Marriage

Your first step is a meeting to complete a Freedom to Marry interview. This conversation helps us understand your unique circumstances, identify which documentation is needed, and ensure that both of you are free to marry in the Catholic Church.

At this meeting, you will also receive an overview of the marriage preparation pathway and an opportunity to ask questions before choosing to enroll.

Ready to begin? Contact the Executive Secretary to schedule your Freedom to Marry meeting. 458.247.7021

After enrolling in marriage preparation, you will each complete the Prepare/Enrich relationship assessment.

Prepare/Enrich is not a test, and there are no passing or failing results. It is a valuable conversation tool that helps identify your relationship’s strengths and the areas in which further reflection and discussion may be helpful. Topics may include communication, conflict resolution, finances, faith, family relationships, expectations, and intimacy.

Once you have both completed the assessment, you will meet with the Marriage Preparation Coordinator to review your results together.

This meeting offers a confidential and encouraging opportunity to celebrate your strengths, explore areas for growth, and identify the topics that will be most valuable during your marriage preparation. Your results will help us create a preparation experience suited to your particular relationship rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.

Based on your Prepare/Enrich results and individual needs, you will participate in a series of customized formation sessions designed to help you grow in relationship with God and with one another.

Your preparation will include conversations and activities with a mentor couple whose marriage you admire. Some sessions may also be led by the Marriage Preparation Coordinator. Topics will be selected to serve your relationship and may include communication, conflict resolution, finances, family of origin, shared faith, intimacy, and building a healthy sacramental marriage.

You will also attend a special Theology of Marriage Dinner with Father Mark, where you will explore the beauty, meaning, and grace of the Sacrament of Marriage.

These sessions are not simply requirements to complete. They are an invitation to honest conversation, deeper discernment, and meaningful preparation for your life together.

Every couple will participate in an approved marriage retreat before the wedding.

A retreat gives you the gift of stepping away from wedding planning and everyday responsibilities to focus on your relationship, your faith, and the covenant you are preparing to enter. The Marriage Preparation Coordinator will help you identify available retreat options and choose one that works for you.

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Upcoming Retreats

2 Become 1 Retreat at Mt. Angel Abbey
(April 17-19, 2026 + November 13-15, 2026)
2 Become 1 Retreat

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NFP helps couples understand and honor the gift of fertility while discerning family planning together in a way that reflects the teachings of the Catholic Church. It also offers valuable insight into reproductive health, communication, shared responsibility, and marital intimacy.

St. Alice can help you find an instructor and approved course option.

Our parish recommends the Creighton Model FertilityCare System. In addition to its function as a method of family planning, the Creighton Model System offers all women the basic knowledge to understand her cycle and monitor her health.

Approximately two months before your wedding, contact us to schedule your Liturgy Planning Meeting. The meeting itself will generally take place about one month before the wedding.

During this meeting, you will work with the parish to plan the celebration of your marriage within the Church’s liturgy. Together, we will review your readings, prayers, wedding party, procession, liturgical ministries, music, and other important details so that your wedding celebration is prayerful, beautiful, and centered upon the sacrament you are receiving.