Mother of Divine Mercy Parish

PROCEDURE TO SCHEDULE A WEDDING AT MOTHER OF DIVINE MERCY PARISH

Updated 10/11/2023

Please carefully review the following Parish Policies: 

We are SO excited that you would like to celebrate one of the most important days in your life with us at Mother of Divine Mercy Parish and Sweetest Heart of Mary Church. We have coordinated with countless couples over the years to help them bring the wedding of their dreams to reality, within the guidelines and rubrics of the Holy Catholic Church. The Sacrament of Matrimony is the only sacrament administered BY the couple, and there is no more beautiful nor reverent place to celebrate that sacrament than at Sweetest Heart of Mary. Reading through the guidelines on this page and the “Nuptial Overview” page will give you all the information you need to secure your place among the thousands of couples that have married in our sacred space. If you have ANY questions, feel free to contact us at any time!

Mother of Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic Parish following the guidelines set by the Archdiocese of Detroit. Only Catholic marriages are celebrated here. A six-month period of marriage preparation is required; there are no exceptions.

1) BAPTIZED, CONFIRMED PRACTICING CATHOLIC 

One of the engaged couple must be a baptized, confirmed, practicing Catholic. If the Catholic party is not  registered in a parish, they will need to formally register. Both persons must be free to marry in the Catholic  Church before a date can be set. ANY AND ALL PRIOR MARRIAGES need to be annulled through your parish before a date can be set or placed on hold. A copy of the final Church annulment decree needs to be submitted  along with the Registration Form to place a hold on a date/time. If one of the engaged couple has been married  but is widowed, a copy of the deceased spouse’s death certificate will need to be submitted.) 

2) REGISTRATION FORM 

Returning the Preliminary Registration Form does not begin the process to be married in Mother of Divine  Mercy Parish. Please call the parish office to check availability first, and be placed on the calendar! You can  submit the Registration Form by mailing, along with your $500 deposit, payable to, and mailed to the address at the bottom of this page. You can find the registration form HERE.

3) PRIEST PERMISSION LETTER 

The letter can be downloaded HERE

Speak with your pastor and request to be married at Mother of Divine Mercy Parish. 

Have him complete the Priest Permission letter and return it to us at the church address at the bottom of this page. 

Once the permission letter is received, your date, time and Worship Site can be confirmed. 

NOTE: If both parties are Catholic, permission is needed from only one of the parishes. 

4) BAPTISMAL RECORDS 

a) The Catholic party(s) will need to obtain a newly issued baptismal record from the parish where the Catholic  party was baptized, not a photocopy of your original baptismal certificate. This record should also reflect  the date confirmed. To request this form, simply call the parish where you were baptized and request to  have a new certificate issued to you due to your upcoming marriage. NOTE: This document is valid for only  6 months, so this request should be made to the parish within 6 months of your ceremony date. 

b) If one of the party is baptized in another religion, a photocopy of his/her baptismal record will need to be  submitted. 

NOTE: The baptismal records should be submitted to the person completing your marriage preparation program. If  you are preparing at your home parish, give the baptismal records to your pastor.

5) SECURING A WEDDING DATE 

Your date, time and worship site will be secured once the Preliminary Registration From, Priest Permission  Letter, and your security deposit of $500 has been received. We are not able to guarantee, hold or confirm a date until  we have verified you are free to marry in the Catholic Church. Failure to provide this information within 30  days will leave your slot open for another couple. 

6) MARRIAGE PREPARATION 

All couples are required to complete a marriage preparation program before marriage in the Catholic Church.  Marriage preparation must be completed through your home parish. Please schedule a time to meet with your  pastor to discuss marriage preparation requirements. 

7) WEDDING DATES/TIMES 

Friday times available are 2:00pm and 4:30pm

Saturdays at Sweetest Heart of Mary: 11:30am, 2:00pm, and n4:30pm (the latter from the end of Lent through October only) 

Availability of ceremony dates and times can be obtained by calling the Parish Office at (313) 831-6659, Tuesday – Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm.

Wedding rehearsals are scheduled with the couple 3-6 months prior to the wedding date and will last  approximately one (1) hour. Friday weddings will have their rehearsal on Thursday evening; Saturday weddings  will have their rehearsal on Thursday or Friday evening (depending on weddings scheduled) before the wedding  day. Our wedding coordinators will be with you at both the rehearsal and the wedding. 

8) WEDDING PRESIDERS 

It is your responsibility to arrange for the presider of your wedding. Please speak with your parish and notify our  office of his name, address and phone number at least four (4) months prior to the wedding so the necessary  permission papers can be processed. A Catholic priest or ordained Catholic Deacon are required to officiate  your wedding in a Catholic church. 

If you do not have a presider, we will do our best to arrange someone for you. Please notify the Parish Office  beginning four (4) months prior to the wedding date so arrangements can be made for you to meet him before  your wedding day. 

Weddings between two Catholics will normally be celebrated during a wedding Mass. (If you prefer a Scripture  Service, please notify us.) 

Weddings between a Catholic and non-Catholic, or one who is not baptized, are normally celebrated during a  Scripture Service (Communion is not offered) and normally conducted by a Catholic Deacon. However,  exceptions can be made by the Catholic priest officiant. 

• A stipend payable to the priest or deacon is an accepted practice 

9) MUSIC FOR YOUR WEDDING 

Through our Director of Music, some of the best music and musicians are available for your wedding. Our Director of Music has been in the professional music community in SE Michigan for almost 30 years, and can help you plan your music. We do adhere to music guidelines for the Holy Mass, but with our expertise and connections in the community, even within those guidelines your guests will be raving about the music all day! Guest musicians are generally not allowed if not coordinated through our Director of Music. He will reach out to you (or you can reach out to him at music@motherofdivinemercy.org, or via text at 248-892-4237) once you have secured your wedding date. and begin the process of planning music. We ask you to not hire any musicians before you have connected with our music director.   Recorded music is not permitted (and sounds terrible in our church anyway!) 

10) ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, ILLEGAL DRUGS 

The use of intoxicating drugs and alcohol prior to a marriage may impair sufficient use of reason to make a clear  and free choice and invalidate the marriage. Therefore, imbibing in these substances prior to the marriage  ceremony will not be tolerated. Under no circumstances are these items allowed on Church premises.

11) VIDEOGRAPHY

You are allowed to hire your own videographer for your wedding. We do, however, have restrictions as to where guest vendors are allowed to go during any liturgical service in our church. Through our Director of Music, a fully produced video of your wedding with the video system used to live stream our Masses can be purchased. We encourage you to use this service, and perhaps save money with your all day videographer by informing them that footage of the wedding itself is not necessary!

CANCELLATIONS:  IF YOU CANCEL WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF YOUR WEDDING DATE, YOU FORFEIT YOUR REFUND.