Sacraments

Weddings

St. Pius X Community

Marriage Guidelines

Weddings are special and joyful times for brides and grooms, for their families and friends and for the parish community.  The new beginning, the love, the promise and hope that weddings are for us make of their celebration a special and grace-filled time in our lives.  The church welcomes its members to celebrate and solemnize their weddings in the context of our prayer as Christians.  Indeed. So important is marriage in Christian life that it is called a sacrament.

Great care is taken to see that the prayer for this special moment is reverent, graceful, beautiful and open to the movement of God’s Spirit among us.  Our celebrations of the sacraments, marriage included, are always rooted in listening to the scriptures so that we can be nourished and strengthened by God’s word.  Always, we celebrate the sacraments as a community.  We gather our brothers and sisters in faith and ask for their prayerful support.  These celebrations are incomplete unless they are filled with song, with prayerful gestures and with silence in which we hear the voice of God in our lives.

In this spirit, St. Pius X provides the attached guidelines for celebrating weddings in the building that shelters the prayer of our community.  (Revised 1/30/2006)

 I.    Marriage is a lifetime work, one that requires some special training and preparation.  For this reason, certain policies and guidelines have been developed on the diocesan and parish level to facilitate the preparation process:

a)      A couple may call the parish office and inquire whether a certain date is available for a wedding.  However, the date can only be made firm after the couple has talked with one of the priests at St. Pius X., or if a *priest from outside St. Pius X parish will be performing the wedding celebration. 

*An outside priest must call the St. Pius X secretary to confirm they will be the celebrant.  

·        A one hundred and twenty-five ($125.00) check made out payable to St. Pius X Church must be received within seven (7) days to confirm your date. 

·        If a priest from outside the parish is performing the ceremony, a check for one hundred and fifty dollars ($150.00) must be received within seven days. *  The fees quoted in this document will be used as a stipend to the priest and to reimburse someone to open and close the church for the rehearsal and liturgy itself; as well as to cover the cost to the parish. 

·        The charge for an “Inactive Parishioner” is $300 (unless the St. Pius X Parish Pastor approves otherwise).

If the retaining fee is not received within the allotted time, the date will once again be considered an open date and made available to others.

b)      This first contact with the priest should be as soon as possible.  A meeting with the priest is necessary at least six months prior to the wedding.

NOTE:  After talking with the priest, the couple should call the parish hall manager, Mr. Rusty Collinsworth @  859-341-7175 between the hours 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. to reserve the hall for the reception if they desire to rent it. 

c)  Weddings take place on Friday or Saturday evenings at 7:00p.m. or on Saturdays prior to 2:00p.m.

No one is to be in church or leave anything in the church for the wedding until after the 5:00 p.m. Mass on Saturdays (approximately 6:00p.m.).

II.  At least one of the parties must be a registered member of the St. Pius Community.  If you will be residing within our parish boundaries after the wedding, please remember to register at the rectory.

III. All events occurring inside the church are subject to the approval of the parish priest.

This includes music, decorations, servers, florists, photographers, and other matters.  The following important areas deserve particular concern:

a)      DECORUM – the church is the house of God.  A prayerful attitude should be observed at the time of the rehearsal, as well as before, during, and after the ceremony (including picture-taking.)  Food and drinks are NOT permitted in the church gathering space, or in the room where the bride waits.  No beer and/or alcoholic beverages are to be brought into the church area. 

b)      PHOTOGRAPHERS – you are welcome to bring in a photographer to help provide special memories of your day, however, the photographer is to be reminded that he is a guest in our church; the church is not to be used as a studio.  The photographer is not allowed in the front of church after the Mass or ceremony begins.  Picture taking after the ceremony may not exceed 9:00p.m.

c)   ATTITUDE – as stated above, a reverent attitude must prevail.  The altar is not to be used as a utility table for cameras or other paraphernalia.  No furnishing (i.e. fern stands, chairs, etc.) or seasonal decorations (i.e. Advent Wreath, Christmas Circle, Lenten Cross, etc.) may be rearranged or removed without the permission of the pastor or sacristan.

d) MUSIC---the parish has a music director, Rebecca Slater, at 859-341-4900 ext. 196 or bslater@stpius-x.com.   She can supply organ, piano and/or vocal music as needed for the celebration of your marriage.  Her normal fee is $200.00, which includes up to two one-hour consultation/planning meetings.  Any additional rehearsals, including the dress rehearsal, may be scheduled for a fee of $50 per hour.  The music director can also assist you in arranging for additional professional cantors and instrumentalists as needed. If you intend to use musicians outside the parish to provide wedding music, a telephone consultation is required in order to receive rules and guidelines for outside musicians. The music director must approve all music, and only appropriate music will be permitted. Outside musicians must be familiar with the Catholic liturgy and be able to lead the appropriate liturgical responses. All musicians and music must be approved by the music director. This fee is due on or before the date of the wedding.

e)     FLORIST DECORATIONS – in addition to corsages, boutonnieres and bouquets, you may desire to place floral arrangements in church.  Ordinarily bridal couples order two floral displays for either side of the sanctuary platform.  No flowers are to be placed on the altar.  The parish can supply a “unity candelabra.”  Flowers for the bridal party (boutonnieres, bouquets, corsages, etc.) are to be delivered to the bench in the church foyer, not placed inside the church room.  Flowers for the sanctuary are to be placed there by the florist or family member.  If you are ordering special candelabras from the florist, the candles must be dripless.  Any wax dripped onto the sanctuary carpet will be professionally removed and charged to the couple.   The florist or family member MUST remove from the premises all their equipment, boxes and materials within one-half hour after the wedding, including aisle candles.  (This is necessary so that the church is ready for the early morning mass the next day.)  Nothing may be affixed to the pews with tape.  Only padded clamps may be used to fasten candles or other items to the pews.  Any damage done to the finish of the pews will be charged to the couple.

f)    RESPONSIBILITY – it is up to the couple to inform photographers, musicians and florists of these guidelines.  The name of your florist and photographer must be included on your liturgy-planning sheet.

g)      RICE – no rice, confetti, birdseed or other throwables may be used under any circumstances (safety and janitorial reasons.)

h)      RUNNER – a runner may be used.  If fixed to the floor, only masking tape or pins may be used.  It must be removed after the ceremony.  Our aisle is 75 feet long.

i)        BRIDE & BRIDESMAIDS – may use the choir room.  Please refer to Section III, article (a) regarding regulations for use of this room.

The wedding party may not use the downstairs hall before the ceremony unless they have rented it for the reception that evening.

RETURN TO TOP