MATRIMONY

So, you have decided to get married, congratulations!

Here at St. Michael’s we celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage usually with a Mass. Sometimes, for various reasons we celebrate the sacrament with a Liturgy of the Word. Celebrating the sacrament is much more important than fancy dresses, expensive receptions, etc. A sacramental marriage is a covenant between you and God.

What is the first step? Call the office and speak to the Wedding Coordinator or one of the priests to schedule an initial interview.

Some things you should know:

• The Diocese of San Diego requires a 9 month preparation time, in which couples attend marriage preparation classes.
• As with anything that is official and legal, there is paperwork to fill out and present. At an initial interview, all of this will be explained to you.
• There is a cost to having a church wedding but it need not be equal to the national debt. If you are having a wedding with a bridal party and want to have a reception at a local hotel or restaurant, you must reserve the church before making any commitments to anyone. This will take a non-refundable deposit of $100. Your total cost is based on whether you are a registered member of the parish or not.
• The musicians are an important part of any wedding mass. The cost of the musicians is extra, and we only use our own musicians. They will be happy to work with a special vocalist or musician.
• To have a Catholic Wedding, your marriage must take place in church. The priests of our diocese are not allowed to preside at a wedding outside of the church, such as a park, backyard, seashore, hotel, etc.

CONVALIDATIONS OR MARRIAGE BLESSINGS

Sometimes, couples are married only in a civil ceremony. This type of marriage is a legal marriage according to state laws, however Catholic couples are missing out on the graces that are received from the Sacrament of Matrimony and the Church does not recognize this marriage. As a baptized Catholic you should eagerly desire to live your faith to the fullest and want to fulfill your baptismal promises of living a life filled with grace.  If you are living in a civil marriage, you cannot receive any other sacraments such as Eucharist or perform duties as ministers of the church. You may not be able to have your children baptized or be a sponsor at a baptism. We can take care of many different situations. We can do this type of Marriage, called a Convalidation in a simple ceremony with no fuss and usually minimal cost.  Again there is paperwork to fill out and sometimes, depending on many things, classes are recommended. Previous marriages can and must be resolved with the church and we can help with this also.

So if you are living in a civil marriage and would like to receive all of the blessings of a sacramental marriage, please call the Wedding Coordinator or one of our priests or deacons.  Don’t wait, do it today!

ANNIVERSARIES

We celebrate joyfully with couples who have been married for a number of years and who want to mark special anniversaries with a Mass of celebration. Just call the Wedding Coordinator for more information.

As a rule, weddings are scheduled on Saturdays at 11:00am or 2:00pm.
There are some exceptions however we can never schedule a wedding or anniversary later than 2:00pm on a Saturday.

For more information, please contact the parish Wedding Coordinator Barbara Patton at (619) 470-7492, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.