Celebrating Matrimony in Catholic: Insights from Rev. Fr. John Chinenye Oluoma

The cost of a Catholic Church wedding involves several components.

1. Marriage Course: Couples are required to attend a marriage course, which typically lasts around three months. The cost of registration ranges from 2,000 to 5,000 currency units, but usually not exceeding 3,000.
2. Banns: Marriage banns involve publishing your intention to marry in various locations to ensure you’re not encumbered by disqualifying conditions or existing marriages. While no fee is attached to the banns themselves, some regions may charge for clearance, a debated topic.
3. Documentation: Necessary documents such as court registrations, evidence of bride price payment or compliance with traditional ceremonies, genotype test results, baptismal cards, and sponsor’s forms must be submitted.
4. Choosing a Wedding Date and Time: There’s flexibility in setting the wedding date and time, unlike a mandatory Saturday 10am schedule. The essential participants are the spouses, sponsors, and the priest.
5. Stole Fee: A stole fee of around 2,000 currency units is common, varying based on the diocese and parish.

It’s important to note that expenses related to wedding attire, photography, venue rentals, catering, and other external aspects are not included in the church wedding cost. The total amount spent on the church wedding ideally stays under 15,000 currency units. Catholic Church weddings are viewed as sacraments and aren’t monetized.

For any omissions, fellow priests are encouraged to contribute.

THE COST OF WEDDING IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

1. MARRIAGE COURSE: it will cost you three months of tutorials by the priests, trained instructors and medical experts . In some parishes the course can last for less than 3 months. Registration ranges between 2k and 5k. I am yet to see where they charge more than 3k.

2. BANNS: Marriage banns is a publication of your intention to marry in your home town, present residence and any other place you may have lived for years. The aim is to make sure you weren’t married to someone else or hiding some conditions that disqualify you from wedding in the church, such conditions are called impediments.

No fee is attached to banns, though some regions of the country ask people to pay for what they call clearance. Clearance is a controversial issue that needs separate treatment. Normally, banns have no financial charges attached.

3. Submission of relevant documents such as court registration, evidence of bride price payment/compliance with traditional ceremonies, genotype test result, baptismal cards, sponsor’s form.

4. Agree a date and time for your wedding with the priest. There is no law in the church that says wedding must be on a Saturday and by 10am with a crowd of people. In the Catholic church, a quorum for church wedding is formed by the spouses, their sponsors and the priest, any other person is jara.

5. Stole fee is about 2k, depending on diocese and parishes.

Take note that wedding gown, suit, ashoebi, bridal trains, flower girls, little bride and groom, photographers, videographers, renting of halls for reception, hiring DJs, cooking for people, wining them etc are not part of church wedding.

The total amount spent on church wedding is ideally less than 15k. Wedding in the church is the cheapest celebration ever. We don’t make money from celebrating marriage for people in the church, it is a sacrament and the sacraments are not for sale.

If I left anything out, my brother priests on this platform should please add.

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Source: https://www.akahinews.org/