The love between two people is a gift from God. The commitment two people make to be together for the rest of their lives and to accept children from God is sealed before the community and God during the celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage.
MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT
To have a wedding at The Basilica, the bride or groom must be a registered member of The Basilica for at least 3 months prior to booking a wedding date.
The Basilica celebrates about 100 weddings per year and prepares more than 130 couples per year for marriage since some of our members are married in other locations. Since we are a downtown, centrally located and beautiful church, we receive many requests for weddings here and must be sure that we do have dates available for our members. In addition, since sacraments are celebrations of the whole parish community, we require parish membership to celebrate the sacrament of marriage.
Basilica Wedding Times
Friday evening: 5:00pm
Saturday: Noon and 3:00pm
MARRIAGE PREPARATION
Marriage Preparation at The Basilica provides an opportunity for reflection and discernment on the sacramental and vocational nature of the life-long commitment to marriage. The Basilica’s preparation program fulfills the standard marriage preparation requirements for the Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis.
The Basilica is committed to doing all we can to make sure that couples are prepared for this important, holy and life-long commitment and not just prepared for the wedding day.
Our preparation program is designed to make sure that couples have discussed all aspects of marriage; spiritual, relational and practical. We expect couples to begin their marriage preparation at least 10 months to one year before their wedding. Our preparation includes:
- Welcome meeting (class dates given)
- Administration of a pre-marriage inventory called “PREPARE”
- Meetings to review results of the PREPARE inventory (with marriage director or a marriage mentor couple from the parish)
- Pre-Marriage Temperament retreat (a separate fee)
- Wedding workshop
- Individual meeting(s) with a wedding liturgy planner
- Production of a wedding program/leaflet
- Meeting with wedding officiant: priest/deacon
- Wedding rehearsal
- Parish Wedding Coordinator on day of wedding
PREPARATION TIMELINE
Couples are given a timeline to follow as they move through their preparation process. The timeline is specifically designed to make sure that the couple has enough time to truly benefit from each step and have started early enough to allow time to work on relationship issues that may surface. We have also discovered that if a couple is too close to their wedding day, they have a hard time giving adequate energy to the relationship aspects of the preparation and tend to get caught up in the wedding day preparation only. The following is a quick overall of the timeline.
12 Months Out: Secure the wedding date, Welcome meeting (specifics of requirements explained, class dates given, and paperwork begun)
11-12 Months Out: Attend PREPARE class (Instructions for PREPARE inventory given)
7-10 Months Out: Begin meetings to review results of PREPARE inventory (2–4 meetings of approximately 1 hour each with marriage director or mentor couple)
6-8 Months Out: Attend the Temperament retreat (day long retreat based on couple’s Temperaments)
3-4 Months Out: Attend Wedding workshop
2 Months Out: Individual planning meeting with wedding liturgy planner, schedule a meeting with priest/deacon
1 Month Out: Meeting with priest/deacon, Worship program materials due
Wedding Rehearsal
Wedding Day: Relax and celebrate
MARRIAGE PREPARATION FEE
The Basilica charges a marriage preparation fee of $1200. At least half of this fee is due to secure the wedding date with the balance due two weeks prior to the wedding. One half of the full marriage preparation fee is refundable if the wedding is canceled. If a 50% deposit is made to secure the date, this is non-refundable.
Marriage Preparation only (wedding elsewhere) costs $500.
Marriage Enrichment
Find opportunities to strengthen your relationship as a married couple.
MOST COMMON QUESTIONS
Q: We are not members but have been attending The Basilica. Does that count to be able to book a wedding date?
A: Unfortunately, no. Since we get so many requests for weddings we need to honor our 3 month policy consistently.
Q: If my fiancée/fiancé is not Catholic, can we still be marriage at The Basilica?
A: Yes, only one of you needs to be Catholic.
Q: We don’t want to wait 10 months to a year. Can we book a sooner date?
A: On rare occasions, if a couple has already done some marriage preparation elsewhere we may be willing to book a sooner date. Or, if the couple is willing to begin our preparation, at least completing the premarriage inventory and a review meeting before securing at date so that we can get a good sense of the strength of their relationship, we may consider a sooner date.
Q: My fiancée/fiancé does not live in the Twin Cities. How can we do the preparation?
A: We can often be quite creative about how to accomplish the preparation when couples or one of the two do not live locally.
Q: We are members here but will not be getting married at The Basilica. Can we still do our preparation here?
A: Yes. A “preparation only” fee will be discussed.
Q: One of us has been married before. Will that prevent us from booking a wedding date?
A: In the Catholic Church, all previous marriages must be dealt with before a wedding date can be booked. The marriage director can determine what will need to be done about the previous marriage. If an annulment is needed, the marriage director can explain that process and help you begin.
Q: Can we have our own musicians?
A: The Basilica has a wedding policy booklet that each couple will receive with answers to all questions related to the wedding ceremony and wedding day.
For any unanswered questions or to discuss a wedding at The Basilica, you can contact the marriage office at 612.333.1381.