Step 4

Plan your wedding celebration

Six months before your wedding: When the time comes to plan your wedding day, three groups of people will help you with your task:

  1. The priest, who will help you with the documentation mentioned in Step 3.
  2. The wedding coordinator, who handles details surrounding the rehearsal and wedding day, and is there to facilitate both. The coordinator will also see that all civil paperwork is in order, and will coordinate your plans with the Sacristan's office of the Basilica.
  3. The director of music of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart will guide all musical preparation for the wedding liturgy. A list of approved musicians will be available at the time of initial consultation, and all musicians must be selected from this list. Payment for musicians is separate from the Basilica's fees and must be received at the Office of Campus Ministry 30 days prior to the wedding day.

All music must be appropriate for sacred liturgical celebration. No secular texts will be allowed.

A Sacristy information sheet should be filled out and submitted to the wedding coordinator or the sacristan's office by the evening of the wedding rehearsal. This sheet can be found in your wedding packet in the rules and guidelines booklet.

To plan your wedding ceremony, the following is a step-by-step approach that may be helpful.

  1. Spend some time in prayer and discussion. Ask each other:
    • What readings convey our understandings of sacramental love?
    • What style of liturgy fits into our common sense of prayer?
  2. Select your Scripture readings (a good collection of these may be found in the planning guides Celebrating Marriage by Paul Covino, and Together for Life by Rev. Joseph Champlin). These planning guides are passed on to you by Campus Ministry and Sacred Heart Parish, respectively.
  3. Call the director of music [ (574) 631-7800] to begin musical preparation of the wedding liturgy.
  4. Bring your readings and creative ideas to the presider and director of music to plan the details surrounding your ceremony.