Getting Married at Saint John the Baptist
In the Catholic Church, marriage is seen as a sacred and lifelong commitment between a man and a woman. The Church teaches that marriage is a natural institution, ordained by God, and that it is the foundation of the family and the basic unit of society.
As such, the Church places a strong emphasis on the importance of marriage, and on the need for couples to stay committed to one another and to work towards making their marriage last As part of the process, proper prepration is required.
Thank you for choosing St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish to celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. We take care to help you have a spiritual experience as this Sacrament brings you closer to God.
Roman Catholic couples who go to Mass together every Sunday have the highest rate of successful marriages. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, reminds us that our Church today needs active practicing Roman Catholics, who give daily witness to their faith. As you prepare to live out together the Sacrament of Matrimony, we encourage you to attend Sunday Liturgy. We highly encourage that you participate in frequent reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession as part of your spiritual preparation.
Marriage preparation was often referred to as “pre-Cana” because the first miracle of Jesus was at a wedding in the town of Cana. Mary, his mother, was also present and noticed the wedding party had run out of wine. She then asked Jesus to help the newlyweds. Changing the water into wine was the first public miracle of Jesus. This miracle reveals both Mary’s loving intercession for married couples and Jesus’ presence and care for our needs. Therefore “Pre-Cana” refers to preparing for a marriage in which Jesus is invited to the wedding and into the marriage that follows. Couples often ask how quickly they can get married in the Catholic Church. Due to the importance of the different elements, it is recommended that you allow at least nine months to complete all of your preparation. This is a reasonable timeframe to engage in the elements both practically and thoughtfully.
As you anticipate the joy of your wedding and marriage, we invite you to enter into this marriage preparation process in the Catholic Church as an opportunity to grow individually and as a couple rather than as a checklist of things you “have to do”. Preparing for marriage is so important that every diocese has required elements.
To begin the process of getting married at our Church, contact the church office.
After completeing the information form, an appointment will be set to meet with the priest . This is done within a year of your wedding date. The priest will complete Form A with you and your partner. Then we will submit your email addresses to Fully Engaged. This is an online survey that you each complete independently. When the results are returned to us, we will make another appointment to discuss any discrepancies with the priest. Finally, you will need to sign up for a marriaage group preparation called Transformed in Love or Camino for older couples. You can find the schedule of classes at miamiarch.org under Ministries and Marriage. These retreats must be attended in person. No online retreats are permitted.
Some couples come to us with a history of a prior marriage. From the beginning, our Office Manager should know your marital status/history. We are here to help you. If you were previously married, before you can select a tentative wedding date, you will need to bring the following documents:
A copy of your prior civil wedding license certificate. A copy of your final civil divorce decree.
If you obtained an annulment the original annulment decree issued by a church marriage tribunal must be submitted.
If a couple needs to begin an annulment process, please know that no wedding date can be set until the annulment process is fully resolved. No wedding date, even tentative, will be given until the issue of the prior marriage is fully settled by a church marriage tribunal.
In the event that there is a civil marriage and divorce we will submit proper canonical lack of form documentation to the Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Miami, and for this process we shall need a $100.00 money order made payable to the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Miami.
Please be completely honest in this regard. If the issue of a prior marriage should arise later, the scheduled wedding date cannot be honored.
Both parties must be 18 years of age and apply together in person at the County Courthouse in the State of Florida. The County courthouse is located at 540 SE 3rd Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. You can visit their webpage at www.browardclerk.org. There is no need to have a prior civil marriage. Once you have obtained the civil marriage license, please be sure to bring it to our Parish Office. When you apply for a civil marriage license you will need to take your Social Security Card and your Driver’s License, as well as the original certificate of either the Camino or Transformed in Love pre-marriage retreat. If you attended the pre-marriage retreat outside the State of Florida, you will need to take the letter of validation from our church office. In some cases it is necessary to take additional identification, such as passport, or any other valid form of identification. the proper documents you will need are listed on the clerk website. If you have a prior marriage, please be sure to take proof of the divorce decree.
You will need to purchase the civil marriage license within 30 days before the wedding date. Please be sure to check this out with the civil marriage license authorities.
Weddings cannot take place without this license from the State of Florida, Equally, Catholic priests/deacons cannot perform weddings without the proper State of Florida civil marriage license. Please recall that you will NOT get married civilly at the Marriage License Bureau. The celebrant priest or deacon along with two witnesses will execute the final signing of the civil license which occurs at the end of the church wedding ceremony.
Wedding rehearsals, are scheduled the night before the wedding. Please make sure the wedding party and parents are present.
Additional Flowers may be placed on the altar, and white bows may be placed on the end of the church pews. No other decorations are permitted.
No bird seed, bubbles or rice may be thrown on the church steps or on the aisle in the church. This can present a hazard to your guests.
