Marriage Guidelines
Served by the Dominican friars Of the Central Province
1530 Jackson Avenue
River Forest, Illinois 60305
(708) 366-7090 www.svfparish.org
These marriage preparation guidelines are designed to help you as you begin to make arrangements for your wedding at
St. Vincent Ferrer Church. This is a happy and blessed time in your lives, and we at St. Vincent Ferrer congratulate you on your engagement and offer you and your families our best wishes.
Please read this document carefully. If, after reading it, you have remaining questions, feel free to contact the parish office for further assistance or clarification. Please try not to become overwhelmed by the planning and details of your wedding.
Think of this time and process as an opportunity to grow as a couple, deepen your relationship with God, and prepare not simply for a wedding day but for a lifetime of marriage.
Yes, it is your wedding, but it is also a Sacrament of the Church, an event which involves not only yourselves, but the
Christian community and God Himself. What follows is not merely a set of rules and regulations, but the best help we can offer you for a joyful and prayerful marriage celebration. Our goal is to help you prepare yourselves, not simply for a single day, but for the lifetime commitment you are making to each other.
“The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a Sacrament.”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church #1601)
Marriage, together with Holy Orders is one of the Church’s Sacraments of commitment and service. In the Sacrament of
Marriage, a man and a woman pledge themselves to each other for lifetime fidelity, mutual support and the potential raising of a family. The Church’s teaching is that Sacramental Marriage is a three-way covenant among the husband, the wife and God which endures as long as either husband and wife are alive. Once a Sacramental Marriage takes place it cannot be undone except by the death of one or both spouses. This is very different from our culture’s understanding of marriage as a simple contract which can be terminated by either party at any time. Consequently, we take preparation for
Sacramental Marriage very seriously. Our marriage preparation program aims to help a couple understand the meaning and significance of the Sacrament of Marriage and to give them practical tools for the living out of a lifelong commitment.
For this reason we ask couples seeking to receive the Sacrament of Marriage to contact the parish at least a year in advance of the date on which they wish to be married.
This lead time also helps with practical issues such as scheduling the availability of the church.
Marriages between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians, as well as marriages between Catholics and non-Christians are performed regularly but call for special preparation for both parties. This document details the essential guidelines for all those seeking the Sacrament of Marriage at St. Vincent Ferrer. Further information can be obtained by calling the rectory.
Copies of this document and other helpful marriage preparation information can be downloaded from the parish website
( www.svfparish.org
).
General Information
Initial Contact : Preparation for a wedding usually begins at least one year before the anticipated wedding date. The first step involves completing and returning the Initial Contact Form for Marriage which can be obtained from the parish website or from the parish office .
After receiving your completed Initial Contact Form, one of parish priests will contact you to set up an initial interview with you and your fiancé. The priest will help the two of you prepare spiritually and practically not just for a wedding but for a lifetime of marriage. Priests are normally assigned to marriage preparation based on availability. If you would like to request that a particular priest at St. Vincent Ferrer supervise your preparation and officiate at your wedding, please contact that priest directly prior to submitting your Initial Contact Form. You will meet with the priest 3-6 times during the preparation process.
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Marriage Guidelines
Dates and times for the wedding and the rehearsal can be reserved when the Marriage Preparation and Wedding fee has been paid in its entirety. (See Fees on page 4). Your preferred wedding date and time might not be available, it is consequently very important that you do not reserve any date at a reception hall until the date at the church has been confirmed.
If either the bride or the groom is not Catholic, additional paperwork will be required. If either of you has been previously married, even if it was not marriage in the Catholic Church, please inform the priest of this at the time of your first meeting.
A previous marriage may require an annulment process, which can take up to 18 months to complete and must be finished before a wedding can take place.
In this initial meeting, the priest will explain the various required components (detailed below) of the marriage preparation process at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church.
A Note on Annulments : A n annulment is not a “Catholic divorce” but rather a declaration at the end of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding a presumed marriage which has now ended in divorce to see if the conditions for a true Sacramental Marriage existed at the time of the wedding. Many circumstances can undermine a person’s ability to freely give oneself in the Sacrament of Marriage. Extreme youth, familial pressure, mental illness, addiction, serious personality disorders and many other circumstances and conditions can lead to a situation in which while the marriage ritual was performed, the Sacrament did not take place.
The annulment process is a detailed investigation to see whether or not a Sacramental Marriage took place. If it is concluded that it did not, the presumed Sacramental Marriage is declared “null,” never having taken place, despite the reality of a marriage in the eyes of the State. The process is somewhat lengthy and involves a series of interviews and the collection of various documents, but many people who have been through a divorce find that the annulment process brings them additional closure and healing. Each case is different and no outcome can be guaranteed. For more information on annulments and the annulment process, contact the parish office.
Pre-Nuptial Questionnaire: After reviewing the initial contact form, the priest will interview each of you separately to fill out the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Pre-Nuptial Questionnaire, a short document which asks about your sacramental history, your understanding of marriage and your canonical freedom to enter into a Sacramental Marriage.
FOCCUS Inventory : This is a required component of preparation to be completed after you have met with the priest . Go
FOCCUS tohttp://www.svfparish.org//cms/module/selectsurvey/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=120 to register and take the
FOCCUS inventory. This tool, based on a set of approximately150 questions which the bride and groom answer separately on-line, aids couples in assessing their areas of strengths and weakness in communication and shared beliefs.
The FOCCUS should be taken as soon as possible after your initial meeting with the priest or deacon who will be marrying you. Following registration, you should receive an email with a link and access code to enable you to take the survey. If you do not receive a response within a week, please try again. If a second week goes by please contact the parish priest who is assisting in your preparation to see what is causing the delay. There is a $15 fee for the processing of the FOCCUS inventory which is paid online to FOCCUS. After you take the FOCCUS inventory, a married facilitator couple will be assigned to review the results with you and help you use the information most productively.
PreCana Day Retreat: You will be asked, as a couple to participate in a PreCana (marriage preparation) day retreat or another preparation program (see below). The cost of PreCana is approximately $195.00 per couple. At the completion of
PreCana couples are given a certificate of completion which should be given to the priest who is working with them. You can see the dates for these conferences and register for them on the Archdiocesan website at http://www.familyministries.org/resources and clicking on “Marriage Preparation Classes.” The same page can be reached by the links on the Parish web site at http://www.svfparish.org/Page/682 . The online option for PreCana which the
Archdiocese offers is intended only as an option for those couples who are geographically separated and cannot attend a regular “live” preparation session.
Here is a list of the various preparation classes. Dates and times for the sessions can be found online at http://www.familyministries.org/resources . Select the one that is best for the two of you and then register online at the same address.
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PreCana - Saturday class for couples in their early to mid-twenties who have not been previously married and do not have children.
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One in Christ - The two day seminar presents both the theology and the practical tools of Christian marriage so that you will come to a deeper understanding of how marriage is a participation in the divine life and what that means for your life together here and now. (This program is highly recommended and takes the place of PreCana).
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Online On Demand Catholic Marriage Prep – Exclusively for those separated by distance and are consequently unable to attend a traditional PreCana.
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PreCana Hispana - Programa de preparación matrimonial para las parejas que no viven juntos y no estan casados por lo civil.
 PreCaná Hispana Especial - Programa de preparación matrimonial para las parejas que están casados por lo civil o están viviendo juntos y ahora desean casarse por la iglesia.
Baptismal Certificates : You will be asked to contact the parish where each of you was baptized to obtain a new copy of your baptismal certificate. A recently issued baptismal certificate is required by church law; certificates written at the time of your baptism are not sufficient.
Affidavits of Freedom to Marry: If you are not known personally by the priest, you may be asked to provide the signed testimony of two witnesses as to your identity and your freedom to enter into a Sacramental Marriage.
Letter of Permission to Marry at St. Vincent Ferrer: If you are not a parishioner of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish, the written permission of either the bride or groom’s pastor must be obtained in order to be married here.
Together for Life Workbook : At some point in your preparation, the priest will give you a wedding workbook titled
Together for Life . This workbook contains all of the possible readings and prayers for your wedding ceremony. You are free to choose any of the prayers or readings for your service. At a minimum you and your fiancée will select the Old
Testament, New Testament and Gospel readings. This is the primary way in which a couple personalizes the wedding ceremony.
It is customary to celebrate a Catholic wedding within the context of a Mass, but if the marriage involves a non-Catholic party, there is the option for a wedding consisting of a Liturgy of the Word and the exchange of vows.
Music Director Consultation: You must make an appointment to meet with our parish Music Director at least three months before your wedding date to plan the music for your wedding (Camela Daley at cdaley@svfparish.org or call her at 708-366-7090x147). She will work with you to provide liturgically appropriate and joyful music for your ceremony. Music is a vital part of any liturgical celebration, especially the rite of marriage. It is important to realize that not all musical styles, pieces and voices are appropriate for a sacred celebration. Our music director will assist you in making musical selections which will enhance and personalize your wedding ceremony while not distracting from the meaning and holiness of the rite.
The Music Director can assist you in securing instrumentalists for your wedding - violins, flutes, harpist, cellist etc. for an additional fee per instrument. Due to the high level of skill required, familiarity with Catholic wedding liturgies, and experience performing in the church space, the use of outside musicians is discouraged. Any outside musicians must be approved by the Music Director and will be required to attend a rehearsal session. The rehearsal with your outside musician will require an additional rehearsal fee of $50.00. Any fees charged by outside musicians not contracted by the
Music Director must be paid directly to the musician and are NOT the responsibility of St. Vincent Ferrer.
Wedding coordinator: The parish wedding coordinators assist couples in planning the details of their wedding ceremony and are also present, acting as director and “stage manager” at both the rehearsal and wedding. Between six weeks and two months before the date of your wedding, usually after your final meeting with the presiding priest or deacon, a wedding coordinator will be assigned to you by the parish. The Coordinator will then contact you either by phone or email to set up a date and time to meet. It is the wedding coordinator ’s purpose to make sure that your rehearsal and wedding day run smoothly and that all parish wedding guidelines are followed.
For your initial meeting with the Wedding Coordinator, you will need the following:
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Music sheet (you will be given this at the end of your meeting with the Music Director)
Draft or completed wedding program
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List of the bridal party, in processional order
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Name of gift bearers
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Name of ushers
$40 cash for two altar servers (if altar servers are being provided by the parish)
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A check for $150 for the Wedding Coordinator
On the day of your wedding, you will check in with the Wedding Coordinator to review and verify the following:

Greeting script and the name of the person doing the greeting

First Reading and name of the person doing the reading
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Second Reading and name of the person doing the reading
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Responsorial Psalm (name of reader if it is not being sung)
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Gospel Reading (this will be read by the Priest)
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Prayers of the Faithful and the name of the person reading the prayers
Marriage License : You will need to obtain a marriage license issued in Cook County, Illinois. Illinois law requires that the license be issued by the county in which the marriage is witnessed. A Cook County marriage license is valid for 60 days from date of issue and should be given to the presiding priest for safe keeping as soon as it is obtained. For information on obtaining a marriage license, go to www.cookctyclerk.com
or contact Cook County Clerk's Office at 312-603-7790. You must submit the marriage license to the priest in charge of your wedding arrangements at least two weeks prior to the date of your wedding.
Guest Priest/Deacon Policy: Couples are welcome to invite Catholic priests (or deacons) in good standing to be guest presiders at their wedding at St. Vincent Ferrer Church. Priests from outside the Archdiocese of Chicago must provide the required letter of good standing written by their bishop or major superior at least one month before the wedding date. The coordinating priest from St. Vincent Ferrer will be on hand for the rehearsal and wedding to assist the visiting priest/deacon. The visiting priest/deacon presider will be contacted by St. Vincent Ferrer Parish so as to enable him to obtain proper delegation to witness the marriage, secure proper documentation of good standing (if from outside the
Archdiocese of Chicago) and to inform him of the policies, practices and procedures for marriages at St. Vincent Ferrer, to which he will be expected to conform.
Marriage Preparation Paperwork Completed at Another Home Parish: If the marriage preparation paperwork is being done in another parish of the Archdiocese of Chicago the comp leted “marriage envelope” (with Prenuptial Questionnaire, proof of FOCCUS and PreCana, baptismal certificates, necessary affidavits and any other paperwork) must be forwarded to the coordinating priest at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish eight weeks before the scheduled marriage date .
If the marriage preparation paperwork is being done in a parish outside the Archdiocese of Chicago the same completed marriage envelope described above should be sent to the Office of Canonical Services, Archdiocese of Chicago, 835
North Rush Street, Chicago, IL 60611 (fax: 312-534-5307) four months before the scheduled wedding date.
Per canon law, the Chancery will review the documentation and forward it to the coordinating priest at St. Vincent Ferrer Church.
Fees & Payments: The Marriage Preparation and Wedding fee (see below) must be paid in its entirety before your wedding and rehearsal dates are confirmed and put on our calendar. If for any reason you must cancel your wedding,
$250.00 will be returned to you providing notice is given two months or more before the wedding date. The preparation and wedding fee for a marriage at St. Vincent Ferrer helps cover the cost of maintaining the physical structure of the church and paying the electrical, heating and cooling expenses. Additional fees compensate specific ministers
(particularly the musicians, altar servers and wedding coordinators) for their time and talent. The FOCCUS Inventory has a processing fee ($15.00) which you pay online to FOCCUS. The $180-$210 fee for the PreCana or its equivalent is paid to the Archdiocese with your registration.
The marriage preparation/wedding fee is payable to St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church. Payment of all music related fees is handled directly by the parish Music Director, Camela Daley. Payment/donation to the wedding coordinator and altar servers is given to the wedding coordinator at their initial meeting. A donation to the priest or deacon should be given directly to him on the day of the wedding.
Summary of Church fees and donations (including those listed above):

Marriage Preparation & Wedding – everyone $750 (minimum contribution)

FOCCUS Supply & Processing Fee $15 (paid online to FOCCUS)

PreCana Conference or equivalent
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Parish Wedding coordinator (required)
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Altar Servers (2 at $20 each)
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
Stole Fee (suggested minimum donation to priest)
Music (Initial Consultation & Parish Organist / Cantor)
$180-$210
$150
$40
$100
$350 (base fee)
Additional Music Options and Corresponding Fees:

Harp

Violin

Flute

Trumpet
$300
$175 - $200
$175
$225
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
Rehearsal Fee $50
(Rehearsal fee applies only when outside musicians/vocalists are brought in .
)
Practical Considerations
Dates and Times : Weddings are celebrated at St. Vincent Ferrer on Saturdays at 12:00 pm or 3:00 pm. They can also be scheduled on Friday afternoons at 3:00 pm. The wedding party has access to the church for a half hour before and a half hour after their one hour wedding time. The time before is usually used for preparation and the time afterwards is usually when photographs are taken. Picture taking must be completed and the Bride’s Room vacated at the end of this period to allow for the next wedding or other church function. Please remember that a late start will cut into your postwedding photography time and in most cases, no extension can be granted.
Blackout Dates: No weddings are scheduled on Sundays, Holy Days of Obligation, during Holy Week, or during regularly scheduled parish liturgies. Because of the penitential nature of the seasons, weddings during Advent and Lent are not allowed. (Lent is from February 18 to April 4, 2015; February 10 to March 27, 2016)
Rehearsals: All weddings and rehearsals must be scheduled in person through the priest with whom you are working at the parish. Rehearsals can be scheduled only on week nights between 4:00 and 6:00 pm owing to Masses at 7:00 pm and the cleaning of the church.
Important Notes for Planning Your Wedding Ceremony

St. Vincent Ferrer is a Catholic Church; we cannot permit weddings which are not Catholic services or simply rent out the Church.
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Marriage is a sacred ceremony, and there are standards for music and ritual which must be maintained. Popular music is not appropriate for Church. Our Music Director will assist in selecting music which is both beautiful and liturgically appropriate.
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There can be no dressing or undressing in the church, with the exception of the bride for whom the bridal room is available for this purpose.
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Photographers and videographers are expected to respect the sanctity of the ceremony and perform their services with the utmost discretion and sensitivity.
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Due to the limited space in the sanctuary as well as for time and safety considerations, wedding parties must be limited to 10 attendants each for bride and groom.
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Because of the historic nature of our Church as well as for safety and janitorial reasons, we cannot not allow any of the following: o The use of wire to affix flowers to pews o Lighted candles or candelabra (apart from the sanctuary candles and a unity candle) o Throwing or spreading real or artificial flower petals inside or outside of the Church o Throwing rice, bird seed, confetti inside or outside of the Church o Blowing soap bubbles inside the Church o Releasing balloons, birds, butterflies or other creatures either inside or outside of the Church o The use of wagons, buggies or the like to carry children in the opening procession

Pew bows and floral arrangements are allowed; anything else requires the written permission of the SVF priest in charge of arrangements.
Photography and Videography
Photography and video recording must never interfere with the sacred celebration of the marriage rite. We therefore ask that all photographers and videographers (professional and amateur) be instructed to adhere to the following policies:

Before they begin to set up on the day of the wedding photographers/videographers must check in with the wedding coordinator, for a policy review and to receive any special instructions.

No flash photography is allowed during the wedding ceremony.
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Photographers/videograph ers may position themselves in the “break” in the pews at mid-church or in the alcove where the baptismal font is located.
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Depending on the season, and at the discretion of the parish Music Director, the choir loft may be available for professional photographer/videographers (for safety reasons, general access to the choir loft is not available).
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Photographers/videographers are not allowed in the center aisle or in the Sanctuary (the area beyond the communion rail).
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Marriage Guidelines

Because the wedding ceremony generally runs around one hour in length, there is a usually a half hour after the ceremony before the wedding party must depart the church in which photographs of the wedding party may be taken.

The above mentioned half hour is reduced if the service begins late or runs long. Similarly, it is not a half hour allotted for pictures and then beginning to collect things and clear out of the Bride’s Room. The wedding party is asked to be out of the c hurch and the Bride’s Room by one and a half hours after the scheduled start of the wedding.
Because there is often another wedding or Church event scheduled to begin preparation at that time, we ask for your respect and consideration in this matter.

The priests of St. Vincent Ferrer are generally amenable to posing for staged photographs of particular moments of the ritual which might not be easily photographed (especially the exchange of vows and exchange of rings) during the post-ceremony photography time.
Floral Guidelines
Given the ornate neo-Gothic architecture of St. Vincent Ferrer Church, little additional ornamentation is necessary.
Additionally, attempts to compete with the architecture can result in physically dangerous or unintentionally disrespectful treatment of the sacred space. To assist in your planning, to guarantee the safety of your wedding party and to protect the church interior from damage, we offer the following guidelines:

Your wedding coordinator can answer any specific questions you may have regarding the design and placement of floral arrangements.

Floral arrangements may not block/obscure the pulpit, altar or tabernacle.
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Low arrangements may be placed in front of the altar and pulpit providing they do not block the liturgical action..
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Floral arrangements must not block aisles or access to the sanctuary.
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Arrangements must be stable and not top heavy or prone to tipping.

No flowers or decorations of any kind may be placed on the main altar.

Arrangements may be placed on the high altar, so long as they do not block or obscure the tabernacle.

Flower petals, real or artificial, may not be spread or dropped on the floor.

Candles with real flames, other than the sanctuary candles and a Unity Candle, may not be used.
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Flowers, ribbons etc. must not be affixed to the pews with wire of any type. (Consult with your wedding coordinator regarding suitable means of securing decorations).
In the Catholic tradition, floral arrangements are like offerings meant to glorify the Lord and beautify the house of God on the day of your wedding. It is inappropriate and cheap to remove the flowers after your wedding just as it would be to take back a gift of flowers you brought to a friend’s house when you are ready to leave. For this reason, we ask that all floral arrangements in the sanctuary be left there after the Mass. If there is another wedding, the flowers should be put temporarily in sacristy. A sacristan will later bring your flowers out to beautify the sanctuary for the weekend Masses.
Go to Confession!
Anytime we receive a sacrament, we should be in a state of grace. Confessions are heard every
Saturday at 4:30 pm or by appointment by any priest in the parish office during weekdays. Please do not forget this important aspect of your wedding.
In Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read this document. If you have any questions, please call the parish office or the priest assisting you in your preparation. We are eager to be of whatever assistance we can. While it may seem that there are many rules and restrictions surrounding the marriage process, they all exist for a reason. Some are simply mandated by
Church law and others have been formulated as the result of decades of marriages taking place at St. Vincent Ferrer.
These guidelines have been developed to ensure that the celebration of your wedding is reverent, safe and beautiful.
They also serve to ensure that this lovely church will be here for the marriages, baptisms, first communions and all kinds of celebrations for your family and others for decades to come. Thank you for coming to our parish to celebrate your wedding and to begin your married life. May God be with you in your preparation and throughout your lives together.
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