married by a J.O.P then a priest?

christen525

My fiance and I have a september wedding planned. We are both catholic and have attended pre cana. We need to be legally married sooner than september. Can we get married by a justice of the peace and then get married in the catholic church??

any information would be greatly appreciated.

GulfCoaster

Well, canon law ordinarily requires baptized Catholics to marry in the Church.

If you marry outside of the church first, then your church wedding wouldn't be a wedding, but a convalidation -- a (usually short) ceremony to have your existing marriage recognized by the Church. Priests can/will do convalidations, but there are some specific requirements for one, and there is some paperwork.  Many priests are very strict with the requirements....  Your best bet is really to call the priest who is to perform your wedding, and talk to him about the situation.

Out of curiosity, what is the reason you need to be legally married before September?  Why can't you move up the wedding and get married in the Church prior to September?  (I suspect your priest may suggest this option, as from the Church's point of view this would be preferable to a JOP wedding followed by a convalidation.)

meltoine

Actually, this is allowed by the Church.

The Church will not view you as "married" until you have your Church wedding, so you may not live together/have sex until the Church wedding, but you can fill out and file the legal paperwork beforehand. 

FI and I had to do this. He is in the military and I would not have been able to accompany him to his next duty station had we not had the legal stuff taken care of earlier. We were already all planned out for the April wedding when we got his orders for the new assignment, and when I talked to our priest about it he was actually the one who suggested that we do the JOP early, with the provision that we would not live/sleep together until the Church wedding. 

GulfCoaster

<p>In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_married-jop-then-priest?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:425b8f64-9e73-4034-b8ed-3b576e0080a3Post:0f6a1d55-0629-426f-8726-d6658aa84d40">Re: married by a J.O.P then a priest?</a>:
[QUOTE]Actually, this is allowed by the Church. The Church will not view you as "married" until you have your Church wedding, so you may not live together/have sex until the Church wedding, but you can fill out and file the legal paperwork beforehand.  FI and I had to do this. He is in the military and I would not have been able to accompany him to his next duty station had we not had the legal stuff taken care of earlier. We were already all planned out for the April wedding when we got his orders for the new assignment, and when I talked to our priest about it he was actually the one who suggested that we do the JOP early, with the provision that we would not live/sleep together until the Church wedding. 
Posted by meltoine[/QUOTE]</p>
<p>Interesting, and a good point.  I'd assumed when reading the OP that she would have been living as if she was married after the JOP ceremony.  Perhaps I should not have made that assumption.

OP, definitely talk to the priest -- he's the one who can best advise you on your situation.  GL!
</p>

christen525

Thank you both so much I am definitely going to talk  to the preist about what he thinks we should do. I want a real  catholic wedding and it takes a load off of my shoulders knowing someone else has gone through this.

Popoloski

My husband and I are having our Catholic wedding March 13 (full Mass and all), but we got married a year ago today!

He is military, and due to deployments/PCS we had to be legally married last year.

Before we got married we spoke with the priest of our church back home (where we are having the wedding) and due to the circumstances, they were fine!

Calypso1977

i personally have never heard of a priest encouraging this.  if you have been through pre-cana and are essentially ready to go, there is no reason why the priest cannot marry you quietly now, with or without Mass, if you need to move things up.  you could then still have your reception in september with all of your guests. 

CarrieHW32

I was thinking of doing the same thing. My FI is an officer in the Marines and he might be gone before our wedding. Our priest said that it would be okay as well. I am just not sure if I want to do it or not. 

I feel your dilemma.