WEDDING GUIDELINES
St. Patrick Church 304 3rd Street
Imogene, Iowa 51645
Pastor – Father Tom Kunnel, TOR
712-623-5882 712-404-2305 tkunnel@hotmail.com
Parish Wedding Coordinator – Melonie Doyle 3511 150th Street Randolph, IA 51649
Home-712-625-4181 Cell-712-370-1564 doylefarm2@hotmail.com
Church Secretary – Margaret Laughlin 712-386-2200 mml2200@netins.net
The first step, as soon as you have a wedding date in mind, is to contact the Church Secretary to schedule a meeting with the Pastoral Council. One year or more before your proposed wedding date is a great time to get started on these things and will help ease the stress as your big day draws near. The Pastor is the official priest for the Church at all weddings that take place in St. Patrick Church. If he decides otherwise, he can delegate to some other Catholic priest. After meeting with the parish Pastoral Council, please make an appointment with the pastor to do the paperwork and make wedding arrangements with him. Please do not finalize any other arrangements before the date has been placed on the parish calendar. To absolutely guarantee your chosen date, payment must be made at this time. Please call the Parish Wedding Coordinator if you would like to make installment payments. Checks should be sent to the church address listed above.
CHECKLIST: SIX MONTHS BEFORE YOUR WEDDING
___Be sure the date is set and confirmed with both the Pastor and the Parish Secretary.
___Have completed the Wedding Arrangements form and returned it to the Parish Secretary with a recent copy of both of your Baptismal certificates (if baptized other than at St. Patrick Church-Imogene). The Parish Secretary will forward your certificate to the Pastor if you were baptized at St. Patrick Church-Imogene.
___Discuss with the Pastor if your wedding will be a Mass (if both are Catholic) or marriage ceremony only (if either the bride or groom is not a Catholic). If there is no Mass, you do not need Altar Servers, Giftbearers or Eucharistic Ministers at the ceremony. If you are having a Mass, you will need to arrange for Lector(s), Servers, Giftbearers and EME’s (Bread & Wine). The Parish Wedding Coordinator can provide names of Lectors, etc. if none are available in your family.
___Contact FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding and Study) Sponsor Couple and arrange to meet with them. You can get the name of your Sponsor Couple from the Parish Wedding Coordinator.
CHECKLIST: THREE MONTHS BEFORE YOUR WEDDING
___Be sure you have fulfilled, or at least arranged for fulfillment, of the FOCCUS program.
CHECKLIST: TWO MONTHS BEFORE YOUR WEDDING
___Meet with the Pastor after the FOCCUS program is fulfilled to complete the paper work.
___Review with the Pastor all wedding music to be used for the ceremony- all music must come from a Catholic hymnal or CD.
___Secular songs can be used prior to and after the service if approved by the Pastor. Please obtain his approval before printing your programs.
Playing of the Wedding March is NOT permissible in the Catholic Church. The unity candle, blending of sand and other modern rituals are NOT a part of the Catholic wedding ceremony.
CHECKLIST: ONE MONTH BEFORE YOUR WEDDING
___Be sure your baptismal certificates have been sent to the Parish Secretary.
___Be sure the FOCCUS program has been completed.
___Make sure the Parish Wedding Coordinator has been contacted and is informed of the decorating, rehearsal and wedding times; the Coordinator will see that the church is open for you or can provide you with the hall code. The Parish Wedding Coordinator will be at your rehearsal to answer any additional questions you have at that time.
GUIDELINES
…The Pastor is the witness for the Church at all marriages in St. Patrick Church.
Times for weddings
Friday weddings-can be held in the evening
Saturday weddings (1st, 3rd, & 5th weekends of the month) – no later than 2pm
Saturday weddings (2nd & 4th weekends of the month) – no later than 2:30pm
Parishioner weddings - $100 donation
The bride or groom or their parents have been registered members of the St. Patrick parish and regular weekend Mass attendees here for at least one year prior to the time the pastor is contacted about the wedding.
Non-parishioner weddings - $500 donation
The bride or groom or their parents have not been registered members of St. Patrick parish and regular weekend Mass attendees here for at least one year prior to the time the pastor is contacted about the wedding.
Additional Information
After the church has been opened, it is your responsibility not to leave the church unattended. The Pastor, Parish Wedding Coordinator or a
Pastoral Council member will lock up afterwards.
Items in all areas of the church cannot be moved or removed without the permission of the Pastor or the Parish Wedding Coordinator. Only the candles next to the small altar and the candelabra on the big altar are lit for weddings. Any other candles must be brought in by the bride and groom. Please designate someone to remove all decorations, candles, programs, etc. immediately following the wedding. Anything that has been moved should be returned to its original location. Birdseed and shaped confetti is not allowed. The main aisle is 75 feet long and there are 24 pews on either side of the aisle.
