Sacrament of Holy Matrimony

The Catholic Church considers marriage between a man and a woman, a sacrament of vocation. This sacrament is a sign of the presence of God among us. 

We ask that you...

• READ AND REVIEW ALL THE INFORMATION ON THIS WEBPAGE  BEFORE CONTACTING THE PARISH OFFICE.
• DO NOT RESERVE A VENUE AS THE DATE IS NOT GURANTEED TILL CONFIRMED BY MARRIAGE CORDINATOR AFTER YOUR INTERVIEW WITH OUR CLERGY.
• A MINIMUM OF 6 MONTHS TO PREPARE FOR MARRIAGE

All dates are on a first come first serve basis. 

(Weddings on Saturday are at 2:00 PM ONLY)

Marriage Preparation Process at Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Before you can schedule your first appointment with a parish priest or deacon, engaged couples must do the following:

1. Obtain all Proper Documentation

• Both Bride & Groom submit a recent baptism certificate with notations.

* You must request a “Current baptism certificate with notations” from the church where you were baptized and it must be dated less than 6 months from now.

For example, a Baptism Certificate that your family has dated from the time of your baptism is not acceptable.

**An important note for those who were baptized in Mexico**

The best way for you to obtain your Baptism Certificate is for you, a family member, or a friend to go to the parish church in Mexico in person and request this certificate. From our experience it is very difficult for the Parish to request your Baptism Certificate from any church in Mexico. It is the custom that parishes in Mexico will not give certificates unless someone asks for it in person. You can also contact the Diocese of the town/city where the parish is located for additional assistance.

• If only one of the engaged persons is baptized, this person's Baptism Certificate is required. If one of the engaged persons is not baptized into a Christian religion or any religion, that person must provide a certified copy of the long form of his/her Birth Certificate.

2. Provide basic contact information:                                   Ex: names, addresses, phone numbers

Submit the Marriage intake form to out Parish Secretary via email at secretary-shedinburg@cdob.org located at the bottom of page. This form must be filled out using your Current Baptism Certificate information.

3. WITNESS AFFIDAVIT of FREEDOM TO MARRY

• The Bride and Groom will need to select two witnesses each to stop by the office. The witnesses will answer a series of questions this process will not take any longer than 10 minutes each. The witness that you select will need to have known you for 10 years or more. The witnesses could be parents, grandparent, sibling or friends.

4. DONATION

• A $100.00 Donation is requested at the time of your registration this will be deducted from your total amount. We ask you give this donation in Cash, or Check we do accept Card but there is a 4% additional Charge.

The User Fee includes:

1. Administrative expenses for documentation processing and archiving records a.

2. Use of, set-up, and maintenance of the Church Space for rehearsal and ceremony

3. Use, and maintenance of Bride Room for wedding day

4. Flowers: 4 arrangements to adorn the altar for Mass. These will be shared with the Community on Sunday

5. Wedding Monitor consultation for rehearsal and ceremony

6. Processing and mailing of Marriage License to State of Texas

7. Creation and mailing of Certificate of Marriage for the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony

8. Additional assistance as needed

If bride and groom live outside of Sacred Heart they may be married at this parish with proper permissions from their home parish at the time of registration. See parish boundaries here

5. Registration

Once you have all the items above and all 4 witnesses have completed their affidavits, you can stop by the office to register for Marriage Preparation. Registration can be done by bride or groom alone but both are welcome to come in together if they wish. 

Other Documents you might need:

1. Marriage license: if you are civilly married.
2. Divorce Decree: If you have a previous Marriage
3. Annulment Letter: If you have a previous Marriage

Note to the for bride-to-be and groom-to-be to avoid any miscommunications

The Bride and Groom are the focus of Marriage Preparation and it is important that we communicate directly with them only. No information will be released or discussed with anyone else, such as wedding planners, or parents of either party.