We LOVE this church!!! (Fredericksburg,TX) tell me your thoughts!

Cute! Like OKD Im also relatively near you! I live in Austin but got married in San Antonio.

If you would like a photographer recommendation, mine was fantastic!!! Amazing photos and he didnt cost an arm and a leg!

Yes Kristy! I would love a photographer recommendation!

I agree with every one, don't get married there if you're just looking for a pretty backdrop. That being said it looks exactly like our church! And ours is Saint Mary's too. I almost though it was the same one, then I saw tx haha.

You could ask if they'll make exceptions to their requirements.

I've copy and pasted from the document:

GUIDELINES for WEDDINGS at St. Mary’s Catholic Church – Fredericksburg, TEXAS

1) Must be baptized – one of them a baptized Catholic.

2) Must be a REGISTERED, CONTRIBUTING parishioner of St. Mary’s Parish for at least one calendar year or an immediate member of a family who is a registered, contributing parishioner of St. Mary’s for the same period of time.

3) Sacramental records must be submitted to St. Mary’s, along with the permission of the pastor of the church the person(s) seeking marriage are currently attending. For those baptized Christians of other faiths, a baptismal record must also be submitted. For those preparing for marriage, living outside the boundaries of the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the boundaries of St. Mary’s, Fredericksburg, all required documentation and paperwork must be submitted to the office of Msgr. Terrance Nolan at the Archdiocesan Chancery 6 months prior to the marriage date.

4) All required paperwork, FOCCUS test, personal information, free status statement, and pre-cana, natural family planning classes, etc., must be prepared at the church currently attended by those seeking marriage at St. Mary’s, Fredericksburg, Texas.

5) Items 3 and 4 must be completed and received by St. Mary’s Church 6 months prior to the marriage.

6) The fee for the use of the church for the marriage must be paid when the church reservation is secured.

7) The wedding party understands that the stipend for the presider at the wedding, and the musician(s) are separate stipends and must be paid in advance.

8) Wedding planners will not be allowed to directly interact during the rehearsal for the wedding, nor will they be involved in the liturgical planning of this event. They must also abide by the rules of the parish.

9) The decorations in the church will comply with the rules set up by the church, and will abide by the liturgical colors and decorations used in the church environment. If these decorations are more than allowed, or impede the liturgical flow of the ceremony, the said decorations will

be removed before the wedding begins.

10) Decorations outside the church are not allowed, and wreaths, etc., on the doors are not allowed.

11) The candles already in the church are the only candles that may be used. No rental candelabra are allowed.

12) Evening weddings may be planned only if extraordinary circumstances warrant it.

13) Priests from outside the parish will be allowed to preside at the wedding ceremony only with permission of the pastor, and with a letter of faculties submitted in advance to the Office of Msgr. Terrance Nolan at the Chancery.

14) The fee for the church will be based on the registered family’s participation in parish/school activities and on the contribution of the family to support the parish.

15) The couple must contact and meet with the priest one year in advance of the marriage, except in the event of an emergency.

16) The couple must also meet with the Director of Liturgy one year in advance of the marriage, except in the event of an emergency.

17) Reservation of the church and wedding date are subject to cancellation if requirements of items 5, 6, 15, and 16 are not met.

Just asked someone I know who got married a few years ago in a Catholic Church. Only the groom had his sacraments, they spoke to the priest and he allowed it. I would make an appointment with the priest and ask. Hope it works out for y'all!

If you are looking for a planner, I HIGHLY recommend Panache Event Group. Stacey saved me far more than her rate and did an outstanding job at coordinating our wedding.

http://www.panacheeventgroup.com/

My photographer was Philip Thomas. I love him and his pictures. He was super easy to work with, although a bit more expensive than some other options, but IMO worth every penny.

http://www.philipthomas.com/

ETA: Haha!! Just noticed he updated his homepage and there are a couple pictures from our wedding :-)

My photographer was Donny Tidmore.

He was amazing! I adore his work! And I paid just under $1000 for a whole day of shooting! (Don't count on the same price 3 years from now though haha)

www.donnytidmore.com

http://www.donnytidmore.com/weddings/

The wide-mouthed groom on that collage page is my husband when he first saw me! And the little flower girl and ring bearer are mine

Just to clarify- although Catholic churches differ in their rules, MOST will marry a non-catholic to a Catholic as long as you go through the required courses and the Catholic partner agrees to raise the children catholic. Ours even married a Catholic (FH) to a non-baptized (me). We have been members of the parish and just needed to follow all the steps.

Even if you CONVERT (cause thats what you have to do), you won't be able to get married there. You aren't apart of that church. Also if you have already been baptized, most catholic priests won't let you go through conversion. Also confirmation will take over a year...

ETA Marion- they will marry different religions just not in a church. If he did marry them in a Catholic Church he broke some serious rules.

Sorry OriginalLaura I don't completely understand your comment (and I mean that very respectfully!). We got married last week and I am not baptized but we are part of the church, we broke no rules. We have several friends who got married in a Catholic Church where one partner was Catholic and the other was not (most baptized Christian but not Catholic so never went through sacraments, and one was actually Hindu marrying a Catholic man). As far as I know, all these marriages were legit and didn't break the rules. Ours certainly did not. I do know of some churches in our area that would not have married us though. Some churches vary in their rules. I do agree that not being a member of the church will be something that might prevent OP from getting married there though.

"

If a Catholic wants to marry a non-Catholic, how can they assure that the marriage is recognized by the Church?

In addition to meeting the criteria for a valid Catholic marriage (see question #3), the Catholic must seek permission from the local bishop to marry a non-Catholic. If the person is a non-Catholic Christian, this permission is called a “permission to enter into a mixed marriage.” If the person is a non-Christian, the permission is called a “dispensation from disparity of cult.” Those helping to prepare the couple for marriage can assist with the permission process."

(Foryourmarriage.org)

Apologies if I misunderstood your comment!

Laura, that's not true at all that "if you have already been baptized, most Catholic priests won't let you go through conversion." Do you mean they won't re baptize? The Church accepts any baptism done in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For an adult to join the Catholic Church after being baptized in a Protestant church, they would go through RCIA and then receive Confirmation.

Also yes, a Catholic can marry someone who is not baptized, but it would only be valid and not sacramental.

Shelby, I hope RCIA goes well and you're able to find a church that works!

I have a friend who is getting married through the Catholic church her fiancé I think is Christian, all they had to do was go to some premarital classes and vowed to raise their children Catholic. He didn't have to convert or do any sacraments. Good luck with your wedding

Get married wherever you want! It beautiful and I LOVE hill country!

If you are thinking about becoming a member of that church because you feel it is a right fit for you and your FH then is say contact them to see what you would need to do after you go through the sacraments. If you want to get married there just to have it as a backdrop and don't plan on ever going there again, then I would suggest getting married in the church your FH is currently a member of

Not sure why people are giving inaccurate information, even after E&M was kind enough to actually cut and paste the rules from that very church here for all to see. The very first one says the following:

GUIDELINES for WEDDINGS at St. Mary’s Catholic Church – Fredericksburg, TEXAS

1) Must be baptized – one of them a baptized Catholic.

So no room for argument here. Only ONE has to be a baptized Catholic.

@ Original Laura, non Catholics can get married to a catholic Ina church. My brother (jewish) married a catholic in a church with a priest and a rabbi. He did not convert to Catholicism. This probably varies church to church.

My FH is catholic and I am protestant (btw OP, Catholics are christians...they believe in Christ) they required that only one of us be baptized however they couldn't marry us because we were not a part of the church being that we are getting married out of state. Had we lived in the same state and been members of that church (even just one of us) it would have been fine. No MAJOR rules would have been broken. And I was not even going to convert

Fredericksburg is such a beautiful little town. As a matter of fact FH and I are going next month for vacation!

That church in downtown San Antonio that OKD mentioned would be a great choice. I went to a wedding there last April and it was really pretty; plus I know the couple is not from San Antonio, so they will work with non-members.

The only accurate information in this case, as in any legal/license/visa issue is to contact the official authority and ask them.