Getting married at St. Gabriel's is a 3 step process.
Step One: Contact the parish office at St. Gabriel’s (972)542-7170 to schedule an appointment with the priest or deacon. This must be done six months prior to the intended date of your marriage. This meeting needs to occur before any date is set for the wedding.
Step Two: Complete a marriage preparation program and begin your wedding preparation with the parish wedding coordinator.
Following your appointment with the priest/deacon you will be contacted by a sponsor couple to schedule the first session of the marriage preparation program. Couples are required to go through a Marriage Preparation program prior to being married in the Catholic Church. Our preferred program is the Sponsor Couple Program. If you are unable to participate in this program you will be required to attend the Engaged Encounter weekend (see info below).
Engaged Encounter - Couples, who for whatever reason are not able to go through the preferred preparation program (In Faithful Love-see above), may be asked to attend the Engaged Encounter Weekend presented by the Diocesan Office. Couples may still be required to meet with a parish sponsor couple for a preliminary and follow up session(s) to the Engaged Encounter Weekend. Registration information may be found at www.cathdal.org/newmarriage.htm
If your wedding is to take place at St. Gabriel, you will also be contacted by the parish wedding coordinator. She will meet with you to discuss details of the ceremony and the physical arrangement of the space for your wedding. This person will assist you with the planning of your celebration and will be present at both the rehearsal and the wedding to oversee all details of the celebration.
Step Three: Schedule two follow up meetings with the priest/deacon who will be witnessing your wedding. He will work with you to as plan the actual ritual as well as complete necessary documentation (see below).
Documents provided by the engaged couple:
Affidavit of free status: This form is given to the couple at the initial meeting with the priest/deacon and needs to be filled out and returned by a parent. It verifies the person’s freedom to marry.
Baptismal Certificate of Catholic person(s):
This is obtained from the church of baptism and must have an issue date within six months of the marriage.