Marriage

The parishioners and staff of St. Agatha Parish offer our faith-filled congratulations on your engagement. This is a very exciting time in your lives and that of your family. What follows has been prepared to familiarize you with some guidelines for planning your wedding liturgy. A guiding principle in planning your wedding is to remind yourselves that your wedding is an act of worship before God. It is your faith-filled and loving presence to each other in marriage; celebrated in the presence of God, family and friends. At any time, please feel free to contact the priest or deacon assigned to your wedding with questions not addressed here.

General Information
Generally, you will meet with the priest or deacon three times. This number will increase or decrease depending upon the circumstances of your wedding. Much of what is contained here will be covered in those meetings.

Wedding Times
One of the first things you will want to do is determine a date and time for your wedding. This is done with the priest or deacon who will be officiating at your wedding.
Currently, weddings are scheduled as follows:
Saturday - no earlier than 11:00am; no later than 2:00pm; 6:00pm
- no more than three weddings on any Saturday
Sunday - times and dates are available as long as they don’t conflict with 2:00pm baptisms (2nd and 4th Sunday of each month)
Other days and times, such as Friday evening, should be discussed with the priest or deacon well in advance to insure that there are no conflicts with other events here at St. Agatha Parish. If you need to change the date and/or time of your wedding, you must contact the priest or deacon celebrating your wedding immediately.

Documents
Church Documents

For Catholics a recent baptismal record not more than six months old. This can be obtained by contacting the church of your baptism and requesting that a long-form copy of your baptismal record be sent to St. Agatha Parish to the attention of the priest or deacon officiating at your wedding.

If you have received the sacrament of confirmation, we will need a copy (again, less than six months old) sent as well.

Preliminary Interrogatory - This is a form that establishes your freedom to marry (not as scary as it sounds). These are filled out in the presence of the priest or deacon. In addition to establishing freedom to marry, this document asks that you clearly understand the following: the Church’s teaching that marriage is a sacrament; that you intend the marriage to be for the rest of your lives, and that you mutually exchange the right to have children with your future spouse.

Civil Documents

Marriage license - This can be obtained from any town/city hall in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Call the town clerk before you go to make sure you have everything that they will need. The license is good for 60 days.

If you have a visiting priest officiating at your wedding who is from outside the state, he will need written permission from the Secretary of State of Massachusetts. Ask the priest or deacon at St. Agatha parish how to go about obtaining this permission.

Marriage Preparation
Couples preparing for marriage are required to attend some form of marriage preparation and instruction beyond the meetings with the priest or deacon. Here at St. Agatha Parish we have an excellent Pre-Cana program that runs twices a year. You are not required to attend the program here at St. Agatha Parish. The priest or deacon assisting you can suggest other times and places, as well as other programs such as “Engaged Encounter Weekend” that are sponsored by the Archdiocese.

St. Agatha Marriage Preparation Program: You must register for the workshop at least 2 weeks in advance. Space is limited. Contact St. Agatha Rectory (617-698-2439) for an application. (You may attend the workshop before meeting with a priest or deacon.) St. Agatha Parish offers a workshop twice during the year:

September 23, 28, 30, October 5, 2008
(Tuesday, Sunday, Tuesday, Sunday)

March 22, 24, 31, April 7, 2009
(Sunday, Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday)

 

Click here for an application in Adobe Acrobat format.

      Click to get Adobe Reader

Click here to download an application in Word format

Each session is four evenings. You must attend all four evenings to receive a certificate of completion. The topics include Communication, Adjustments, Finances, Parenting, Sexuality, and Spirituality. The marriage preparation team consists of 20 married couples from our parish. For further information about this program, or to receive an application, email Deacon Dan Sullivan

Please visit the web site of the Office of Family Life for more information about marriage preparation, including a listing of Marriage Preparation programs available in the Archdiocese.

The Sacrament of Penance
Couples sometimes inquire about the Sacrament of Penance as a means of preparing for marriage. The occasion of your marriage is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this sacrament. Please do not hesitate to contact the priest officiating at your wedding to make arrangements for the celebration of this sacrament. If a deacon is officiating at your wedding he will be more than happy to assist you in meeting with a priest.

Music
Music plays an important role is setting a prayerful and uplifting atmosphere to your wedding celebration. We are proud of the music at St. Agatha Parish - made possible because of the professional, reverent, quality and skill of our music staff. Our organist, Mr. Kevin Drake, will assist you with planning the music for your wedding. Please visit the Music For Wedding page

The Worship Environment
Flowers/Bows/Aisle Runners
You are welcome to decorate the inside of the church and sanctuary with floral arrangements and place bows/flowers on the pews. Keep in mind that the church is a house of worship, and any and all arrangements or decorations should be respectful of its sacredness. During the seasons of Christmas and Easter there will be decorations/flowers appropriate to the season inside the church. These should be factored into your decorating plans. They are not to be removed for a wedding.

Aisle runners are discouraged. The runner often becomes tangled and twisted on the floor, and thus becomes a safety hazard for those in attendance, especially the bride! The use of runners dates back to a time when church floors were ‘dirt’ floors. If you choose to use one, please note that the length of the aisle at St. Agatha Parish is 125 feet long.

Confetti/Rice/Birdseed/Flower Petals
We ask that you and your guests not use these items or others similar to them. The use of these items could cause someone to slip and fall. Additionally, the amount of labor required to pick these items up from the floor of the church is extensive.

Candles
For safety reasons, candles are not allowed in the main body of the church. Questions often arise about the use a unity candle. There is nothing in the marriage rite that calls for this candle. Couples wishing to have one should discuss their reasons for wanting one with the priest or deacon officiating their wedding.

Photographers/Videographers
Photographers and videographers are welcome to take pictures and/or videos inside the church. Most of them are experienced with filming weddings. Please be sure that they check in with the priest or deacon officiating at your wedding so that any questions about where he/she can or cannot go are worked out ahead of time. To help maintain the sacredness of the Mass or ceremony, they are never permitted to be in the sanctuary of the church.

Wedding Rehearsal
Rehearsals are usually held on the Thursday or Friday before the wedding. Mrs. Kathy Pritchard (617-698-7439) conducts these rehearsals. The scheduling of a rehearsal date and time can be done by calling the parish rectory office. Kathy will contact you about who and what you need to bring to the rehearsal. Minimally, in addition to all of the people involved (best man, maid/maiden of honor, groomsmen, bridesmaids, readers, ushers, etc.), you will need to bring the license, the Together For Life information sheet, the check for the church, and copies of the readings.

Offering
The suggested church offering is $200. The check should be made out to “St. Agatha Parish.” It is customary to give a small amount (usually $20) to each of the altar servers. The fees for the organist and cantor are paid directly to them and should be discussed well before the wedding.

Finally, it is not possible to answer every question you have now, or will have, as the time for your wedding approaches. The priest or deacon officiating at your wedding will always be more than happy to answer your questions as they inevitably arise.

God Bless!

Please visit the Family Life Office web site for Marriage Preparation