Wedding Information - Ss Peter & Paul's Church
The Wedding Service
The wedding service is a joy-filled expression of your love commitment to each other. In the Catholic ceremony there are two basic styles of service - either a Nuptial Mass (ie a Wedding service with Mass) or a Marriage Ceremony (ie a Wedding service without Mass). If you attend Mass regularly, or if the Mass is important to your family, you may prefer a Nuptial Mass. If you don’t attend Mass regularly, or if many of your guests are non-Catholics, you may feel more comfortable choosing a Wedding Ceremony. In either case, we are happy to accommodate your preference.
In both styles of service there is a fair degree of flexibility and freedom and the priest will guide you through the selection of readings and prayers in the preparation time leading up to the Wedding Day. Although the Service has a strong Christian focus, there is an opportunity to incorporate reflections and/or symbolic actions from sources other than the Christian tradition.
In both Services, there are opportunities for family members and friends to participate in your Wedding Service. These include:
- Reading from the Scriptures or reflections
- Reading the Prayers of the Faithful
- Bringing up the Gifts (if there is a Nuptial Mass)
Music
Music is an important element in enhancing the celebratory and sacredness of the Marriage Service. The selection of music is your choice.
If you wish to have a musician(s) / singer(s) at your wedding please organise with them directly. If you want an Organist we can recommend Rosemary Calderazzo, phone 5221 4506, You will need to organise the songs, the payment for her service, etc. directly with Rosemary. If you want a piano player and a singer for your ceremony, we can recommend Phil and Liz Kearney. Phone Liz on 0415977860. If you wish to use CD’s, Ss Peter & Paul’s has a CD player. Alternatively, you may wish to bring your own CD player as a back-up.
Please note that Copyright laws are very strict. Therefore if songs whose words are suitable for a Christian marriage are used instead of hymns, the words and music of the songs cannot be included in the booklet without the appropriate permission from the publishers. The responsibility for obtaining that permission is yours.
Booklets
Many couples feel that a personally prepared Marriage Booklet enables guests to participate more fully in the Ceremony, as well as being a special keepsake.
The parish does not have the facility to print Wedding Booklets so you would need to organise the printing of the booklets yourselves.
Flowers
The protocol for the floral arrangement is that you provide the flowers and Barbara Antony and her team, who are volunteers, will arrange them for you. Barbara can be contacted on 5221 9010. The Church also has artificial flowers and wedding bows for your use.
The Celebrant
The Priest who will officiate at your Wedding is happy to meet with you, preferably soon after you have booked your wedding, to guide you through the Ceremony, paperwork and marriage preparation; to answer your questions and, most importantly, to work with you to make your Wedding Day a memorable and enjoyable one so that you can successfully move forward into married life.
If you wish to have a Priest other than one from the parish of Ss Peter & Paul’s to officiate at your Wedding, he would be most welcome. You will need to make the necessary arrangements with him. Likewise, if one of you are a non-Catholic and would like to have your religious minister be part of the Ceremony, again he/she would be most welcome.
The Rehearsal
To familiarise and help you feel more comfortable with the Wedding Service, a Wedding Rehearsal will be organised between one day and one week prior to the wedding.
Confetti
There is no charge for the cleaning and preparation of the Church before your Wedding. We will have the Church looking the best for your Wedding. We ask that you show consideration for others by advising your guests that confetti, or anything similar, may not be thrown in the Church or its immediate surrounds. The garden at the back of the Church is the appropriate place for throwing of confetti.
Documentation
Your Wedding is both a State and Church affair and you will need to fill in papers for both organisations. But please, don’t worry - this task is not as difficult as you might think. When you meet with the Priest he will go through the various questions with you. As part of the documentation, you will need to bring to your preparation meeting your:
Full Birth Certificate if you were born in Australia. For those born in Victoria you can obtain your birth certificate by contacting the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, ground Floor 595 Collins Street Melbourne. GPO Box 4332, Melbourne Vic 3001. Ph 1300 369 367
If you were born overseas, you will need a Birth Certificate from your country of birth or your Passport, preferably an Australian Passport if you have one.
Baptism Certificate
If you were baptised at Ss Peter & Paul’s, West Geelong, Holy Spirit, Manifold Heights, or Holy Family, Bell Park, then the St Michael's Parish Office would have a record of your Baptism, hence there is no need for you to acquire a Baptism Certificate.
If you were baptised a Catholic but not at one of the three above-mentioned parishes, you will need to contact the parish of your Baptism and they will forward your Baptism Certificate to you.
If you are a baptised non-Catholic, again you would contact the Church of your Baptism and they will forward your Baptism Certificate to you.
Permission to Marry
If the Catholic party/parties is/are not resident in St Michael's Parish (Ss Peter & Paul's Geelong West, Holy Spirit Manifold Heights or Holy Family Bell Park), you will need to acquire a Permission to Marry (if you are the bride or the Catholic party in a mixed marriage), or otherwise a Letter of Freedom to Marry from the Parish Priest where you are resident. This Letter of Freedom to Marry is just a courtesy between parishes and involves no more than ringing the parish in which you reside and asking for it.
Documentation needed in Special Circumstances
Please note: If one of you, whether Catholic or not, has been previously married and divorced, regardless of where the marriage took place, be it in a Catholic Church, a non-Catholic place of worship or gardens, your situation requires special attention. In most cases someone in this position requires a Decree of Nullity (a special Church process) which can take a considerable amount of time, generally over twelve months. If you are in this situation please contact one of the Priests of the parish before proceeding with your Wedding plans at Ss Peter & Paul’s Church.
If one of you has been married before and your former spouse has died, State law requires that you produce your Marriage Certificate and the Death Certificate of your former spouse.
If one or both of you are under eighteen years, State Law requires the consent of parents be given as well as permission from the Magistrate Court.
Church Offering:
Ss Peter & Paul’s is a charming, historical Church which is popular for Weddings. In order to preserve the beauty of the Church, constant repair and ongoing maintenance is necessary. Therefore, out of necessity the Leadership Team have made a policy that there be an offering for Weddings at the Church.
The account is enclosed in this package and it covers the use of the Church, flowers and an offering for the Celebrant. The offering is $600 and is required at the time of booking.
If the Celebrant is not from St Michael's Parish, please pay the $600 to the Parish and a further offering by you to the Celebrant.
We require that the full amount be paid before the Church and the Priest are considered booked for your Wedding. If we haven’t received the offering a month after this package has been sent, then we will presume you no longer wish to proceed with your Wedding at Ss Peter & Paul’s.
Would you kindly make the money order/cheque payable to: St Michael's Parish and post or drop it into the St Michael's Parish Office, 147 Separation St Bell Park Vic 3215.
If you wish to change the time/date, you can do so provided that the new time/date is available.
Please note:-
The government papers for your marriage must be completed a full calendar month before your wedding. Therefore, as soon as possible book your Marriage Preparation Course and gather the certificates you need.
After completion of your marriage preparation course contact the celebrant of your marriage for an appointment to do all the paperwork required for the wedding day.