Marriage Preparation
at St. Mary's
Congratulations on your engagement!
At St. Mary's, we are honored that you are considering marriage in the Catholic Church. This season of preparation is exciting, joyful, and full of anticipation. It is also one of the most important seasons of your life.
Most couples spend months preparing for a wedding day. We want to help you prepare for something even greater: a lifelong marriage.
Marriage shapes every part of life. It influences how two people love, serve, sacrifice, make decisions, raise children, navigate challenges, and grow old together. Because marriage is such a profound commitment, we believe it deserves more than a checklist of requirements before the wedding day. It deserves time, prayer, formation, and honest discernment.
We are honored to walk alongside couples during this season and help them prepare for the vocation of marriage.
PREPARING FOR MORE THAN A WEDDING
At St. Mary's, we are honored to accompany couples during this season and help them prepare for the vocation of marriage.
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is more than a legal contract or a private commitment.
Marriage is a covenant.
A covenant is a lifelong partnership between a man and a woman ordered toward their good and, God willing, the gift and raising of children.
For two baptized Christians, marriage is also a sacrament. In the Catholic understanding, a sacrament is a visible sign through which God shares His grace with His people. Through the Sacrament of Marriage, Christ strengthens a husband and wife to love one another faithfully and fruitfully throughout their lives together.
The Church speaks of marriage as a vocation, or calling from God. Because of this, marriage preparation is not simply about planning a wedding. It is about discerning whether God is calling two people to enter into this lifelong covenant together.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches,
"The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life," is ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children.
Learn more:
Catechism of the Catholic Church §§1601-1666
Code of Canon Law, Canons 1055-1165WHAT CATHOLICS BELIEVE ABOUT MARRIAGE
WHAT IS THE MARRIAGE CATECHUMENATE?
In recent years, the Church has invited parishes throughout the world to adopt what she calls the Marriage Catechumenate.
The word catechumenate may be unfamiliar. Traditionally, it refers to the process by which a person prepares for Baptism and learns how to live the Christian life. Through prayer, formation, accompaniment, and discernment, a person gradually prepares to enter fully into the life of the Church.
The Church now proposes a similar journey for engaged couples preparing to enter the vocation of marriage.
The goal is not simply to teach information about marriage. The goal is to help couples grow in faith, discern God's will, and prepare for the realities of married life.
As Pope Francis wrote:
"Marriage preparation should be a kind of initiation to the sacrament of matrimony, providing couples with the help they need to receive the sacrament worthily and to make a solid beginning of life as a family." (Amoris Laetitia, 207)
The Marriage Catechumenate is the Church's way of helping couples prepare not only for a wedding day, but for a lifetime of marriage.
What Does Marriage Preparation Look Like at St. Mary's?
Most couples will spend approximately 9–12 months preparing for marriage.
While every couple's journey is unique, preparation generally follows six stages.
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Your first step is meeting with a member of our Marriage Preparation Team.
This conversation helps us get to know you, hear your story, discuss your engagement, and begin discerning together. We will also review the Church's requirements for marriage and discuss possible wedding dates and timelines.
No preparation is required before this meeting.
(The Church calls this phase the Reception of the Candidates) -
Early in the process, couples are invited to participate in a simple rite during Sunday Mass. The Church calles this rite the Rite of Entry into the Marriage Catechumenate.
This rite allows the engaged couple to publicly express their desire to prepare for marriage and invites the parish community to support them through prayer.
Just as the Church accompanies those preparing for Baptism, the parish community accompanies couples preparing for marriage.
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(Preparation Phase)
During this stage, couples receive practical, spiritual, and relational formation through:
The Prepare & Enrich relationship inventory
Follow-up conversations with a marriage mentor
Our Water to Wine marriage preparation course or meetings with a sponsor couple
A Natural Family Planning (NFP) course
Topics include communication, conflict resolution, family life, finances, intimacy, faith, prayer, and the meaning of sacramental marriage.
This stage is not about passing a test. It is about helping couples freely and confidently discern whether they are prepared for the lifelong commitment of marriage.
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Near the end of preparation, couples may celebrate the Rite of Betrothal with close family and friends.
This beautiful tradition acknowledges the confidence and clarity that has emerged through the process of discernment. It marks a significant step as a couple prepares to enter into the Sacrament of Marriage.
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As the wedding approaches, couples work with our team to prepare the liturgy.
Together, you will select Scripture readings, prayers, and music that reflect your faith and the meaning of Christian marriage.
The Church sees the wedding liturgy not merely as a ceremony, but as a sacred act of worship in which God joins husband and wife in a lifelong covenant.
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The wedding day is a joyful beginning, not a finish line.
Through the exchange of vows, husband and wife freely give themselves to one another before God and the Church. Christ blesses their union and strengthens them through the grace of the sacrament.
The Church understands marriage not as a single event, but as a lifelong vocation.
The wedding day marks the beginning of a new way of life.
For many Aggies, married life will begin in a new city after graduation. Wherever God leads you, we encourage you to become involved in your local parish, seek friendships with other married couples, and continue growing together in faith.
The Church desires that newly married couples continue to be accompanied and supported during the early years of marriage, when many important habits and patterns are established.
Marriage preparation does not end at the altar. It continues throughout a lifetime of learning how to love as husband and wife.
MARRIAGE CONTINUES AFTER THE WEDDING
Ready to Begin?
Before making deposits with venues, vendors, or reception locations, please contact our Marriage Preparation Team so that we can discuss your timeline and confirm your wedding date.
To begin the process, complete the inquiry form below and a member of our team will reach out to schedule your first meeting.
We look forward to walking with you during this important season of discernment and preparation.
