Congratulations on your decision to get married!
The institution of marriage is a beautiful vocation, the beginning of family life and a great adventure.
The Catholic Church rejoices in your decision to marry and wants to journey with you in your preparations and assist you in growing in your love for each other as well as in your relationship with Christ. Each person is called to prepare as well as possible to live our faith in our marriage and in our lives.
For more information about how to begin planning your wedding, please visit the parish or read Steps to Getting Married.
Couples wishing to celebrate the Sacrament of Matrimony should plan to meet with Rev. Father Robert Lee at least six months before setting the wedding date, to help you as you begin this process.
Archdiocesan Policy requires that no date is to be booked or confirmed for a wedding ceremony until the conclusion of the couple’s first meeting with the Parish Priest and the freedom to marry of each party has been determined. This helps the couple avoid incurring costs which may not be refundable if the proposed date of the wedding must be postponed. Please note: Legal Documents are done at your local parish of residence. Previous marriages may require an annulment date.
Catholic marriage preparation is mandatory for marrying in the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton. It is strongly recommended that the marriage course be taken at least 4-6 months before the wedding date.
During the marriage preparation process, you will receive:
- Information about what the Church believes and teaches about Catholic marriage and family life.
- Advice and practical assistance for your daily married lives together.
- An introduction to Natural Family Planning, a reliable method of planning your family that is both based on science and in harmony with God’s design for sexual intimacy and Church teaching. Natural Family Planning not only assists with planning or spacing births, but is also extremely effective in working with any infertility issues.
- The witness of married couples to the sacrament of marriage and how it is lived in their lives.
The required Catholic Marriage Preparation Program must be complete before the wedding date.