Your engagement is a special time for each of you, for your families and friends, and for your entire parish community. This is a time of new beginnings, of love, of promise, and of hope. The Church is blessed and encouraged by your willingness to make this commitment of life and love to each other.

Your wedding celebration will be a special and grace-filled time in your lives. The Church welcomes you to celebrate and solemnize your wedding in the context of Christian prayer. Indeed, so important is marriage in Christian life that it has been instituted by Christ as a sacrament. Christian marriage makes Christ, in his love, sacramentally present. Choosing to have your wedding within the liturgy of the Church indicates that you look upon your wedding as a religious event and understand the faith that is necessary to celebrate this sacrament.

Great care is taken to see that the prayer for this special moment is reverent, graceful, beautiful, and open to the movement of God’s Spirit among us. As much care should be taken in planning and preparing for the liturgy as is taken for planning all the other aspects of a wedding. Our celebrations of the sacraments, marriage included, are always rooted in listening to the scriptures so that we can be nourished and strengthened by God’s Word. We always celebrate the sacraments in the context of community. We gather our brothers and sisters in faith and ask for their prayerful support. These celebrations are incomplete unless they are filled with song, with prayerful gestures, and with the silence in which we hear the voice of God in our lives.

In this spirit, St. Joseph Parish provides guidelines to insure that care and attention are given to the most important aspects of your marriage preparation.

Registered members of our parish may celebrate their weddings at St. Joseph Parish. Either the bride or groom or their parents should be registered and participating members of the parish. In special circumstances, couples who are not registered at St. Joseph Parish may be married at the parish. However, the Catholic parties must be registered and participating in a Catholic parish where they live, and have permission of their pastor to be married outside of their own parish. Usually in this case all the marriage preparation will take place through the parish where the Catholic parties live and are registered.

The importance of your participation in the life of the parish community cannot be stressed enough. As a faith community, it is vital that we all gather on a regular basis to hear God’s Word and share in the Eucharist. It is also vital that we do all we can to offer our time, our talents and our treasure with the community of St. Joseph, thereby sharing in God’s work. Feel free to contact the Parish Office at 262-375-6500 to discuss the many opportunities available to share your unique gifts and talents.

Scheduling the Wedding

You are expected to contact the Parish Office at least ten (10) months before the time you wish to marry. If you or your parents are not registered at St. Joseph Parish, and if you are not registered at any other parish, you must register in the parish first before a wedding date can be finalized. Once you are registered, the Parish Office can provide you with information regarding the availability of wedding dates at St. Joseph and give you a Wedding Information Packet. In the Wedding Information Packet you will find a "Pre-Nuptial Information" sheet. Fill this form out and return it to the Parish Office along with your deposit of $200.00 to reserve your wedding date on the parish calendar. This is an administrative fee that helps to defray the costs to the parish of preparing for and celebrating your wedding. We strongly suggest that you contact the Parish Office prior to arranging a date with a reception hall or caterer.

After the Parish Office receives the Pre-Nuptial Information sheet and $200 deposit, one of the Pastoral Staff will contact you to arrange the first meeting with you as a couple to begin the marriage preparation process. Weddings are usually scheduled for Saturdays with the latest time at 1:30 pm. Other days and times are possible, depending on the parish and presiding priest’s or deacon’s schedule. There are times in the church liturgical year, such as Lent and Advent, when the celebration of weddings is less appropriate. No weddings will be scheduled during Lent. Advent weddings will be scheduled only in special circumstances.

May God bless you during this special time of reflection and preparation