It is important to remember that the Rite of Marriage is a religious ceremony in which the bride and groom make a covenant pledge before God, witnesses, family, and friends.  Music used in connection with the ceremony must mirror the dignity of the sanctuary and the sanctity of the sacrament being celebrated. There are three principles that guide the musical selections for the celebration

• There is a priority and preference for music that is within the Church’s liturgical tradition and use for the celebration of Mass and Weddings.
• Secular music is permitted on a limited basis and at the discretion of and with permission of the Director of Music Ministry and the Pastor.
• Recorded music is not permitted.

Our parish Director of Music Ministry, Nikole Giraldi, will meet with you to help you plan the music and arrange for musicians to support your wedding.  It is customary to have a Cantor/leader of song and a Pianist/Organist; additional instrumentalists are available upon request.  St. Francis of Assisi parish musicians are well trained professionals familiar with the music and procedures of Catholic liturgy that work as a team.  It is only with prior approval and permission that outside musicians can be asked to perform.

By giving some thought to the nature of the music to be used in your ceremony.  The music should be appropriate in three areas:  liturgical, pastoral, and musical.

• Liturgical – The music should be appropriate to this celebration of marriage and appropriate in use for this occasion.  The text of songs must be drawn from Holy Scripture and liturgical sources, be sacred in nature, and consistent with Catholic teaching.
• Pastoral – The music should promote participation by your family and guests.  Some texts by their very nature should always be sung by the whole assembly, e.g.:  the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation and acclamations within the Eucharistic Prayer and reception of the Eucharist. 
• Musical – The music should be technically, aesthetically, and expressively good.  The musicians must be competent in both their skill and liturgical understanding.  Our Director will guide you in the selection of music and provide suggestions as needed.

All such additions are subject to prior approval of the Director of Music.  That being said, I think that we have worked with a large cadre of local area musicians.  Please note that these professionals have their own fees apart from the fees of St. Francis.

The right cantor not only provides vocal accompaniment but also leads your guests to participate.  Our parish organist is an accomplished vocalist.  In addition, other cantors from our parish and local Catholic parishes in the area also assist us from time to time.  The decision about cantors is at the discretion of the Director of Music.

All musical portion fees are apart from the basic wedding fee for the parish. These fees are paid directly to the individual and not via the parish. The fees are:

• There is a $100 Planning/Coordinating Fee.
• Cantor fees – $200
• Pianist/Organist fees – $250
• Fees for other musicians vary and will be discussed when meeting to plan music.

One hour before the ceremony.  Someone needs to ensure that any flowers brought in are removed after your wedding.  The florist has generally moved onto the reception site. If you would like to leave the flowers for the church, please let the parish wedding coordinator know at the rehearsal.

You should consult the “Florist Guidelines” which answers all those questions.  If you are looking for suggestions, minimize the time, effort, and expense of flowers and the like.  The church is already visually beautiful – and frankly, the flowers do not get noticed – all eyes are on the couple!

One of the “decor” items that often gets overlooked are bridal flowers, boutonnieres, corsages, and the like. The come with the florist, but there needs to be a person designated to distribute and “pin.”  The outside wedding coordinator is the best choice.

Our Saturday wedding times are 12:00 am and 2:30 pm.  The corresponding rehearsal times are on Friday at 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm respectively.  We often have two weddings on a Saturday so it is important to have everyone in your party arrive a little early for your rehearsal time so that we can begin promptly and ensure the wedding party that follows can also begin on time.

It has been our experience that you should give your out-of-town guests some help in getting to the church for rehearsal.  Trying to come to Triangle using I-95 on a Friday afternoon (especially in the summer) is problematic.  Be attentive to hotel locations and traffic and help them plan accordingly.

Every wedding party is unique, but we have found that an hour allotted for rehearsal is more than adequate.

A good rule of thumb is that if you are “walking or talking” you should be there.  The normal contingent is bride and groom, wedding party, flower girls, ring bearer, lectors (readers), parents, grandparents (if they are being escorted to their seats), and other people with an assigned role in the ceremony, e.g.:  ushers (often the groomsmen serve this role).

Many couples engage a professional planner/coordinator for the entire score of events surrounding the wedding ceremony.  However, for the religious ceremony in the church, the parish wedding coordinator is in charge of the rehearsal.  We have worked with almost all the professional planners in the area – and they are all great and are happy to have us take charge of the rehearsal.

One hour before the ceremony is when the wedding party can begin to arrive. Traditionally the groom and groomsmen come first and are sequestered so that they do not see the bride and her attendants arrive.

Typically, they arrive before the bride and wait in the St. Catherine Room which is connected to the Church and a comfortable place to wait.

The Brother Juniper Room in the church office, serves as a bridal waiting room.  The wedding party should come fully dressed.  The bridal room is only suitable for waiting and for finishing touches (corsages, final instructions, photos, etc.) but there is plenty of space and make final preparations.

Most weddings here do not have ushers, but then that is a choice of the bride and groom.  Some weddings have the groomsmen serve as ushers until a few minutes before the ceremony begins.

Tradition is certainly that parents (step-parents) and grandparents are escorted to their seats just prior to the procession of the attendants and bride escorted by her father.  Other guests should be already seated by this time in the ceremony. But there are more than enough exceptions to the “tradition” and we accommodate most variations!

There are really two parts to this question:  (a) how many can process and (b) how many can be in the sanctuary when the vows are exchanged?  As to the latter, each church has its own constraints of architecture and space.  St. Francis has a very small footprint because of the placement of the altar and the altar steps. The practical limit is to have the bride and groom – and at most Maid of Honor and Best Man.  More than that is simply not practical. As to the question regarding limits for the procession, there are no limitations.  However, the first pew only comfortably holds 6 to 8 people.

Children age 5 years and older are welcome to participate in these roles. If the child has not reached their 5^th birthday, we ask that they be escorted down the aisle.

The short answer is “no.”

The ring bearer almost never actually has the real rings.  Most often, the Best Man has the rings or the rings are already pre-positioned on a tray for the blessing of the rings.