Gran Caribe Real Catholic Chapel - Church Guideline Form

LoriGran · January 7, 2013

Yeah, you are right, Lori.Â I think it's more of a formality than a "requirement".Â Like you say, if you are way revealing they can come to you and say you signed the form, yada yada.Â I hope you have a great experience planning your wedding!Â I truly enjoyed planning mine and it was the best day ever!Â I'm sure your wedding is going to be just the same.Â Enjoy every minute of it and if you have any questions, please just ask.Â -Norma

Thank you so much for your kind words. Even though it seems like I have a long way to go (July 2014 wedding) planning has been great so far and I haven't even bought anything yet! haha..

Norma83 · January 8, 2013

Originally Posted by ornxoxo

I just saw this guideline attached to one of my email. However, there's another pager saying that 2 baptism certificates required. I thought if one is a catholic, it's ok to have a catholic ceremony. Does anyone know anything about it? Would it be a full mass or just a blessing ceremony?

Hi ornxoxo -

You both will need your baptism certificates in order to marry in the Catholic Chapel. If you don't have those documents, with your permission letter, they will not allow you to marry in the church. The rules are pretty strict about that, and when you meet with your coordinator in person, that is the first thing she will ask for. Your baptism certificate also has to be dated within 6 months from your wedding date in order to be valid. The same goes for the church permission letter.

If you are Catholic, the parish you belong to may have some sort of pre-cana classes and marriage preparation you'll have to go through in order to marry in Catholic Church. If you've already consulted with your parish, I would tell them that your fiance is non-catholic and you'll probably have to go through an additional process for him to convert or get permission from the Diocese for you guys to marry in the Catholic church. What the Parish in Cancun cares about is that you follow all requirements with your parish and you get your permission letter from the Bishop of your Diocese. When we started the process with our parish, my husband had not completed his Sacrament of Reconciliation so he had to attend a three month, weekely class. After that, we were able to start our marriage prep. We attended a pre-cana class which was a weekend retreat. Afterwards, we met with the Father at our parish a few times, we filled out paperwork. Then we were assigned a sponsor couple to meet with once a week. We met about 6 or 7 times and were given a certificate of completion. Once we received that, we were able to have our final meeting with the Father and then he signed off on our paperwork and sent it to the Diocese. Within two weeks or so, we received our package from the Diocese with all our paperwork and a letter to the Church in Cancun from the Bishop of our Diocese giving us permission to marry in Cancun.

This is probably more information than what you asked for, but I hope it helps.

Norma83 · January 8, 2013

Originally Posted by Lori Granados

Thank you so much for your kind words. Even though it seems like I have a long way to go (July 2014 wedding) planning has been great so far and I haven't even bought anything yet! haha..

Oh, 2014 will be here before you know it! I booked my wedding in 2009 and we didn't get married until May 2012. Haha! It seemed like an eternity, but honestly, the more time you have the better it'll be organizing your time and planning things out. Plus, you'll enjoy the process a whole lot more.

Norma83 · January 8, 2013

Originally Posted by Norma83

Hi ornxoxo -

You both will need your baptism certificates in order to marry in the Catholic Chapel. If you don't have those documents, with your permission letter, they will not allow you to marry in the church. The rules are pretty strict about that, and when you meet with your coordinator in person, that is the first thing she will ask for. Your baptism certificate also has to be dated within 6 months from your wedding date in order to be valid. The same goes for the church permission letter.

If you are Catholic, the parish you belong to may have some sort of pre-cana classes and marriage preparation you'll have to go through in order to marry in Catholic Church. If you've already consulted with your parish, I would tell them that your fiance is non-catholic and you'll probably have to go through an additional process for him to convert or get permission from the Diocese for you guys to marry in the Catholic church. What the Parish in Cancun cares about is that you follow all requirements with your parish and you get your permission letter from the Bishop of your Diocese. When we started the process with our parish, my husband had not completed his Sacrament of Reconciliation so he had to attend a three month, weekely class. After that, we were able to start our marriage prep. We attended a pre-cana class which was a weekend retreat. Afterwards, we met with the Father at our parish a few times, we filled out paperwork. Then we were assigned a sponsor couple to meet with once a week. We met about 6 or 7 times and were given a certificate of completion. Once we received that, we were able to have our final meeting with the Father and then he signed off on our paperwork and sent it to the Diocese. Within two weeks or so, we received our package from the Diocese with all our paperwork and a letter to the Church in Cancun from the Bishop of our Diocese giving us permission to marry in Cancun.

This is probably more information than what you asked for, but I hope it helps.

I also forgot to mention that the ceremony is a full mass - 1 hour. When you attend your pre-cana classes/weekend retreat...you'll be given a book that you can choose which prayers you want read and how the mass will play out or you'll be given a web address (www.catholicweddinghelp.com) with the complete step-by-step guide on prayer selections, gospel readings, etc. There is also a book you can get online. You can find the name of it in the link Lori provided in a prior post. I used that book as well. It's pretty much identical to everything that is on the web address. When you meet with the priest, he'll ask you for your prayer selections and will take the book/or whatever materials you have. I would suggest creating an outline (the book has a great form to follow) and have it handy for the priest.

Also, music is played during certain parts of the mass. We chose a violinist (part of our package) and he played while guests were waiting, while the wedding party went down the aisle, and certain parts of the ceremony. Communion is also part of the ceremony. We also kept with traditions and did the unity candle, lazo, arras, and the bible/rosary. If you choose to do these traditions, I'd let the Priest know so he can work it into the ceremony.