Holy Matrimony

Normally, those who are parishioners of St. Cecilia Parish. Parishioners are Catholics who live on Bainbridge Island and are not active registered members of another parish, or Catholics who my live off island but are registered and active members of St. Cecilia parish. The Catholic Church has a long tradition of celebrating the sacraments within one’s own community of faith. There can be exceptions to this, however. These will be at the discretion of the pastor and presume involvement of the person’s home parish personnel.

A Convalidation ceremony is a type of marriage ceremony where a couple has married outside of the Catholic Church and now wants their marriage validated by the Catholic Church. If you are interested in a Convalidation ceremony, please contact Fr. Mark at pastor@saintcparish.org.

The Pastor, Father Mark Kiszelewski, normally officiates at wedding of St. Cecilia Parishioners. But permission can be given for a priest- or deacon-friend to officiate.

Yes. The Archdiocese of Seattle establishes a marriage preparation requirement which includes those wishing to be married contacting the pastor at least 6 months prior to the wedding. 

Saturday is the usual day for weddings to be celebrated. Some people may choose a Friday evening. The Church discourages celebration of weddings during the season of Lent.

The Church provides for the celebration of wedding either during a Mass or outside of the Mass. A wedding outside of Mass includes the marriage rite and a Liturgy of the Word with opening and closing rites. When both parties are Catholics and able to celebrate Communion together, a wedding with the Mass is preferred. When both parties cannot share Eucharistic Communion, the wedding outside of Mass is preferable.

Yes. The content of the service is set forth in the Church’s official Ritual Book for weddings. However, the couple being married is encouraged to engage in helping to plan the wedding service by choosing the Scripture readings that will be used during it. There are certain other options for the service, too, which will be explained to you. The parish also has standards and policies regarding the music to be used at a wedding. You will be able to consult with the Director of Music, Emily Neer to select music that is right for your wedding.

St. Cecilia parishioners may begin scheduling a wedding by calling the parish office up to 14 months before your desired wedding date. After an initial contact with the parish office, the pastor will follow up with a further conversation to begin the marriage preparation process.

PARISHIONERS and NON-PARISHIONERS, PLEASE NOTE:

The above steps should be followed before you finalize any arrangements regarding the place of your reception, contracts with photographers, florists, etc.