It is best to set a firm date at least six months in advance of your wedding. The staff will assist you in finding a date that fits your schedule as well as the schedules of the church and our clergy. Weddings are customarily scheduled on Saturdays and available times are at 12 noon, 2pm, or 6pm only. Monday – Friday weddings are also possible, and subject to clergy and staff availability.

*Please note that the parish may need to do renovations to our historic worship space due to their age and upkeep. This may affect available dates.

It is essential to start on time due to other liturgical events before or after your rehearsal and wedding. Each wedding has the church for two hours (30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and 90 minutes after the scheduled start time.) There is a 4:00 pm mass each Saturday evening. Staff members and clergy for the wedding are also staffing the mass.

If there is a delay, some aspects of the wedding may need to be forfeited (receiving line, photographs) due to the start of the next liturgy. The full wedding party and guests MUST exit the church by 90 minutes following the scheduled start time of the wedding regardless of actual start time or length of the ceremony.

The staff at CCSB will schedule clergy for your wedding. A nuptial mass must be celebrated by a priest; a wedding ceremony may be celebrated by a deacon.

You are welcome to invite a Roman Catholic priest or deacon who is a personal friend to witness or officiate the wedding. If the priest or deacon is from outside of the parish he must write to the parish stating he is committing to the wedding at the time of the initial scheduling and consult with the parish regarding the pre-nuptial preparation. The guest clergy will be granted delegation from the parish clergy once all the canonical paperwork is complete and the wedding ritual is submitted for approval. The visiting clergy should also observe the parish’s guidelines for the wedding ritual.

Preparation Program

All couples preparing for marriage in the Catholic Church are required to participate in a church– sponsored Marriage Preparation program, such as The Engaged Encounter retreat weekend and the Pre– Cana class.

Programs are available through the Archdiocese of Baltimore; details are available at: https://www.archbalt.org/marriage-family-life/, or you may engage with our parish sponsor couples for the Pre-Cana program. Marriage preparation should be completed at least three months prior to the wedding date.

Paperwork

Baptismal certificates of the bride and groom need to be obtained. For Catholics, new copies from the church of baptism need to be issued within six months of the wedding date.

The official witnesses (best man and maid/matron of honor) may be of any faith. Their names must be given to the officiating priest or deacon for inclusion in the marriage records.

If neither the bride nor the groom is a member of the CCSB parish, written permission from one of their pastors needs to be obtained for the wedding to be held in CCSB.

A marriage license must be obtained for Baltimore City from the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse, Room 628, 100 N. Calvert Street. For more information please call the Marriage License Bureau at (410) 333– 3780. The marriage license may be obtained within 6 months of the wedding.

Liturgy

When both parties are of the Catholic faith, it is recommended that the celebration of the marriage takes place within a mass. If one of the parties is not Catholic, the celebration usually takes place at a ceremony outside mass. If you are having a nuptial mass on a Saturday evening after 4 pm, that wedding mass will fulfill your Sunday obligation.

Since the bride and the groom are the ministers of the Sacrament of Marriage, they have a prominent place throughout the liturgy. Following the General Norms of the Roman Rite and to promote the sanctity of the liturgy, the parish has this standard format for its processions: The full wedding party (groomsmen, bridesmaids, best man, maid/matron of honor, bride and groom) process down the aisle during the musical procession. The officiant (priest/deacon) also processes.

Lectors

It is proper for a lay person to proclaim the First and Second Readings from scripture and to announce the intentions of the Prayer of the Faithful. (The readings during the Liturgy of the Word must be from the scriptures.). Couples should invite members of the family or the wedding party or other close friends to serve in this capacity. The nature of the Word of God requires that such persons be persons of faith and effective public speakers. They will be given copies of the readings in advance and it is best that the readers be present at the rehearsal.

Our music director will assist you in selecting music for your celebration in church. Standard wedding instrumentation is one cantor and one pianist or organist. Musicians’ fees are $250 for the accompanist and $200 for the cantor and are not included in the wedding fee paid to the church.

To add another layer of music and beauty to your ceremony, you may request two cantors to sing in harmony, and/or an additional instrumentalist such as violin or cello, subject to musicians’ availability and additional fee per musician. All musicians for your ceremony will be contacted, arranged, and scheduled by the music director. Should you request to have family musicians or outside musicians present for your ceremony, a music coordination fee of $200 will still be due, as our professional music staff assist in planning your liturgy and will be present for your ceremony.

A wedding ceremony is a liturgy in which we are celebrating the Sacrament of Matrimony, and therefore all music selected must be liturgically appropriate. Pop or secular music is not allowed within a liturgy of the Catholic church, and music, as a form of prayer, must be offered by musical ministers present for your ceremony. An essential element of any prayer is that it comes from the person who is offering it, and therefore recorded music would not be appropriate. Our music director will contact you 6-8 weeks prior to your scheduled wedding date. You are welcome to use the link provided here to review and select music as early as your wedding date is confirmed: https://www.southbaltcatholic.org/wedding-music

The fee for a wedding held in our CCSB Parish church is $1,500. This fee covers the CCSB clergy who are present at the rehearsal and the wedding as well as the general costs of the church (utilities, cleaning after the wedding) and staff time dedicated to coordination of your ceremony. A partial payment deposit will be collected in order to reserve the church for your date. The fee minus $100 is refundable in the event your plans change. The full payment should be completed by 30 days prior to the date of the wedding. Please make checks payable to the Catholic Community of South Baltimore, 110 E. West Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. One may also pay by credit card via the orange button at: http://www.southbaltcatholic.org/marriage/

Fees for musicians are not included in this fee for the church and clergy.

Fees for an outdoor or alternate venue are $750 due to the amount of paperwork that must be completed to arrange for a sacrament in another location.

Fees for wedding paperwork coordinated by our CCSB staff when the wedding does not occur at CCSB and is not officiated by our clergy are $250. This is due to the amount of time required by our staff to compile your wedding file.

Photography/videography

Photographs and/or video are welcome to make sure you have a great keepsake of the day. Please have the photographer discuss with the celebrant prior to the liturgy any guidelines regarding from where pictures may be taken. The photographer is asked to stay within the nave of the church. The photographer or videographer is NOT allowed in the sanctuary or around the altar.

Flowers

The florist will have access 30 minutes prior to the start of the wedding. It is customary for the flowers to remain in the church after the wedding. Please note that the throwing of flowers or flower petals inside the church or on the steps of the church is prohibited.

Safety

The following are prohibited due to safety: aisle runners, candles in the aisles, and the tossing of rice, confetti, birdseed, flower petals in or outside of the church, or blowing of bubbles. These items often cause a hazard on the steps or floor of the church and would necessitate additional cleaning.

Wedding Coordinators

Some couples choose to hire a wedding coordinator to assist with planning the wedding. If you have hired one, please provide their name and contact information to the staff. Coordination of your wedding at CCSB will remain under the purview of CCSB staff though the coordinator is welcome to be present during your event on our campus. Coordinators do not direct elements of the liturgy.

Alcohol

Unfortunately, experience has shown that this statement needs to be made. Since this is a Sacrament taking place in a Church, consumption of any alcoholic beverages on Church property before, during or after the wedding rehearsal or wedding is prohibited. Please have any and all alcohol reserved for the receptions. Please make sure everyone understands and is in compliance with this requirement. Anyone attending either the rehearsal or the wedding who is inebriated will be asked to leave. If the bride or groom are inebriated, the Sacrament will not be celebrated.

Weddings Outside of CCSB

If you are a parishioner and you wish the parish to assist you in receiving the sacrament of marriage in another house of worship (Catholic or not Catholic) at another location, please notify us. This situation occurs when the fiancé is not Catholic and the marriage is taking place in his/her church. Your marriage can be recognized by the Roman Catholic Church with or without Roman Catholic clergy present. The parish can also assist you when either the bride or groom is a registered parishioner but will be married in a Roman Catholic Church elsewhere.

Non-Parishioners

When the bride and groom are not local to the Baltimore area and are coming here for the wedding, they must make sure their local church gives them permission to be married here. Additionally, a priest or deacon from their parish of residence will need to gather the necessary documents which are then sent to the Catholic Community of South Baltimore.