Congratulations on your engagement! 

Here are the six basic steps of the marriage preparation process in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City:

1. Initial Interview
Your first step in preparation for marriage is to notify the parish priest as soon as possible and set up a meeting with him for this initial interview.  This meeting should take place no later than six months prior to your proposed date of marriage.
 
2. Assessment Process
The priest will use, besides the information from the Initial Interview, other tools for assessment such as Archdiocesan forms, a pre-marriage evaluation, in some cases consultation with parents/relatives and, if needed, pre-marriage counseling and evaluation.  These will all be reviewed with you and a mutual decision will be reached.
 
3. Decision
For most couples, the assessment with the priest will lead to a mutual decision to proceed.  In those cases where a delay is indicated, special procedures will be worked out with the couple. 
 
4.  Establishing a Wedding Date
Until this point, your proposed wedding date has not been finalized.  It was probably penciled in the calendar as a tentative date.  Now this date can be made definite.  With early contact with the priest, this still offers plenty of time to make arrangements for the wedding day. 
 
5. Instructional Program
After you have finalized the actual date of your wedding, the priest will outline the program that will be used to help you not only prepare for your wedding, but more importantly for the life of the marriage that will follow.  This program will often include a few meetings with the priest and participation in at least one of the marriage preparation program.  Your priest may also encourage you to attend training in Natural Family Planning.

Some priests ask couples to attend the Day of Reflection for Sacramental Marriage (English) or Pre-Cana (Spanish) hosted by the Office of Marriage and Family Life Ministry. The 2023 dates for these programs are  as follows:

January 2023 March 2023
May 2023  September 2023November 2023

6. Marriage Ceremony
Because your marriage is a sacrament, there are several things to keep in mind.  All sacraments are public ceremonies to the Church.  A wedding is a religious event, an act in which a man and a woman pledge themselves to each other before God.

The appropriate place of the wedding is in the Church.  As a matter of policy, the Church will not give permission for weddings to take place in parks, yards, private homes or other such places.