Saint Michael Parish

Marriage Information

Saint Michael Parish 20 High Street Hudson MA 01749 Prayerful Best Wishes On Your Engagement

The Pastor and pastoral staff of Saint Michael Parish are very happy to help you make your wedding a joyful and spirit filled day for you and your families. More importantly we all went to work with you to prepare for a marriage of many years filled with much peace, happiness, and fulfillment. We assure you of a special place in our prayers, and we hope that God’s choicest blessings will be yours in abundance Checklist

 Select a tentative wedding date

 Initial meeting with the Pastoral Assistant

 Reserve date and time for wedding

 Schedule Marriage Preparation Program

 Attend Marriage Preparation Program,

o Obtain certificate and send to the parish

 Request Baptism and Confirmation records and send to Parish

 Schedule meeting with the Priest from Saint Michael

 Meet with the Music Director

 Contact and plan with Wedding Coordinator

 Pay the necessary fees for Wedding

 Give to Wedding Coordinator Marriage License and Wedding Selections

 Inform photographers of need to meet with Priest  Relax and Enjoy

Wedding Fees

All donations should be given to the Wedding Coordinator at the Wedding Rehearsal. The following required fees are in effect: Use of Church $200.00 Priest Celebrant $50.00 Organist Contact Music Director Soloist Contact Music Director Instrumentalist $125.00 and up Altar Server (each) $10.00 Wedding Coordinator $100.00 Cancelation If you should cancel or postpone your wedding, please notify the Parish Center and the parish priest immediately of your decision.

Contact Information

Rev. Ronald Calhoun, Pastor….. 978 562 2552 Email: [email protected] Andrew Genovese …. 978 562 7662 Email: [email protected] Parish Offices… 978 562 2552 Music Director Mr. John Volpe… 978 729 4226 Email: [email protected] Wedding Coordinator Mrs. Carol Cormier 978 451 0161 or 978 394 3631 Email: [email protected]

Marriage Preparation When you decide to marry, there are some logical steps for you to follow in order to marry in the Catholic Church. At your wedding we all gather as a community of believers to witness and celebrate the sacramental life of the Church. Because the norms of the Archdiocese of Boston requires of minimum six month period of notification and preparation you are urged to contact the parish priest as soon as possible with a tentative date in mind. Today most people contact the priest at least one year ahead of time to set a date and being preparation, because it is so difficult to coordinate dates, times, and places

Your Meeting At your meeting with the priest who will be preforming your ceremony please anticipate the following discussions:

 The first meeting will be devoted to introductions and planning.

 You will discuss the required Marriage Preparation program options open to you. Please present a copy of your Marriage Preparation certificate to the priest confirming that you have completed the program. Attendance at a Marriage Preparation Program is mandatory whether both parties are Catholic or one party is of a different faith tradition. Espousal Retreat House 554 Lexington Street Waltham, MA 02452 ph: 781-209-3120 The Espousal Center has marriage preparation which is very convenient for you.

Interfaith Marriages Weddings between a Catholic and a person of another faith tradition may be celebrated at Saint Michael Parish or in the church of the other party (with a priest) and a minister officiating at the ceremony. Attendance at a marriage preparation program is required, as are the records indicated previously. In addition, the priest will discuss with you the Church’s requirements about the intentions of the Catholic party concerning their own faith practice and that of their children. Marriage between a Catholic party and a person of the Jewish tradition often requires special arrangements to avoid offending those of the Jewish faith.

Next Steps After the introductory meeting with the priest, with prayerful consideration, you should render some decisions and take the necessary initiations to prepare for, embrace, and live out the Sacrament of Marriage. To regularly attend Mass and worship God in the community of believers.

Flowers If there is another wedding to be held in the church on the say day, you may arrange to share the cost of the flowers for the altar. There is no requirement that there be flowers on the altar. Any flowers left after the wedding are gratefully appreciated and will be used during parish Masses.

Wedding Invitation Address Saint Michael Church 21 Manning Street Hudson MA, 01749

Scheduling and other Facts In order to provide you with enough time for a worthy and fitting celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage, we allow a minimum of two hours between any parish celebrations. To ensure no conflict with our regularly scheduled community Mass we offer the following choices for your wedding: Saturday at 1:00PM or 5:30PM

Planning and Coordinating At the rehearsal the Saint Michael Parish Wedding Coordinator will be available to go over the plans for the ceremony, which readings you have chosen, who will do them, and the prayers you have selected. Contact her so that you may schedule your rehearsal date. Music Please contact the Saint Michael Parish Director of Music as soon as your wedding date has been set. The Director is the usual and standard organist for weddings celebrated at Saint Michael Parish and will assist you in planning the music and give you ideas of what selects are acceptable at the church of Saint Michael as required by Archdiocesan directives. The Liturgical Setting We ask that you not bring in archways, trellises, or candles to the church. Please do not plan on using confetti, rice, or birdseed either inside or outside of the church. Hired photographers and videographers should introduce themselves to the priest at least 30 minutes before the start of the wedding to discuss the policies and placement of the camera.

Legal Considerations You must obtain a Marriage License, in your city or town, before your wedding can be celebrated. A Marriage License is essential, since no priest can legally and validly witness your marriage without it.