Documents Required for Bride & Groom to have a Legal Catholic Wedding and/or Catholic Blessing in Italy
- For a Catholic wedding to be legal, you must also obtain civil approval.
- Scrolll down to see requirements for Catholic Blessings & Catholic Vow Renewals.
- All our venues have beautiful historic Catholic churches nearby.
The local Italian parish priest must have everything below 6 weeks prior to wedding to review to make sure all is in order.
- Formal letter on church letterhead from your parish priest granting permission for the wedding to be performed in the church of (name & location of church & Diocese in Italy required).
- The letter must also state that you have fulfilled all PRE CANA procedures/pre marriage course.
- ALL certificates of baptism, communion & confirmation are also required.
- Original of the marriage encounter with church seals/signatures (they issue a form usually). This original is not just the certificate but a type of signed questionnaire. For example, the Irish call this "Prenuptial Enquiry" and the Americans call this "Prenuptial Questionnaire".
- All above must be sealed and stamped from your parish priest & Bishop of the diocese.
NOTES:
- The above documents should not be issued more than 6 months in advance or they will expire.
- The priest has final say on granting official permission for the wedding to move forward after seeing the paperwork. Slow Dreams does not have authority over religious regulations.
- For Mixed Marriages, one person must be Catholic and requires all the above documentation. For the non-Catholic, you will be required to obtain another document such as "Permission of mixed religions" to testify that the wedding celebration can be performed by the Italian Church. Generally, this document is issued by the local Bishop of your country. Ask this information to your Parish, so they can help you to obtain this special permission. Note: For Mixed marriages, Holy Communion will not be offered to the Bride & Groom or to the guests.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Neither parties can be divorced (including mixed marriages). The Catholic Church will not allow you to remarry in church. You must have an annulment recognized by the Catholic Authorities. Please advise us if you have had your marriage annulled.
Marriage Certificates
Catholic marriage certificates are not issued right away. Our event manager will mail them out as soon as the priest delivers to Slow Dreams.
"Mixed" Weddings
Mixed weddings are defined to be between a Catholic and a non-Catholic. The local Italian Catholic church will most likely perform wedding ceremonies for mixed weddings if permission is first obtained from the couple's local parish priest.
Catholic BLESSINGS
In order to have a Catholic Blessing, you Must be legally married in your Own Country. The Priest requires to see your civil marriage certificate when booking the wedding. NOTE: You also must obtain the above paperwork .
Catholic VOW RENEWALS
In order to have Catholic Vow Renewal, you Must have been married in a Catholic Church. The Priest requires to see your catholic marriage certificate when booking the wedding. NOTE: You do not need to obtain the above paperwork for a vow renewal.
Catholic marriage certificates are not issued right away. Our event manager will mail them out as soon as the priest delivers to Slow Dreams.
"Mixed" Weddings
Mixed weddings are defined to be between a Catholic and a non-Catholic. The local Italian Catholic church will most likely perform wedding ceremonies for mixed weddings if permission is first obtained from the couple's local parish priest.
Catholic BLESSINGS
In order to have a Catholic Blessing, you Must be legally married in your Own Country. The Priest requires to see your civil marriage certificate when booking the wedding. NOTE: You also must obtain the above paperwork .
Catholic VOW RENEWALS
In order to have Catholic Vow Renewal, you Must have been married in a Catholic Church. The Priest requires to see your catholic marriage certificate when booking the wedding. NOTE: You do not need to obtain the above paperwork for a vow renewal.