Hi Christian,

That is an excellent idea, and I encourage you to do it.

• If neither of you have been previously married
• you intend to have children, and
• you don't have your heart set on an outdoor ceremony, there should not be a problem.

If either of you are divorced and do not have an annulment, you'll need to request one. It may take some time and may require some accommodation on your part. For details, all you need to do is contact your parish priest and say that you want to have your marriage convalidated (or blessed) and explain the situation.

Hope this helps!

Eric

Christian,

A Catholic must be married sacramentally to be married, at all, in the eyes of the Church.

Marriage is a social and religious institution before it is a civil one. To have a valid marriage, a Catholic must be married in a Catholic Church and in the presence of a priest or deacon or they must get a dispensation in order:

• for another sort of clergy to officiate, or
• to marry at another locale.

A Catholic also needs an official Catholic witness to the wedding and the marriage must be recorded in the Church's sacramental records.

That said, all you have to do is go to your local parish and ask the priest what to do. I would hope that he would catechize you a bit about your faith, but the wedding ceremony, itself, would not be difficult to arrange, assuming your wife is not previously married.

Mary Ann