Holy Matrimony

Outline of Marriage Prep

• Orientation meeting to begin paperwork; Fully Engaged Inventory for communication; materials for the marriage prep journey
• Meetings with one of our Deacons to ensure readiness for the Sacrament and your married life.
• Pre-Cana retreat—a one day or two evenings retreat hosted by the Diocese of Fort Worth. Register here: https://fwdioc.org/pre-cana-class
• Natural Family Planning [NFP]—each couple is required to attend a NFP course. Register here: https://fwdioc.org/natural-family-planning
• Sponsor Couple—the engaged couple is paired with a Sponsor Couple who will mentor and encourage through a series of five meetings.
• Meeting with the Liturgist to answer questions and create the plan for the wedding day.

Items Required Before Your Wedding:

• Pre-nuptial questionnaire [completed by the deacon with you]
• Baptismal Certificates [obtained no longer than 6 months prior to your wedding and notated]
• Affidavits of Free Status [forms provided at the orientation meeting]
• Dispensation remitted to Diocese of Fort Worth, if necessary
• Annulment papers of all previous marriages, if required
• A signed delegation form if a guest priest or deacon is presiding
• A written confirmation if a priest or deacon from Holy Family is presiding
• Wedding fee

Once you have met for your Orientation, you may request your rehearsal and wedding dates/times and clergy.  If the dates/times and clergy are available, you will receive a confirmation letter from the parish office.  If the dates/times or clergy are not available, you will be contacted so that an alternate date and/or time or clergy may be reserved.

Please note:  Do not make reservations for receptions or any other events until you have received a confirmation letter.  Until you receive this letter, we cannot guarantee your wedding date.  If you make reservations before receiving this letter and we find that we cannot reserve your requested date, Holy Family will not be responsible for solving resultant problems and issues that this may cause for you.

Times, Dates and Venue
Weddings may not be scheduled on Sundays or during Lent.  Lent is a season of reconciliation and reflection; thus, festive celebrations are not consistent with the spirit of the season.  There are other weekends on which weddings cannot be scheduled for various reasons.  Please consult with the parish office on what is available before deciding on your wedding date.

Weddings at Holy Family may be scheduled at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.

Rehearsals are usually scheduled on the Friday before the wedding at 6:15 p.m. based upon the availability of the Church.

• These times may not be available on every weekend.
• The wedding party may consist of no more than 8 couples in addition to the bride and groom.

Marriage License
The couple is responsible for obtaining a marriage license from a Texas county courthouse.  You may obtain a license 90 days prior to the wedding and a copy must be included in your marriage packet if you are getting married in the Fort Worth Diocese. 

Planning Your Ceremony
In the Documents section below, you will find the readings and music options for planning your wedding liturgy.  You will need to review each section and fill out the Wedding Planning Worksheet (provided below) before meeting with the priest or deacon presiding at your wedding.  They will review that with you at that time.  All couples who are working with priests or deacons from Holy Family must meet with the Director of Music and Liturgy, Keisha Matthews, within three weeks prior to their wedding, in order to plan and review the liturgy.