Redemptorist was the #1 choice for us. We are parishioners there and we have had many family members get married their as well. It was a no brainer. We originally had Fr. Benden as our officiant, but he was transferred to another parish and ended up with Fr Brian Johnson. He did a great job finishing up our premarital counseling and did a wonderful job on the full mass we had. His homily was perfect. He did quite well at the rehearsal as well. He seemed to know what was going on and it wasn't as confusing as past rehearsals I have been to. We didn't decorate the church aside from two vases full of flowers on the altar. The church is beautiful on its own. We also used Karen Engebretsen as our musician. She helped us figure out what music to use and she played and sang it all beautifully.
We were 100% happy with everything at the church and couldn't have been happier.

I must say, I loved my wedding experience at Redemptorist Church!! We booked our date 15 months out - if you are a new bride and want to be married here, be ready to have a longer engagement as the church books far in advance. We worked with Marla Mirabile during the booking process and she was great. Although she is no longer with the church, she was incredibly helpful in suggestions on vendors and also my ceremony. I ended up using multiple vendors she suggested and was very happy with the result of those vendors. We originally booked Father Terry as our officiant, however, he was transferred to a different parish prior to our wedding. As such, we ended up booking Father Brian Johnson who who was newly transferred as the new Pastor to Redemptorist. Father Brian was great - he gave a wonderful homily and even though we had a full mass which can be really long to some, he kept it within an hour which was much appreciated. His homily was great and so well spokein - we even had guests tell us how much they enjoyed him. Redemptorist is lucky to have him as the new pastor and we were lucky to have him conduct our ceremony.

The church was very flexible on the music and also our ceremony. We used Karen Engebretson as the organist and second singer, and she was wonderful. Her voice is spectacular and has that traditional catholic soprano feel that I was looking for. She also helped me pick out my music and organize my wedding program when I wrote that. She was very helpful and the ceremony music turned out beautifully.

Overall, my experience with Redemptorist was wonderful. The church was flexible to helping make our wedding ceremony perfect and the music was great. Not to mention, the church is breathtaking. I would recommend this church to any future bride and especially Karen and Father Brian!

In my opinion, the Redemptorist is the most beautiful Catholic church in Kansas City. Our ceremony there was perfect. We did not spend any money on decorating the church because it was already beautiful as is. They do allow nonparishioners to get married there, but it's a little pricey. You can use one of their parish priests, or you can have your own priest come in. They only allow Catholic weddings. Also, they have time alotted for three weddings, two regularly scheduled masses, and confession on Saturdays, so there is not much variability offered in the time. The staff is extremely helpful and makes the process of a Catholic wedding so much easier. I really don't think we could have had a more beautiful ceremony anywhere in the city!

The church is absolutely stunning, grand, spectacular, impressive and nothing compares to this great edifice! We booked Lorenzo who is also the vocalist at the church. He is absolutely incredible with an angelic and pure yet strong voice that filled the church. His Ave Maria was the best that I have ever heard!!! I wish that I could do it all over again. Thanks Father Andy for officiating. You were great to work with and you made us feel so comfortable. Loved your humor.

I will start off saying I think the church is beautiful and the priests are amazing, however there were some shortcoming thats made our wedding planning and day a little tough. Please read to the end if you are seriously considering this church.

I planned our wedding in less than 6 months which did not leave me with a lot of options. Redemptorist Church had an opening at 11 in the morning. They offer only three times on Saturday 11, 1ish and 6ish and rehearsal is late Friday morning.. which is terrible if you try and plan rehersal dinners. Either way, booking was quick and easy the office was incredibly nice, gave me the general information, but other than that was not able to provide any information on the wedding or planning portion. Price 995 up front and 1000 a month before the wedding. Steep, but we had a set date in mind.

Next, we met with Father Terry. Amazing man. We did not have to do the stereotypical weekly meets with the priest. We met once, took our test, met again to discuss, and did our THRIVE weekend and He was set with us. He was incredibly flexible with our decisions and such a sweet man. There are not enough words to describe how incredible he did and how much he cares about marriage. I was even told he spoke about our wedding during his sermon the next day. 10 stars for him!

Next came music! It was easiest to hire musicians/singers through the church. We went with Spencer, the music director, and he did an amazing job. He took all of our ideas and put such a beautiful spin on them. 300 for him day of. He was very easy to work with and flexible with our schedule.

Now the things that went wrong. First, our fault, but we forgot to pay the month before the wedding. We got a letter in the mail a week and a half later. The way the letter was worded was rude, in my opinion, and on top of that had screenshots of Multiple emails, with the wrong email addresses, saying their fee was due. Father Terry had our correct email and they had our phone numbers... they could have called us or had Father Terry send us an email. They took our fee late but it was still annoying.
Then there is Barbara. Barbara is the wedding coordinator. They give you a booklet of Wedding Guidlines and it says in the booklet that she will contact you 6 months before you wedding. I actually realized I didn't know anything about the church about 2 months before our date and that she hadn't of contacted us. It was incredibly hard getting a hold of her and her voicemail was always full. I finally got ahold of her on the phone. She sounded nice on the phone and gave me the information I needed and email so I could send her our Wedding program. My husband and I have been to catholic weddings and we've been catholic our whole lives, but we didn't know how to word the programs or the outline of the wedding. Sent her our wedding program... never received an email back. Tried calling her never got a call back. I also had questions about the garden next to the church, but never got a call back. Sent some texts and never got a text back. Until I texted and called her 3 days in a row a week before my wedding did she finally get back to me. Semi- understandable, I'm sure she deals with tons of brides. Then came our rehersal and Wedding day. Rehersal went fine, but Father Terry did the majority of the talking and getting us to where we needed to be. She seemed fine. Was I wrong. Our wedding day started off hectic. We had the 11am slot. We wanted to get there at 10am, but of course getting ready took forever and we didn't get to the church until 1045. When we got there Barbara had opened up the church, but that was about it. Now it is my fault that we never discussed what specifically she would help out with the day of, but when I think of coordinator I think of someone who helps out. None of my decorations were out, luckily I did not have much since the church is beautiful, and not only did she not help put them out she yelled at some of my friends, who were not involved in the wedding, to put them out. We got everything set up as the guests were arriving. Barbara then continue to yell at some of the groomsmen and ushers when we didn't have some stuff figured out. It gets worse. Barbara then yelled at my photographer and lied to her saying she wasn't able to photograph in the aisle. She said the priest did not allow that. It states in the Wedding guidelines that there are no restrictions on photography except for the alter. My photographer just happened to be catholic, as well, and shot many catholic weddings so this was new for her to hear. My photographer came and found me and I asked her to bring Barbara in to see me so I could speak with her about the situations. My WEDDING day got even worse when Barbara came in and started yelling at ME! I tried telling her that I had no idea about the restriction and that it was my understanding that that was no restrictions about the aisle. She yelled that I was wrong and my photographer was a terrible photographer. I at that point had to tell her that this was my wedding day and to leave the room. My photographer took her out the room and she continued to yell at her. Later my photographer told me that she said that she would never photograph there again. I then asked my maid of honor to speak with father Terry, because there is no way that he told her that there could be no photography in the aisle. When my maid of honor asked... he literally shrugged his shoulders and said sure. After my wedding, everyone involved in my wedding was taking photos so I wasn't able to pick up my decorations: 10 flower vases Along with 20 electric candles total. Barbara preceded to yell at my guests saying that they needed to be moved. Not at all their job and apparently not hers. Barabara was incredibly unproffesional and not at all who you want to work with on your wedding day. She got us down the aisle, but I could have done that myself. She claimed to had been doing this for 7 years, but she acted incredibly flustered and sort tempered.

Now, all in all, I loved our day. Of course things went wrong but I didn't dwell on those things like I did with Redemptorist's Coordinator. I did not appreciate how she acted with me, my photographer, and my poor guests.

Redemptorist is a beautiful church (with the longest aisle in Kansas City) but because it's such a popular wedding location, brides are ushered in and out like cattle.
On the plus side, they are very efficient at what they do... I was always called back immediately and had very specific instructions.
The biggest draw back is the lack of flexibility. Only two ceremony times (11 or 6:30) left very little time for photos in the church (and a mass directly before our 6:30 ceremony meant we weren't able to enter the church before 6!)
A very small dressing room (with no grounded outlet for a steamer!) is provided but is not connected to the church, so bring an umbrella if it's raining. If you can shape your wedding around their rigid requirements, it's beautiful.
The total cost for rental is $1200. An excellent cantor/singer is available through the church for an additional $350.

Ceremony fees are overpriced. 2k (if you not a parishner, this covers the cost of priest + church rental)..

They have very limited hours for the wedding ceremony, and the parishner office is not friendly.
The only plus thing is the priests are great!!

The church is beautiful, but not worth the trouble