When you are getting married in a church, when does the premarital counseling usually start?

Question

Is it the weeks directly before the wedding? Or is it as soon as you book the church? Because I don't want to be too busy directly before the wedding, AND if anything does come up (although I doubt it will), I want to be able to cancel bookings without too much cost penalty.

Answer 1

It totally depends upon the church/parish and how busy they are. At our church, couples need to notify a year in advance of marriage, and since most weddings are in spring/summer, classes are usually through late fall and early winter.

Answer 2

We started ours about 3 months before the wedding. We had 4 sessions that were about an hour long.

I would say it depends on what time of year you are getting married. Pastors are busier during holidays and wedding season, so they probably won't want to plan your counseling for those times.  

Answer 3

I have just booked my wedding within a church and as I am still 3 years away, our Vicar said that if nothing changes, he wants to see us 3 months before the wedding. 3 meetings, one per month and then the rehearsal and the big day! I understand you say you dont want to be too busy before the wedding, but this is a HUGE part of the wedding!! It is all part of the planning and should be included.

Also, the church will want to do the meetings as close to the wedding as possible becasue if they do it too far before, things can change and itll get messy!

Answer 4

It really depends on the Pastor and your schudle because he or she will have other things happening as well so you should start as soon as possiable and be very careful because if you are getting married by a Pastor whom is very serious about couples fitting right and something comes up or is said in one of the meetings He may ask that you guys have more sessions I'm getting married in April of next year and I've started my session (1st) they are an hour long and my pastor requires 3 total...  

Answer 5

you should start 3 months before the wedding.  we started 4 months before so we could get it over with and we only had 4 sessions.  its not that bad, kinda fun actually =)  good luck

Answer 6

ours started 3 months prior to the wedding. it consisted of four (one meeting each month and an extra meeting the two weeks) one hour sessions. the pastor is usually willing to work with you as to when to hold the sessions. just don't forget to tip your pastor or make a *nice* contribution to the church!

Answer 7

Hi.  It is usually months in advance of the wedding.  It really depends on your particular faith and pastor, but usually everything is wrapped up at least a month prior.  Sometimes it's done within a few weeks of the actual wedding, but that is usually because the couple is living elsewhere and "coming home" for the wedding.  

Talk with your pastor and ask him/her what the policy is at YOUR church.  Every church is different in how they approach the pre-marriage counseling.

Answer 8

I'm getting married in the Catholic church and when I talked with the priest to book the church 10 months in advance, the idea was pretty much the sooner the better.  

If pre-cana is going to help us be better to each other and have a better relationship, we might as well start now.

Also, if you find things you disagree about, it is better to get them hashed out well before the wedding.