Marriage

"So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
(1 Cor 13:13)

Congratulations! The community of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is delighted to witness to your mutual love and relationship in Christ. Your decision to enter this commitment of love is a sign of your new vocation to faithful and life-giving service to each other. The wedding day ceremony will publicly acknowledge and strengthen the love that God has already initiated within you. Therefore, we welcome you to prepare and plan for this beautiful sacrament at OLPH!

Your prayerful discernment and discussion has brought you to the engagement process, where OLPH will help you navigate the steps leading up to the day of the wedding and to a lasting marriage. Please continue to read the content below, and contact the parish office with any further questions at (661) 259-2276.

1. Meet with the priest
When you are ready to begin planning, call the parish office to set up an appointment with one of our priests whom you wish to officiate your wedding Mass. This gives both parties the opportunity to get to know each other and then proceed to set a date that is mutually agreed upon.

2. FOCCUS Survey
The Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding and Study Inventory is a survey to help couples learn more about one another and explore compatibility and incompatibility. You and your fiance will come into the Pastoral Center to each take the online survey, with one of our deacons to facilitate a review and discussion once the results are complete. The information is then saved as part of your marriage file.

3. Engaged Encounter
The Engaged Encounter, or Marriage Retreat, is required by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for couples to learn valuable relationship skills and Catholic catechesis in preparation for the sacrament. Our priests will recommend where and when to schedule available two-day retreats. There are also special Engaged Encounters for couples where one or both persons have been previously married.

4. Obtain Required Documents
Certain documentation is required in order to prepare for a Catholic marriage from both persons. Baptismal certificates must be provided for those who are Catholic, as well as additional sacramental certificates for those who have also received First Communion and Confirmation. The church's record keeper maintains documentation of an individual's sacramental status through Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and can also work with the couple to obtain required documents if sacraments were received from a different parish. Permissions and dispensations may be completed by the priest, in cases of Mixed or Inter-religious Marriages, or where one party is of non-Catholic status. Other paperwork consists of Letters of Freedom, Pre-Nuptial Inquiry, and Civil License.

5. Meet with Wedding Coordinator
Once a date is established with the priest and the initial deposit has been made for the church, the OLPH wedding coordinator will meet with you in person to discuss arrangements for the ceremony. In this meeting she will go over the overall flow of the Mass (i.e. readings, bridal party, traditions), flowers, photography/videography, and final paperwork. The couple and wedding coordinator will also book a rehearsal date, between one and two days of the Wedding Mass, to do a full walk through with all bridal party members who have an assigned role in the liturgy.

6. Organize Music
All musical needs and scheduling for the wedding celebration are handled by OLPH's Director of Music and Liturgy, Mnason Abrot. Our Lady of Perpetual Help has wonderful musicians and vocalists whom Ed will put the couple in touch with, to provide beautiful music throughout the Wedding Mass.