Congratulations on your up-coming marriage!  Our parish shares in your joy, and we wish to help you prepare not only for the wedding day, but also for your lifetime together.

All marriage arrangements are the responsibility of the bride and groom.  To be married at Saint Bonaventure’s, at least one of you should have some affiliation with the parish.  Contact the parish at least six months prior to the proposed date of the wedding to arrange an initial appointment with a priest or deacon to discuss your marriage plans. It is advisable to do so even earlier, so that you will have a better chance of getting the date you desire.

No wedding dates are given over the telephone.  It is necessary for the couple to come to the rectory and schedule their wedding personally with a priest or deacon.  Please arrange the wedding date and time with the church before booking a hall for the reception.

Marriages take place at Saint Bonaventure’s on:

§           Saturdays between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM, and 5:30 PM or thereafter (when scheduled before the last weekend in June or after Labor Day)    

§           Sundays after 1:00 PM

Prospective brides and grooms are required to complete a Marriage Preparation Program.  It provides engaged couples an opportunity to gather together with married couples and consider important issues concerning married life for reflection and discussion.  Information about the various programs offered in the Plymouth area and around the wider metropolitan Boston area will be provided by the priest or deacon working with you.  You should enroll in a program as soon as possible because these programs get booked up well in advance.

After the initial meeting with the priest or deacon and completion of the Marriage Preparation Program, if you haven’t already scheduled a second appointment, you should contact him again to schedule a meeting to fill out the necessary papers.  A recent record of Baptism (issued within six months of the wedding) and a record of Confirmation must be submitted.  These can be obtained by contacting the parish where the sacrament took place and requesting that the records be mailed to the attention of the priest or deacon who is assisting you with your marriage plans.

It is hoped that both partners spend considerable time together planning their ceremony, as this is the most important part of your wedding day.  The priest or deacon will be happy to assist you in using the booklet Together for Life, in order to choose the prayers, readings, blessings, and other ways which will personalize your ceremony.  The last  meeting includes reviewing these choices and finalizing the particulars of the wedding ceremony.

If you should decide to postpone or cancel your wedding, it is necessary that you inform the priest or deacon who assisted you with the arrangements in writing as soon as possible.

Ordinarily, the parish priest or deacon with whom you have been working will officiate at your wedding.  However, priests or deacons who are relatives or friends of the bride and groom are welcome to officiate.  If he comes from outside the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, he must receive an official document of permission from the Commonwealth.  Please explain this to him well in advance of the wedding date.  Such authorization can be obtained by calling the Office of the State Secretary, Division of Public Records, Commissions Section, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108 (617-727-2836).  They will provide papers for him to complete and return.  NOTE:  Please inform the visiting clergy that the ceremony must be concluded in one hour so that it will not interfere with other parish events that follow.

Our Director of Music is Mr. Christopher Ricci (508-224-3636, Ext. 151).  He is the person who should be contacted regarding all musical decisions for your wedding.  It is advisable to contact him well in advance of the wedding. He is under contract to play the organ at all weddings here at St. Bonaventure’s and will arrange for a soloist if needed.  If there are any visiting musicians requested, they should contact Mr. Ricci to make the necessary arrangements.  In planning your music, Mr. Ricci will help you make choices that reflect the Church’s liturgical guidelines and the religious nature of the sacrament you are celebrating.

A civil license is necessary for marriage.  It can be obtained from any city or town clerk in Massachusetts.  Both parties must be present to apply.  Blood tests are required to obtain a license.  These results are valid for 30 days. Once the license has been issued, it is valid for 60 days.  Please give the license to the priest or deacon arranging yourmarriage at the time of the rehearsal, at the latest.  After the wedding, he will complete his section of the license and forward it to the city/town hall where it was obtained.

Flowers are placed within the sanctuary by the florist upon delivery.  This should be done one hour before the ceremony.  In addition, it is the responsibility of the florist to see that the white carpet and any other floral arrangements are in place.  Nothing should be placed on the altar table itself.  If the florist is not going to be setting up the church for your wedding, it is your responsibility to make arrangements for this to be done by others.  Flowers should remain in the church after the wedding.  The white carpet, if desired, is obtained from the florist.  Our aisle is 100 feet long.

Catholic brides and grooms should receive the Sacrament of Penance and Holy Communion shortly before their wedding so that they can more fruitfully receive the Sacrament of Marriage.  This spiritual preparation also gives great peace and strength at the start of your married life.  Encourage your attendants to go to Confession and Communion also so that they may share fully with you in the graces of this special occasion in your lives.  Confessions here at Saint Bonaventure’s are on Saturdays from 3:00 – 3:45 PM or by appointment.

If you wish the priest or deacon to come to your wedding reception, please send him an invitation, and he will respond according to his schedule on that day.  It will be helpful for Catholic guests to know by reading your invitation if your wedding is a nuptial Mass, especially when it occurs on Sunday. 

§           For the church, the offering is $200.00 and should be provided at the final meeting with the priest or deacon.  Please make the check payable to St. Bonaventure Parish.  (Note: This offering includes a $5.00 stipend for the priest officiating at a nuptial Mass, but in all other cases, no part of this offering goes directly to the priest or deacon who celebrates your wedding.) 

§           The fee for the Director of Music/Organist, Mr. Christopher Ricci, is $225.00 and should be forwarded directly to him. 

§           A soloist or other musician would involve a separate fee.  Mr. Ricci can provide further information on this.

§           The wedding rehearsal coordinator fee is $50 (check made payable to “Cash”) and should be provided on the evening of the rehearsal.