Marriage

We love to do weddings at St. Vincent de Paul Parish and want to do everything we can to encourage couples to celebrate this wonderful sacrament in our parish.

We love to prepare couples for marriage whether the wedding ceremony is at St. Vincent de Paul or at another parish in the District, or at your hometown church.

(Marriage prep in the Catholic Church is also called Pre-Cana)

Couples thinking about marriage should contact the pastor prior to, or after, engagement, normally 6 months before the scheduled wedding.  The Church desires to help couples prepare a good foundation for a lifelong commitment to this sacred marriage vocation.

Matrimony is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church whereby a Christian man and woman join together the whole of their lives in Christ.  Marriage is a means of grace in the life of the couple and, as the “domestic church,” the family is the foundation of the Christian community.

Preliminary Information for Celebrating Matrimony at St. Vincent de Paul 

Couples thinking about marriage should contact the pastor prior to, or after, engagement, normally 6 months before the scheduled wedding.  The Church desires to help couples prepare a good foundation for a lifelong commitment to this sacred marriage vocation.

Wedding donations for St. Vincent’s parishioners* - $400.00 ($200.00 deposit to reserve a date)
* registered parishioners without 6 months of demonstrated parish support will be asked to contribute at the non-parishioner rate; requested donations may be reduced once 6 months of parish support/ tithing is demonstrated. For couples who are only doing their pre-cana in St. Vincent de Paul, but are getting married elsewhere, the suggested donation is $350.00.

Wedding donations for non-parishioners - $700.00** ($350.00 deposit to reserve a date)
** donations for non-parishioners may be reduced if marriage preparation is completed apart from St. Vincent’s and a visiting priest is officiating.

The above donations help to defray the costs for use of the church and other facilities, plus appreciable administrative and pastoral workload that goes along with the wedding preparation. These donations are tax-deductible. 
Additional wedding costs will include musician/cantor fees, if desired. These fees are not tax-deductible. Flower arrangements/ decorations are the responsibility of the couple. Floral decorations should be genuine, simple and discreet. Flowers, plants or trees should never impede the approach to the altar or interfere with other liturgical action. The use of arbors or arches is not permitted. Flowers maybe placed near or in front of the altar, but never upon it. Floral arrangements that were part of a wedding celebration usually remain in the sanctuary for parish use. If flowers or bows are to be placed on the ends of the pews, they must be tied on or an elastic band used around the top of the pew. Tapes must never be used because it removes the wood finish. You must arrange with your florist or a family member to place the flowers in the sanctuary. The church staff is not responsible for this prior to the wedding.

Catholics celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage in their own parish church, unless the pastor grants permission otherwise. Registered parishioners of St. Vincent may reserve a wedding date after meeting with the pastor and with a deposit of $200. The priest will determine freedom to marry and availability of clergy before permitting scheduling. The pastor of St. Vincent will determine the priest to officiate at each wedding or must provide the proper delegation for a visiting priest to officiate.

If you are not a registered, active parishioner at St. Vincent de Paul, you will need to obtain the permission of your proper pastor to be married at St. Vincent de Paul. With that permission, you may contact St. Vincent's to determine the possibility of a wedding in our parish. If it is determined that you are free to marry and a St. Vincent's priest is available, you may then reserve a wedding date with a $350 deposit. If you are bringing a priest from outside St. Vincent’s to officiate at your wedding, the pastor at St. Vincent’s must grant delegation to him before the wedding.

If you are not registered in any parish, are an active-duty member of the U.S. military or have unusual pastoral circumstances, please contact St. Vincent’s for assistance in determining the availability of St. Vincent’s for your wedding or preparation.

Celebrating Matrimony away from St. Vincent’s (for registered parishioners only)
If St. Vincent’s is your parish, then you must obtain the permission of the pastor to be married elsewhere. Please contact the Parish Office to obtain this permission. If the wedding will be away from St. Vincent’s, but you will require the marriage preparation at St. Vincent’s, you will be asked for a contribution of $350 to St. Vincent’s. Additional costs will apply based on the Pre-Cana program you choose to participate in and for weddings which will take place in foreign countries.

Marriage Preparation at St. Vincent de Paul
Catholic marriage preparation consists of the following elements:

• Initial interview with the couple by the pastor
• PMI Survey for Couples
• one-on-one meeting with a priest (typically 6 or more meetings)
• collecting pertinent documents (to be communicated to you by the priest)
• Couple's Engagement Weekend (to be determined by the priest in charge)

The first step in the process of preparing for marriage is to make an appointment to meet with the pastor. The priest will use this occasion to get to know you a bit and offer encouragement. He will make a preliminary determination that you are free to marry and find out the circumstances of the couple/wedding. He will answer your questions about the preparation process and help you to make important decisions that will help you prepare well for your marriage. If you are a registered parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul, please email [email protected] to make an appointment, or call the rectory at 202-488-1354.
At St. Vincent’s we offer a series of Pre-Cana classes and is given by the priest. You will have to do the PMI (PreMarriage Inventory) Survey to start. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PROGRAM CONSISTS OF SIX OR MORE CONSECUTIVE MEETINGS OF ONE HOUR at a day and time determined by the couple and the priest in charge. After this one on one meeting with the priest, the couple is to attend a couple's engagement weekend given outside St. Vincent's. This is a mandatory requirement in order to complete the Pre-Cana process. Recommendations for the Couple's engagement weekend "Three to Get Married" program at Our Lady of Bethesda Center for Family Development or the Archdiocese of Washington Marriage Preparation program St. Agustine Catholic Church-DC, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Vienna, VA