Marriage Preparation
-
-
Congratulations on your decision to enter Holy Matrimony in the Catholic Church. We welcome and rejoice with you! The celebration you are planning and the lifelong commitment you are choosing to make are signs of God’s great love for us all. One year prior to your anticipated wedding date, you should begin the initial steps to begin the Marriage Preparation process.
We are excited to be part of your discernment to marry. This is a joyful time in your lives. To provide you with the best possible support and guide you through your preparation, it must be done in person and face to face. We do not offer virtual or on-line marriage preparation.
If either parties have been married before, whether Catholic, other Christians, civilly or nonChristian, the previous marriage will need to addressed by a case counselor/annulment advocate. Please wait until this is completed, and you have met with the Deacon to set a wedding date. Please be aware that according to the Roman Missal, weddings may not be scheduled on Sundays, Ash Wednesday, Sundays of Lent, Easter, and Advent, Holy Week, Easter Sunday, Holy Days of Obligation, and All Soul's Day.
Below you will find the standard requirements for the St. Thomas Aquinas marriage preparation program. To begin your preparation, please note that this is not just a series of steps, it is a serious discernment between all parties involved.
Read more about the Sacrament of Marriage here.
-
Questions? Contact us, we are here to help!
Tina Labossiere
[email protected]
979-485-8137 -
Marriage Prep Dates 2025
January 25, 2025
March 29, 2025
June 28, 2025
October 25, 2025
-
-
-
Documents
Contact our Ministries Administrative Assistant or call the parish office at 979-693-6994.
Contact your home parish to obtain a Baptismal Certificate or a Profession of Faith Certificate issued from the Catholic church of your baptism or where you became a Catholic, with any sacramental notations listed on the back. (Baptized, non-Catholics must also provide proof of Baptism.) This information should be turned in to our Parish Administrative Assistant in order to schedule a meeting.
If you are not a parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas, then we need a letter from your home parish giving us permission to complete your marriage preparation and/or your wedding ceremony here at St. Thomas Aquinas parish.
You may NOT schedule a wedding date until after you have met with the deacon.
-
Initial Meeting with Deacon
A meeting will be scheduled with a Deacon to complete the Pre-nuptial Questionnaire.
Four Witness Affidavits of Freedom to Marry, (two for the groom, and another two for the bride) will be given to the couple to have completed, signed, and returned to the parish.
The Deacon will register the couple to take the Prepare and Enrich Inventory.
After you complete the inventory, a second meeting will be scheduled to review the results and discuss aspects of married life.
-
Wedding Date
After your initial meeting with the deacon, it is imperative that the date for your wedding be arranged with the parish office. (It is not wise to book any venue or vendors in advance as the church may not be available for your desired date.) If you are in need of an annulment, this must be done prior to setting a wedding date or meeting with the Deacon.
For fees, policies, and availability concerning reserving the Church, Parish Activity Center, or Zurek Hall for your wedding, contact our Business Administrator.
-
Retreat or Sponsor Couple
Together in God’s Love Weekend Retreat
- This program is an intensive marriage preparation course.Find more information and how to register here.
- You will receive a certificate of attendance and a “Together in Texas” certificate that entitles you to obtain a rebate on your State of Texas Civil Marriage license.
- The Diocese of Austin, and churches within the diocese, also offer the retreat program throughout the year. If you are unable to attend the retreat at our parish, you can find other dates in our Diocese Here.
Sponsor Couple Program- This program pairs you with an experienced married couple who walks with you through a preparation program normally requiring 4 sessions.
- To register, contact the Ministry Administrative Assistant.
- Please note that you will need a copy of the workbook For Better & For Ever which can be obtained from the church office ($20).
- A certificate of attendance will be provided which you can present to your parish of preparation.
-
Natural Family Planning Introduction Sessions
Our parish is coordinating efforts with St. Mary’s Catholic Center.
NFP offered at St. Mary's Fertility Care Center
NFP offered online through the Austin Diocese NFP Class Online
Intro to the Creighton Model on September 19 @ 6 pm
Parish Activity Center-Room 44-46
Register here.
For more information or questions please contact:
Shannon Allgeyer
Creighton Model Instructor
[email protected]
C:(830)-708-4334
Pam Marvin
Fertility Care Practitioner
Family Medicine
T: (979) 821-6300
C: (979) 220-6796
-
Liturgy & Music Selections
Once you have chosen the selections from Scriptures and prayers from the Together for Life booklet, you will meet the Celebrant to discuss the ceremony.
Our music director will assist you with your choice of music. Contact: [email protected]
These meetings should take place at least two months before the wedding.
Wedding Ceremony Worksheet
-
Rehearsal & License
If your ceremony is taking place at St. Thomas Aquinas, you will need to coordinate the rehearsal with the celebrant and the parish office to ensure there are not any scheduling conflicts.
A valid civil marriage license issued by any County Clerk’s office in the State of Texas. (obtain 72 hours to 30 days before the ceremony.) We ask that you bring your marriage license to the Parish Office one week before the wedding.
-
-
-
If you've been married before or married outside the Catholic Church, we would be honored to assist you through the annulment process or with a convalidation ceremony.
-
-
-
-
WHEN AND WHERE ARE WEDDINGS CELEBRATED?
Main Church on Saturdays at 10 AM and 2 PM.
Special weekday/weekend wedding dates are permitted if the parish schedule allows.
The wedding party has the use of the church and areas for dressing for no more than one hour before the ceremony and thirty minutes after the conclusion of the ceremony. The ceremony must begin and end on schedule. Please designate a family member or friend to care for your items.
WILL WE HAVE A REHEARSAL?
Rehearsals are generally the evening before the wedding. However, some may be scheduled on other days due to prior events already scheduled. Rehearsal times are 5:30 PM, 6:30 PM, or 7:30 PM. (During Lent, rehearsals are scheduled on Thursdays to accommodate Lenten services.)
Our Liturgical Wedding Coordinators conduct rehearsals, which last no longer than one hour. All members of the wedding party, including attendants, ushers, parents, lectors, etc. should attend.
SHOULD MASS BE CELEBRATED AT OUR WEDDING?
The Catholic Rite of Marriage takes place within the Sacred Liturgy – the Church’s praise of God. By its nature, Sacred Liturgy is a celebration of the universal Church. The wedding liturgy reflects this aspect when a groom and bride profess their solemn vows to each other before God and His people assembled. To manifest our corporate worship and as we do at Sunday Mass, each wedding begins with a liturgical procession with the cross of Christ leading, the priest/deacon, and then followed by the wedding party. Then a gathering hymn unites our minds, hearts, and voices as we begin our worship, praising God and asking His blessings upon the church and the couple marrying.
The Rite of Marriage may be celebrated during a Mass, or a Liturgy of the Word with no Holy Communion.
Rite of Marriage during a Mass is the norm when both the groom and bride are practicing Catholics.
Rite of Marriage outside of Mass – Liturgy of the Word with no Holy Communion is the norm when a Catholic marries a baptized non-Catholic.
To prepare for the Sacred Liturgy, you receive a book, Together for Life, that outlines your choices for prayers and Scripture readings. Please select lectors who are comfortable reading in public. Practicing Catholics and/or practicing baptized, non-Catholics may read the first and second readings.
With the Rite of Marriage during Mass, you are to choose two practicing Catholics to present the gifts of bread and wine. Since we as Catholics believe these gifts will become the Body and Blood of Christ, it would be inappropriate to ask a non-Catholic to present these gifts when his or her faith tradition does not believe in the real presence of the Eucharist.
-
-