Even though you might naturally have an idea about when and where you might want to be married, do not book any venues or make deposits until you call the parish office and ocnfirm the availability of the church.
If you are exploring the possibility to rent the church hall for a wedding reception, before we can consider a request, we will first need your home parish church office to send us written confirmation that your wedding preparation is officially in progress and your wedding date is locked into their church calendar.
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Answer: Naturally, we agree the church grounds are beautiful, especially for It took a lot of sacrifice from our parishioners.
However, because of the limited availability of our own clergy, typically weddings at St. Therese Parish are officiated by them for members of this parish church only or those who live within our parish district.
If you live in and attend another parish, please initiate and complete your local marriage preparation program there. Once your marriage preparation program is completed, your own local Catholic clergy are most welcome to officiate your wedding here following our parish requirements for wedding planning and use of the church. Please ask your priest or deacon who will be officiating at your wedding to personally call us for the possibility of available dates.
Answer: It doesn’t have to cost anything! At a minimum, weddings only require the clergyman, the couple, and two witnesses! Marriage ceremonies that take place during our regular Sunday Mass schedule not only reduce your own financial burden, and parishioners who opt to be married on the Lord's Day enjoy a packed church, music and they provide encouragement to all.
If, however, parishioners use the church outside of regular Mass times, depending on their use of the building, special arrangements will naturally have to be made to prepare such as extended use of utilities and necessary personnel to ensure the church environment is ready.
Understandably, if you or your immediate family have a history of actively attending St. Therese Parish along with a record of supporting the upkeep of the facilities, we will meet with you to make sure there is a minimal financial burden to you is incurred. If you have any financial difficulties please talk to the pastor. Please know we are here to HELP you.
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As soon as your engagement is official, but before you set a date, you should call the parish and schedule your first meeting with one of the parish clergy.
FOCCUS (Facilitate Open Caring Communication Understanding & Study) encourages couples to discuss a broad range of topics that can help them learn communication and conflict resolution skills. This tool is provided to couples at their parishes, online, or at the Diocesan Retreat Day (Celebrating Your Love).
Couples have the opportunity to meet a mentor couple who can support, encourage, and pray for them throughout—and beyond— the marriage preparation process.
This is a one-day retreat held on Saturdays at locations throughout the Diocese of San Diego. The program presents a summary of Catholic teaching on marriage and an overview of life skills essential for marriage.
Go to sdcatholic.org/JOYL for dates and registration.
After you have completed the one-day retreat and received and reviewed your FOCCUS tool feedback, arrange to meet again with the parish clergy to discuss your insights and review where you are in your preparation for marriage. If all is in order, this is the time to set your date. (In short, if you have scrolled down to read this section first, go back to the top and read from the beginning! One step at a time. It's worth it!)
Your mentoring couple, not only will be for you a "Witness to Love", they are at your service to provide a listening ear and to help introduce you to other opportunities for personal and spiritual growth, such as our Parish Engaged Couples Fellowship and a regional Engaged Encounter Weekend Retreat (Go to engagedencountersd.org for dates and registration.)
Our Church Wedding Planner has overseen countless weddings at St. Therese. They know what works in our unique church environment and what doesn't. The Wedding Planner will help you to keep your focus on the sacred dimensions of the wedding and help you minimize unnecessary distractions.