St. Michael Catholic Church

Initial Marriage Preparation Steps

Please complete the required form (Marriage Information Form), button below ~ and return it to Deacon Tom Doran at tdoran@smccchurch.org.
Deacon Tom will contact you to schedule an initial meeting. Meetings are typically held during weekday daytime hours and early Wednesday evenings.
At the initial meeting, an overview of the marriage preparation process will be provided, and possible wedding dates will be discussed.
The bride and groom will each complete the Fully Engaged survey individually online.

Next Steps

A second meeting will be scheduled to review the survey results at a high level and to discuss marriage preparation requirements and next steps, including:
Assignment of a mentor couple; the engaged couple will meet with the mentor couple in their home as part of the Fully Engaged program.
Information on attending a Pre-Cana course (in person or online, approximately 4 hours)
Information on attending an introductory session on Natural Family Planning (NFP) (approximately 1 hour)
Submission of baptismal certificates (issued within six months of the wedding date), including sacramental notations.
Completion of four Witness to Freedom to Marry forms (two for each party), signed and witnessed by a priest or deacon
Copy of the Marriage License (issued by Texas counties) up to 90 days prior to the Wedding Date.

Final Steps for Marriage

Meeting with the pastor of St. Michael Catholic Church, Fr. Joseph Moreno.
A final meeting with Deacon Tom, including completion and signing of the prenuptial questionnaire by both the bride and groom. **This meeting must take place no later than four weeks prior to the wedding if it is within the Diocese of Fort Worth, or eight weeks prior if the wedding is outside the diocese.
All documentation will be submitted to the Diocese of Fort Worth Tribunal for the issuance of theNihil Obstat (“nothing stands in the way”) required for the marriage to proceed.