MARRIAGE
 General Guidelines for the Sacrament of Marriage 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD GUIDELINES FOR CELEBRATING MARRIAGE AT ST. PETER THE APOSTLE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Congratulations on your engagement and upcoming marriage. If you are interested in having your wedding at St. Peter's, please contact the Parish Office at (830) 816-2233 for information. For use of the Cana Ballroom for receptions, please contact Marisa Perez-Luna in the Cana Ballroom Event Office at (830) 816-5673.

Non-parishioners who wish to marry at St. Peter's are required to rent the Cana Ballroom for their reception. You will also need to determine which priest you plan to work with through the marriage preparation process. If it is your home parish priest, we will need a letter or email from him, stating the following:

1. You and your fiancé(e) are Free to Marry, and,
2. He (the priest) will do the marriage preparation paperwork and send it to St. Peter's Pastoral Office prior to making a reservation.

We must have this information before we can accept your deposit and reservation.

Steps to Follow for Parishioners and Non-Parishioners

1. If you are a parishioner at St. Peter's, please contact Lacey Sorrell at [email protected] or (830) 816-5663. If you are not a parishioner of St. Peter's, your first step is to contact your priest at your home parish.
2. Second, we need validation that you are free to marry in the Catholic Church before you can make a reservation. This "free to marry" requirement is necessary to make a reservation and secure the date for your wedding. This reservation is only for the Church. You will also need to confirm and book your reception through the Cana Ballroom Event Office. Please call Doreann Sommers at (830) 816-5673 to reserve the Cana Ballroom.

The following documents are required to receive the sacrament of Marriage:

1. Baptism Certificate with Annotations. You will need to call the church where you and your fiancé(e) were baptized and ask them to re-issue a Baptism Certificate with annotations. The annotations are the Sacraments you have already received - 1st Communion, Reconciliation, Confirmation and/or any previous marriages. If you are not Catholic, please provide a copy of your Baptism Certificate from the church where you were baptized. Note: To marry in the Catholic Church, one of the parties must be Catholic, but it is not required that both be Catholic.
2. Affidavit of Free Status. This document requires two (2) signatures from two (2) witnesses who have known you well (parents, siblings) for many years. The signatures must be witnessed by a priest or deacon. This document will be given to you at your initial meeting with the priest.
3. Letter of Permission to Marry. This document is required if the couple is from another Catholic Church.
4. You will need to register for a Marriage Formation Program offered through the Archdiocese of San Antonio (or the diocese where you live). We will need a copy of the certificate received after completion of this program. This is a requirement of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. To register, please go to the Archdiocese's  MARRIAGE PREPARATION page for a complete listing of all the churches, dates and times offering a marriage prep program in the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
5. Once you have completed the Archdiocese's program, you will be referred to St. Peter's Marriage Sponsor Couple Ministry. In this ministry, you will meet with another trained, married couple and go through the book For Better & Forever by Fr. Bob Runke. This is a requirement of St. Peter's Parish. Please call Deacon Brad Wakely to be referred to this ministry.
6. At least one month before your wedding date, please plan to meet in the Parish Office to go over, in detail, your wedding ceremony. You will need to bring the gold Together for Life book that you received when you first met with the priest. In the back of this book is a worksheet that guides you in selections of Scripture readings and prayers for your ceremony. You will need to have this completed before this meeting. Ideally, you and your fiancé(e) should go through this book and complete the worksheet together. Please call Lacey Sorrell to schedule. It is not necessary for both parties to be present at this meeting.
7. Marriage License. Please bring your marriage license to the planning meeting (previously discussed). We will keep this safe, along with all the other documents you already provided. Legally, the priest cannot marry you unless we have this marriage license. We highly recommend that you do not wait and bring this on the day of your marriage!

If you have any questions or concerns, please call the Pastoral Office at (830) 816-2233.