As we told you in our previous blog, whether you want a civil wedding or a religious wedding, it is essential to have all the necessary documentation in order so that last-minute unforeseen events do not arise and, to do so, we are going to help you .
If you wish to say "Yes, I do" to the Catholic Church, you must meet a series of requirements and gather all the necessary documentation for the processing of the marriage file.
In the first place, the ideal is that you choose the church where you want to get married and make an appointment with the parish priest. Normally it will be he who is in charge of processing the marriage file before the Civil Registry and will explain all the requirements, availability for the date, documentation and steps to follow in order to celebrate the religious wedding.
Necessary Documentation
In general, the necessary documentation is the following:
- Original DNI, NIE or passport and photocopy of the spouses.
- Literal birth certificate . You can request it for free through the website of the Ministry of Justice or in person at the Civil Registry of the town where you were born.
- Certificate of Faith of Life and State. It can be requested at the Civil Registry of your municipality with the DNI or NIE.
- Baptism certificate, recently legalized. You can request it in the parish where you were baptized.
- Certificate of census registration to prove the place of usual residence. It can be requested at the town hall and must be no more than 3 months old.
- Instance of the Civil Registry. It can be downloaded online or provided to you in the Registry itself.
- Certificate of attendance at the pre-marriage course
Additional documentation
In addition to these, in the following cases it will also be necessary to submit additional documentation:
- Family Book in case of having children.
- Marriage annulment certificate, if one or both parties are divorced and had previously been married in church or Divorce certificate, if the previous marriage was civil.
- In the event of widowhood, the literal death certificate of the other spouse must be presented, stating the death of the previous spouse and marriage certificate from the church where they were married .
- In the event that a marriage is celebrated between a baptized Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic, the express permission of the ecclesiastical authority is required.
- In the event that one of the contracting parties is baptized Catholic and the other is not baptized in any religion, the bishop's dispensation will be required.
Procedures for a Religious Wedding
Two witnesses of legal age, who may not be relatives, will be necessary for the taking of such. This consists of going to the parish priest together with the two witnesses a few months before the wedding so that they can confirm that the couple is marrying voluntarily and for love, answering a series of questions.
Witnesses must also be present on the wedding day and, in this case, they can be family members.
Once the file is signed, the church will display for 15 days a notice of the next link, called "warnings", so that anyone can communicate the existence of any impediment, if any. After the deadline and having obtained the marriage file, the couple have 6 months to celebrate the wedding in the church.
Regarding the costs involved in celebrating a church wedding, parishes normally request a donation. The amount may vary depending on the church and the place where the ceremony will take place.
Finally, once the wedding has taken place, the marriage must be registered in the Civil Registry, presenting the ecclesiastical certification that is obtained in the church on the day of the wedding, although, many times it is the same church that carries out this procedure.
