Ireland must be processed through the Diocesan offices both of the parish where the papers are coming from and the parish where the papers are going to. This is the responsibility of the priest.