Marriage Preparation

“The Church rejoices with you as you approach the sacrament of marriage and wishes to support you in living your married life to the fullest.”
– Bishop Carl A. Kemme

6 Steps to a rewarding Marriage Preparation Experience

1. Meet with Your Parish Priest

After you become engaged, you should contact your parish as soon as possible and set up a meeting with the priest to assist you with your marriage preparation. Ideally nine months before the wedding date.

2. Marriage Preparation Inventory

Shortly after the meeting with your priest, most parishes will ask both of you to complete a marriage preparation inventory, which is a series of questions designed to assess individual habits, expectations, and values (the Prepare/Enrich Assessment Tool is the preferred inventory of the diocese). This inventory will provide you with a personalized profile of your relationship strengths and growth areas

3. Catholic Engaged Encounter

This step is designed to fine tune “life skills,” both as individuals and as a couple, and to help you grow in areas needed for a joyful and holy married life.

Attendance at a Catholic Engaged Encounter weekend retreat fulfills this step.
Your priest may fulfill this step by way of another parish-based opportunity or for Spanish A Nuestro Alcance

4. Marriage Preparation Seminar

Because marriage is a vocation which requires sacrifice and making a “gift of self,” discovering what it means to live a Christian lifestyle is essential for a Christian marriage to thrive, especially in this challenging age.

Attendance at the Marriage Preparation Seminar fulfills this step. Your priest may fulfill this step by meeting with you personally or by way of another parish-based opportunity. Spanish Marriage Preparation

5. Natural Family Planning (NFP)

NFP respects the love giving and life-giving natures of marriage, and enriches the bond between husband and wife. Within marriage, the couple can utilize the knowledge gained through NFP to either achieve or postpone pregnancies.

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6. Final Steps

You will now return to the priest for final interviews to discuss the knowledge and experience you have gained from the entire marriage preparation process. This is a time to ensure that everything is in order concerning the wedding day. You will begin to prepare the liturgy for your wedding day, also have time for prayer and an opportunity to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Mentor Couple

Speak with your priest to see if your parish has Mentor Couples. This is a great opportunity to learn firsthand from an established couple about marriage.