Weddings
Marriage Information Booklet
ST MACARTAN' S CATHOLIC CHURCH
MORNINGTON PARISH
6 Drake Street Mornington 3931 Ph (03) 59752200
Email Address: mornington@cam.org.au
Website: www.stmacartansparish.com.au
Parish Priest: Fr Geoffrey McIlroy
Marriage Application Form - Online version (Preferred)
For a Checklist on the Marriage Paperwork for OVERSEAS WEDDINGS, please go to the Documents and Forms section on the Home Page of our Parish Website
CONGRATULATIONS
On your forthcoming nuptials!!
Your wedding day is an incredibly special occasion - it acknowledges the commitment you are making to each other before God, your family, and friends. It requires an enormous amount of planning and thought everything we can to make it a wonderful day, but we ask that you remember that you will be largely assisted by a group of volunteers who receive nothing except a possible stipend to offset their costs. To this end we ask that you give as much notice as possible in terms of your needs for the day and understand that we may not always be able to meet all your requests. Please be considerate of their time and be punctual for your appointment.
Weddings at St Macartan’s Church
We believe it is important for you to come and view our beautiful Church, as we know this historic and tradition, long aisled Church and outside rose gardens, will be better appreciated live, so make an appointment or pop into the Church (open daily).
· Contact the Parish secretary and Fr Geoff to discuss his availability and the availability of the Church and other support for your chosen date.
· Weddings are usually held on Saturdays and Sundays by arrangement but can sometimes be celebrated during the week.
· When making a booking, please fill in our marriage application form and send it in. We also require a $100 non-refundable deposit. A tentative booking can be made but must be confirmed and the deposit paid within 30 days. This is requested as a token of your commitment to the support we aim to provide throughout the counselling and planning process as well as on your wedding day itself. Of course, if we can accommodate you, we will make every effort to allow you to change your time and date after a booking.
Your Marriage Celebrant.
Fr. Geoffrey McIlroy our Parish Priest celebrate weddings at St. Macartan's; however, you are most welcome to use a priest known to you. If you choose to do so, please discuss this with Fr. Geoff and then contact your chosen celebrant to discuss the format of your wedding and the completion of appropriate Church and Government documents. Please inform our office of the priest's name and contact details. If the priest does not hold the faculties to work within the Archdiocese of Melbourne, he must obtain a temporary faculty to celebrate the sacrament of Marriage from the Vicar General office of Archdiocese of Melbourne.
Documents Required.
Prior to your wedding, the following documents need to be presented for us to complete both Church and Government papers. (The photocopies of the documents will be kept with wedding documents and original is returned)
1. Birth certificates of both (if birth certificate is not obtainable then a statutory declaration is required)
2. Australian passport or current overseas passport (if born outside of Australia).
3. Australian Driver License
4. A Catholic baptism or Christian christening certificate is required,
where one or both parties have been baptised. Copies of these are easily available from the Parish of your Baptism.
5. Confirmation certificate, Copies of these are easily available from the Parish of your Baptism.
For Catholics not from this parish, a freedom to marry from your local Parish Priest is needed. They regularly deal with these requests.
For Catholics, who were previously married, and now divorced; application for annulment must be submitted to Tribunal of the Catholic Church (390 Albert Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, ph: 9639 4211; https://www.cam.org.au/Tribunal).
Annulment for previous marriages must be obtained before the new marriage, the length of time requires for the process of annulment can take up to six months. It is important to seek annulment before set the date for wedding. The celebrant can help with the initial application for the annulment application.
Preparation for Marriage.
A vital part of preparing for married life is participating in a marriage preparation program, and we also strongly recommend participation in Catholic care's Pre-marriage education programs. (https://www.ccam.org.au/page/24/pre-marriage-education-programs) FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couple Communication and Study, more information is available from their website: WWW foecusin.com) is a questionnaire type program recommended prior to marriage, or others within the Parish trained in this area, i.e. Charmaine Holmes – Caritas Counselling ph: 59772665 or mob: 0413394085.
Your Wedding Day
As a matter of courtesy to our Priest and your guests, your wedding must begin on time. Please also consider any other Parish activities scheduled later that same day.
We do not allow the use of confetti, rice, helium balloons or rose petals in the Church or Church grounds to keep our Church and environment for the enjoyment of all. Please inform your guests of this rule and possibly suggest celebration bubbles or other (once approved), as a popular alternative.
Photography or video is permitted inside the Church providing it is done with respect and in a subtle manner. You are most welcome to use the Church grounds for photographs after the ceremony.
PARKING
Limited street parking is available directly in front of the Church. There is also space for two wedding cars inside our front wall. Alternatively, the Church car park for over 60 cars, is located at the rear of the Church, 5 Cook St (entry from Cook St accessed via the Esplanade).
Most couples like to prepare a booklet for use by their guests at their wedding ceremony. This is both at your discretion and your own responsibility. It is important to discuss the format and details of your service with our Priest prior to any printing. Please read the following section regarding your choice of music for your special day. A rehearsal can be arranged prior to your wedding day, and this can be arranged with our Priest.
Livestreaming – Not available at the moment.
Music
The music you select for your wedding day should both enhance the ceremony and reflect the solemnity of the Sacrament of Marriage. Your choices should be made carefully with consideration for the setting you have chosen.
There are several options:
· Organist you know - please be aware the Church organ is a very valuable Pipe organ and requires experience with and knowledge of this type of instrument. Organist must get approval from our Organist.
· Musicians you choose e. g. string quartet, guitar etc,
· Live Vocalists - you choose.
· Using the Church's audio system - Bluetooth is accessible.
Fees:
Please refer to fees section below for more detail but essentially a basic fee for use of our equipment and our Parish wedding coordinator to assist at your rehearsal and on the day. Also for the maintenance of our audio-visual facilities and cleaning afterwards, all included in the overall fee of your wedding. However, the fee you have agreed to pay the musicians/vocalists is separate and should be paid directly to them.
Generally, our coordinator charges $100 and will attend the wedding to assist.
Firstly, contacted the Parish Office on: 03 5975 2200 or email: mornington@cam.org.au. Then we on your behalf will contact our Wedding Coordinator, Veronica to discuss any query regarding church decorations and flowers for your wedding day.
This is essential whether you are using our music services or not, as we need to protect our copyright licensing and have the service coordinated.
Flowers
Flower arrangements are coordinated through our Wedding Coordinator. It is essential that you contact her at least 3 weeks prior to your wedding day to confirm details. Each week volunteers arrange flowers on side altars in the Church and foyer. in addition to these you are welcome to add your own flowers for your wedding day and we will endeavor to compliment your colour scheme.
There are three options for flowers on your wedding day:
1. You may prefer to just have the flowers in the Church (note: there are no church flowers during Lent or Advent but we will allow flowers for a wedding). It is worthwhile to visit the church prior to your wedding to see whether this option suits. If your wedding is planned during Lent, please be aware that there will be minimal flowers and drapes etc in the Church.
2. You purchase and arrange your own flowers in the brass urns on the dark brick walls behind the altar and / or in the foyer near the door into the Church. See note below regarding type/quantity of flowers needed. We suggest you allow at least 4 weeks’ notice for your florist to make the appropriate arrangements.
3. You purchase your own flowers which will then be arranged by our Church flower coordinator at no extra cost to you except for the cost of the flowers.
Other considerations:
To give you and your florist some idea of the type and quantity of flowers needed to make 2 arrangements on the altar and one in the foyer, we suggest:15 gladioli or similar type and length of flower, 30 Sim carnations or a similar type of length of flower, 3 bunches of field or Spray carnations or similar, 2 bunches of Gyp or similar to soften the whole arrangement, plus foliage (greenery) for the background.
Flowers can be placed in the Church on Saturday after 11.00am or possibly up to 4hours before the wedding. Please let our wedding coordinator know if you plan to take your flowers with you or leave them in the Church. Behind the dark brick wall behind the altar is a sink and cupboards with scissors etc. which you are welcome to use if necessary. Also bows are available for the pews if requested (see Parish wedding coordinator).
Fees for a wedding at St Macartan's Catholic Church
- The overall basic fee for a wedding at St Macartan's Catholic Church, Mornington is $950.00 (includes Church hire/cleaning, wedding coordinator and fee for our Priest).
[If you are using another Celebrant/Priest, the basic fee is $600.00, and you can arrange a separate fee with your Celebrant/Priest].
We require a $100 non-refundable deposit at booking and the remaining $850 fee must be paid in full 14 days prior to your wedding day.
OPTIONAL EXTRAS (payments below)
· $? Flowers as per arrangement (see section on flowers)
Payments can be made by cash, or direct deposit, or cheque. We try to keep our costs to a minimum; they are well below what other Churches charge and are not aimed at making a profit but at covering all costs incurred.
Direct Deposit Details
Account Name: St Macartan’s Parish
BSB: 083-347
Account No.: 547 373 281
Reference: Wedding(Last name)
Finally, ENJOY your special day!
Please do not hesitate to ask us for anything which is not mentioned in this booklet or to make any suggestions as to how we can improve our service.
Congratulations!!!