Marriage

This may appear complicated. Please ask if in doubt.

The marriage ceremony of the Church must include the civil marriage declarations for this country. The Civil and Church authorities have carefully agreed the words of the Marriage Rite and they may not be varied. Any differences in the Civil and Church laws are the result of the Church placing great emphasis on the sacrament of the marriage.

Freedom to Marry

The civil law lays down a minimum age of 16 years in order to marry. Parental consent (or, if the parents are divorced, the consent of the parent who has custody) is needed between the ages of 16 and 18 years.

No marriage can take place without two Certificate For Marriage forms, one for each person. These must be applied for in person, collected by you after 15 days and given to your priest before the wedding can take place (these are more commonly known as ‘blue forms’)

• Seven days residence within the registration district is necessary prior to giving notice of marriage to the Registrar.
• If the couple live in two different registration districts, notice must be given to the Registrar of each district.
• The Registrar will issue the certificate after 28 clear days, cost about £30.

N.B. You are advised to take copies of your birth certificates when giving notice of your intention to marry. If you are under 23, your birth certificate must be produced. Most offices operate an appointment system so you are advised to telephone beforehand.

Civil law directs that marriage must take place before an authorised person, in the presence of two witnesses, and in a registered building. Church law follows this legislation. The Church at which you are marrying may employ or supply an authorised person (often the priest himself) and most Catholic churches are registered for weddings. Please check with the priest or deacon who is marrying you.

In addition, Church law requires that a Catholic marry before a Catholic priest or deacon. This usually means that the marriage takes place in the parish of the bride or, if she is not a Catholic, in the parish of the bridegroom.

Marriage in a Catholic church that is neither the parish of the bride nor the groom requires the permission of the parish priests involved.

If you wish to marry at St Josephs, Holy Cross or Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, you must have a current family link with the respective church. At the current time regrettably if you do not live in the parish, permission will not be considered.

No Marriages are celebrated on a Sunday, during Lent or Advent anywhere in the parish.

Your wedding will be recorded in the marriage register of the parish in which you are married and also in the register of the parish in which you were baptised.

In exceptional circumstances and where there might otherwise be great difficulties, the Bishops in England and Wales are willing to dispense a Catholic from the obligation of marrying before a Catholic priest or deacon and will consider giving permission for a marriage in another Christian Church.

IMPEDIMENTS AND DISPENSATIONS

There must be no impediment to the marriage: for example, no previous marriage (civil or religious), or close family or blood relationship. If in doubt, please discuss this with us at an early stage.

If one of the partners is baptised, but not a Catholic, you need to acquire Permission for a Mixed Marriage before the wedding can take place. If one of the partners is not a Christian (e.g. Muslim, Sikh, Hindu), you will need a Dispensation for Disparity of Cult. We will help you with these documents.

Catholics who marry someone who is not a Catholic are asked to sign a promise to continue living their own faith and to do all in their power to have children of the marriage baptised and brought up in the Catholic faith.