After your your wedding engagement, contact your parish as soon as possible and set up a meeting with the Marriage Formation Minister, typically a priest or deacon, to assist you with your marriage preparation. Ideally 12 months before the wedding date.

Because marriage is a vocation which requires sacrifice and making a “gift of self,” discovering what it means to live a Christian lifestyle is essential for a Christian marriage to thrive, especially in this challenging age. Your priest may fulfill this step by meeting with you personally or by way of another parish-based opportunities.

Shortly after the meeting with your priest or deacon, most parishes will ask both of you to complete a marriage preparation inventory, which is a series of questions designed to assess individual habits, expectations, and values. This inventory will provide you with a personalized profile of your relationship strengths and growth areas

Natural Family Planning (NFP) respects the love giving and life-giving natures of marriage, and enriches the bond between husband and wife. Within marriage, the couple can utilize the knowledge gained through NFP leading to a fruitful and fulfilling family life.

A retreat for the engaged couple is highly encouraged. Contact your pastor for more information.

You will now return to the priest for final interviews to discuss the knowledge and experience you have gained from the entire marriage preparation process. This is a time to ensure that everything is in order concerning the wedding day.