Marriage

Dear Engaged Couple,

Congratulations on your recent engagement!  We are honored that you desire to be married in one of our four Catholic Churches and that you want Jesus Christ to be at the center of your relationship.  Here at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, we want your wedding to be special and your marriage to be strong in the Lord.  As you begin planning your wedding, we will be an integral part of the process. 

To get started, please contact Deacon Cliff Homer at [email protected].

• Please email him dates and times that you and your fiancé can meet to discuss your wedding. Please contact our parish office if there is no response within a week.

• During this meeting you will both complete the initial paperwork and go through a simple interview process.

  • At the end of the meeting, you and Deacon Cliff will confirm the date, time, and location of the wedding.

  • You will receive a policy booklet that contains all the policies and stipends leading up to your wedding and a guideline booklet to tailor your wedding ceremony.

• Do not worry about all the details of the ceremony because you will be assigned a wedding coordinator from our parish who will help you through it. 

  • We will also assign you a cantor, organist, clergyman, and altar servers so that you do not have to worry about scheduling or bringing in outside ministers.

  • If you do decide to bring in outside ministers, please bring this to the attention of the priest or deacons involved in your wedding.

• Marriage Mentoring
  As you prepare for the wedding day, which may consume much of your time, we would like to help you prepare for the rest of your marriage. It is necessary for you to take a marriage preparation program prior to your wedding, and we highly recommend the parish Marriage Mentoring program, which is offered to all couples in preparation for their wedding.
  
  The engaged couple would be assigned a married couple and they will work through a workbook in roughly five sessions.  These will be scheduled based on the couple’s availability. Please contact Mary & Lou Locante at [email protected] for more information

• The following programs are additional resources if we cannot meet your needs:

  • Renew the “I Do”
    (www.renewtheido.org/marriage-prep)
    A local Pittsburgh non-profit created to help the many aspects of the vocation of marriage. They also offer marriage preparation classes.
    

  • Pittsburgh Engaged Encounter  (https://pittsburgh.engagedencounter.com/ )
    This is meant to be a weekend getaway/retreat for the couple to experience a deeper relationship with God and each other. 
    

  • Other Local Parish Classes
    (www.diopitt.org/marriage-preparation)
    There is a link on this diocesan webpage for other parish-based marriage preparation.  Please check this periodically as new classes will be updated on that link.

• One year prior to your wedding, you will have to call your Catholic Church of Baptism and have them reissue a new Baptismal Certificate for your wedding paperwork.  You will also receive a certificate after you take your marriage preparation program. Please mail these documents to the priest or deacon who is completing your forms.

  • Please consult our wedding policy booklet to find a checklist in the back of the booklet with everything you need to complete for the Catholic ceremony.

• Additional Resources:

  • For Your Marriage
    (www.foryourmarriage.org)
    This website is sponsored by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops to help couples learn more about the vocation of marriage and to plan there wedding.

  • FOCCUS Inventory
    (www.foccusinc.com)
    An online pre-marriage inventory that asks basic questions that helps “Facilitate Open Couple Communication, Understanding and Study.” This is not a compatibility survey but rather a tool for open dialogue. Please talk to your priest or deacon to find a facilitator.