Wedding Preparation in Good Shepherd Parish For Registered Parishioners
All paperwork and preparation will be completed in Good Shepherd Parish.
Call the parish office (282-3321) and ask to speak with Elizabeth Williams, our Pastoral Life Coordinator. She will record names, contact information, and religion/sacramental status and in turn share that information with a priest or deacon. She will tentatively reserve your desired church and date/time of the wedding. If a formal case annulment is in process the date cannot be reserved until a decision is granted.
A priest or deacon will call you to schedule an appointment to complete the Pre-Marital Investigation form. This will determine your freedom to marry. If one of you is not Catholic or unbaptized, additional paperwork is necessary. If one or both of you is divorced and that marriage has not been declared null and void an annulment is necessary. (We cannot set a date for your wedding until the annulment has been approved.) A deposit of half the cost of the wedding ($350) is due after you have met with the priest or deacon. The remanider $175. is due one month prior to your wedding.
If one or both of you was baptized within Good Shepherd Parish we will record dates of Baptism and Confirmation for you. If one or both of you was baptized in another parish please contact that parish and have them forward to us a Baptismal Certificate with notations. Issuance of within six months.
Enroll on-line in our mandatory marriage preparation program. See sub-menu for details.
From time to time you will receive correspondence from Joshua Houde, Assistant Director of Formation, for such matters as completion of paperwork and rehearsal date and time.
If a priest or deacon not from the Diocese of Portland will preside at your wedding, your diocese must forward a “letter of suitability” to the office of the Bishop of Portland.