Preparing for a Catholic Wedding

a group of children in first communion dresses and suits around a priest

You will have been directed to this page because you’re already working with a Catholic minister to prepare the paperwork to be married in a Catholic Church, and you’ve been asked to attend a Marriage Preparation course.  There are different formats available – on-line, one-day and residential – but what they all have in common is they lay solid foundations for a deeper, indeed lifelong, commitment to another person who is, at some point, going to disagree with you about something. Our marriage preparation courses are not, at their heart, religious courses (although you might be invited to join in a prayer or talk about religious beliefs along the way). Rather, our marriage preparation courses are to help you disagree healthily as you pledge to spend the rest of your lives together.

MarriageCare is our local provider, with two pathways:

  • FOCCUS marriage preparation sessions take place throughout the year, with the day and time of the sessions being agreed between the couple and their facilitator.
  • In-person Preparing Together Days are delivered in locations which include South Wales; some are also offered via Zoom.

Other options which provide a preparation certificate acceptable to the Pastorate of Our Lady of the Valleys include:

EngagedEncounter offers preparation over the course of two days. Some of their ‘encounters’ are in the form of residential weekends. Others involve two Saturdays via Zoom.

SmartLoving: 9 online sessions, approximately 90 minutes each, designed to be paced out over three months.

CatholicMarriagePrep online: based in the USA, this requires the couple to complete nine worksheets, each of which leeds to feedback from a tutor couple; the process is available also in Spanish or in French.