Congratulations!

The Parish Family of Notre Dame Church shares in the excitement and joy of your  upcoming marriage. We realize that you must have many questions and concerns regarding the planning of your wedding. The clergy and staff at Notre Dame look forward to assisting you in your preparation of this important day and sacrament. 

Are You Free To Marry?

In order to marry in the Catholic Church, either the bride or groom (or both) must be Catholic, and both parties must be free to marry. To determine if you are free to marry, ask a simple question: have you ever been married before? If either party, regardless of their religion or where the marriage took place, has been married before, then you are not free to marry in the Catholic Church.

No matter what your friends may have told you, or you read on-line, or even heard from a priest, you must resolve the previous marriage before you are free to marry in the Catholic Church. In some cases this may require an annulment, but each situation is different. You should talk to the priest or deacon who is preparing your marriage in order to determine the possibilities. Please know that the parish of Notre Dame cannot reserve the date for a wedding for any couple where either or both members are not free to marry. Once the previous marriage situation is resolved, a date can be booked for your wedding, and the marriage preparation can begin.

Let’s Get Started

Your first step is to contact the parish secretary, 973-226-0979, to check the available dates and leave some contact information. A priest will then be in touch with you. The time and date of your wedding can only be held on the calendar by a priest.

The marriage preparation process will include several meetings with the priest (or deacon). At these meetings your relationship with each other will be discussed along with your relationship with God and the planning of the wedding liturgy.

Scheduling a Wedding

Since weddings typically are celebrated on the weekend, we hope that the following guidelines will be helpful. Please keep in mind that we also need to accommodate funerals on Saturday mornings, confessions, baptisms and Masses on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

Weddings may be scheduled at the following times.

FRIDAY – FROM 2:00 PM UNTIL 6:00 PM

SATURDAY – 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM

SUNDAY – 3:00 PM