Before setting a wedding date (SEE BELOW)
After you become engaged, you should contact your parish as soon as possible and set up a meeting with a priest or deacon to assist you in your marriage preparation. The Church wants your marriage to be successful and to be a source of happiness and blessing throughout your lives.
This meeting is a time to begin the process of completing the necessary forms.
During this initial meeting, the priest or deacon will determine if you and your fiance(e) are free to marry in the Church (i.e., confirm than no canonical impediments exist).
He will also provide you with the information you need to complete Steps 2-6 of the marriage preparation process. Establishing a schedule for the completion of the individual components during or shortly after this meeting is advised.
Your wedding liturgy and your preparation for marriage ordinarily take place in the parish in which at least one of you is resident.
IMPORTANT: If the marriage will not take place at the parish where one or both of the engaged are registered, due to the location of family and friends,
Since it may become necessary to delay the wedding at anytime, a couple should not establish a wedding date or send out invitations until they have been instructed to do so by the priest/deacon who will be presiding at their wedding.
For a just cause, a marriage can be delayed. Common causes include:
Appeal Process: If your marriage is delayed, you may ask to have your situation reviewed by the designated diocesan office or agency. The recommendations arising from the appeal process shall be referred to the bishop or his delegate for final determination in a timely and strictly confidential manner.
If a delay is recommended, you will be offered resources to help you remove the cause(s) of delay, and you will be advised of the process of appeal.