Marriage

Immaculate Conception Church Marriage Preparation Program

1. Meet with Father Matthew Quail.  Review the marriage preparation program.  Fill out the initial paperwork.  Set a date for the wedding.  Pay $100 deposit to hold the date of your wedding in our parish calendar.  The total wedding fee is $350 which is paid to the parish and covers the cost of the FOCCUS Inventory, printed materials, the fee for the work of the Wedding Coordinator prior to the wedding and at the rehearsal and at the wedding, and to help cover maintenance costs of the church building.  There is no fee for Father Quail to work with you.  Any gift you give him is appreciated but not required.

2. Meet with Barb Hartwick, the Wedding Coordinator at Immaculate Conception.  Call Barb to set up a meeting.  Her home phone is 763-780-2004.  She will review the Wedding Planning materials with you, discuss policies for using the church, schedule your rehearsal, and other details.

3. Attend a pre-marriage retreat.  You will receive information about different retreat locations in the Twin Cities area.  You can do step 3 before 2 if you like.

4. Take the FOCCUS Inventory.  Father Quail will set up a password for you to take the FOCCUS Inventory online.  You will need about 45 minutes to answer the questions on the FOCCUS Inventory.  FOCCUS stands for Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding & Study.  After taking the FOCCUS, you will meet with a married couple from our parish at least one time in their home, or with Father Peterson, to discuss the results of the FOCCUS Inventory.  You can do this before or after Steps 2 and 3 above.

5. Attend at least two classes on Natural Family Planning.  You will receive information about the dates and location of these classes in the Twin Cities area.  You may complete this step before or after Steps 2, 3 and 4 above.

6. Meet with Dr. Ray Bannon, the Director of Music at Immaculate Conception.  Call Dr. Bannon to set up a meeting.  His phone number at the Parish Office is 763-788-9062, x 214.  He will discuss how to choose wedding music, and you can talk to him about who will sing and play music at your wedding.  Dr. Bannon can help you find musicians and singers, if needed.  You can do this step before or after Steps 2, 3, 4, and 5.

7. At least 2 months before the wedding, meet with Barb Hartwick to finalize your songs, readings, details of the wedding, etc.  Call Barb at least 2 months before the wedding to set up this meeting.  At this meeting you will pay the remaining balance of $250 for your wedding fee.

8.  At least 2-3 weeks before the wedding, meet with Father Quail to cover last-minute details.  Call Father Quail 2 months before your wedding to schedule this meeting.

9. Apply for a marriage license from any county courthouse in the State of Minnesota.  This may be done as early as six months prior to the wedding date but not sooner.  Call Father Quail before you go to the courthouse so that he can sign a letter for you indicating you’ve done at least 12 hours of marriage preparation, and with this letter you will receive a marriage license fee discount (approximately $50 off).

10. Send baptism certificates for the bride and groom to Father Quail.  Catholics need to send a baptism certificate issued from their church of baptism within the last six months.  Non-Catholics may send either a photocopy of their baptism certificate or a recently issued certificate from their church of baptism.