Hello ladies, this is my first time posting on the board, so first and foremost, hello!
I'm kind-of-sorta a Catholic bride, long story short, FI and I were both raised Catholic. I was confirmed at 16, he was never confirmed. In our 20's, we both distanced ourselves with the church. This all occurred before we met. We were engaged in February of 2010, and have been planning a secular wedding for Septemeber 2011. Since the beginning of this year, we have both been seriously considering returning to the church. We started attending mass again about two weeks ago, and this past weekend we went to Confession so that we could participate in Communion again.
This is where things get tricky. During my 10 year absence from the faith, I got married. It was a Catholic ceremony. The marriage was abusive and my ex left me. I'm now, with the priest's blessing, seeking an annulment for my first marriage. The paperwork was sent in two weeks ago.
Does anyone have experience with annulments? I know my paperwork needs to be reviewed by the tribunal, but I have no idea what that entails. FI and I have already put a lot of money towards our wedding, and family and friends have already made travel arrangements, so we do not think it will be possible at this time to have a Catholic wedding in September, but perhaps we can have a blessing at a later date so that our marriage is recognized by our faith? I'm not looking for a second wedding ceremony, our parish priest is aware of our situation, and recognizes that we are an engaged couple.
Any advice, recommendations, or previous experiences would be greatly appreciated.
The truth behind a well laced dress