Sacrament of Marriage
Welcome and Congratulations!
All of us on the staff at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church are excited about your engagement, and we look forward to helping both of you prepare for the wedding and for the marriage. We realize that preparing for your marriage might well be your most involved connection with the College Church up until now. That’s OK. We would like to make you feel that you chose the absolutely right place to prepare for your new life together. If we are lucky, maybe you will become a more involved and active parishioner after the wedding day. We promise to do our best to make sure that the preparations and the years ahead are blessed by your association with College Church.
This guide describes our suggested plan for helping you prepare. Read this carefully. Ask questions. We are very aware that every wedding is unique. No two are alike. Still, we need to fashion your wedding into a marriage ministry that assures that we are doing our job – not only providing a memorable wedding, but also launching a holy marriage life. We always keep our eyes on that responsibility. We also need to be sure that we can efficiently, yet gracefully, accommodate all of the many couples who ask us to help. The College Church is a busy place. All we require is your cooperation with our policies and guidelines. If we work together, the wedding and the marriage will be the best.
As soon as our wedding ministry director phones you, she will be your contact with College Church. Any scheduling concerns and any questions should be directed to her. Ask questions. Please, ask questions. We want to make this a beautiful wedding, a blessed marriage. Priests, deacons, musicians, and our support staff all want you to be pleased that your marriage began at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church.
Our advice is simple:
Enjoy this time of preparation.
Pray together.
Work hard and pay attention to the details. Especially, be on time.
Pray together.
Be considerate of your families.
Pray together.
Be joyful about the whole experience.
Once more – pray together. That’s the most important step. We will be with you.
Congratulations, again. We hope our part in your plans will help you to see forever. That’s where you are headed together. Thank you for letting us help you.
FAQ’s
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In order to get married in a Catholic Church at least one person in the couple must be a baptized Catholic.
College Church welcomes registered parishioners, St Louis University Alum, or anyone hoping to celebrate a Catholic wedding ceremony in our beautiful church.
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On the weekends, weddings may be scheduled late afternoons on Fridays and on Saturdays. On Saturdays our ceremony times are Noon and 3pm. We can accommodate Sunday weddings at 2pm with the Archbishop’s approval.
Smaller weddings may be celebrated during the week when the church is not occupied.
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We encourage each couple to invite their parish priest or a priest that whom they have a special relationship. If your priest is unavailable or you don’t have one we are happy to assist you in finding a priest to witness your wedding.
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Contact Sandy Hauck, the director of the wedding ministry (314-977-7303) to inquire about available dates and to discuss the process. You will be sent a wedding contract to fill out and email back.
The Wedding Packet below provides additional information to get you started.
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The priest or deacon who witnesses weddings usually prepares the couple for marriage and assists the couple with completing all the necessary steps. However, there are times where this is not possible. If you are living outside of the Archdiocese of St Louis, you will need to find a local priest or deacon to assist you in your preparation. If you live in St Louis, but your priest or deacon who will be witnessing your wedding is outside of the Archdiocese, you will need to have a St Louis priest or deacon assist in preparation.
This time of preparation usually begins 6 months before the wedding. If you are living in another Archdiocese, you must follow their requirements for preparation time. There are some areas that require a 9 month window of time.
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From your first phone call until the week before the wedding, Sandy Hauck, will assist you with all of your questions. You will have a College Church wedding coordinator and sacristan assigned to assist at the rehearsal and the wedding. One week before the wedding your College Church wedding coordinator will reach out to you to discuss all of the wedding day logistics.
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There is a fee to host a wedding at College Church. The fees cover the costs of planning and staff resources.
January and February:
Friday: $1750
Saturday: $2000
Sunday: $1750
March through December:
Friday: $2000
Saturday: $2750
Sunday: $2000
New Year’s Eve:
$3250
Once your date is confirmed (and a contract is signed and received) a deposit is due. The deposit is half of the church fee. You may pay in full and receive a 5% discount.
Extra Fees:
Music: $225 per musician and vocalist. Fees for NYE weddings will reflect a holiday cost.
Priest: It is customary to donate to your priest as a token of your appreciation for their time and guidance in preparing and presiding at your wedding.