Are you looking to get married at St. Mary or St. Cecilia?

Your first step before anything else (including booking your reception venue) should be to contact us to schedule your wedding date. In order to secure a wedding date, couples must currently be engaged to be married. Please also note that there are certain weekends or liturgical seasons where weddings will not be scheduled. To schedule your wedding date at any of our locations (St. Cecilia, St. Mary, Oratory of St. John Vianney), please contact Haley Metzger at hmetzger@eastsideregion.org.

Please also note that starting with the wedding year 2025 you must be registered as a parishioner for at least three months before reserving a date for your wedding. While we want to accommodate as many couples as possible who desire to celebrate this sacrament in our churches, this new requirement is in an effort to prioritize serving our parishioners, many of whom desire to get married in the Eastside Family each and every year.

After scheduling your wedding date, signing your contract, and submitting your payment, Stephanie Ramsey (St. Cecilia's Wedding Coordinator) or Laura Nickol (St. Mary's Wedding Coordinator) will  follow up with you regarding next steps. These will include the following, which are explained in greater detail in the tabs to your left and in our official Eastside Family Wedding Document.

Are you a parishioner looking to do your marriage preparations with the Eastside Family but are getting married elsewhere?
 

Although you will be married elsewhere, your preparation requirements will be the same as couples who are marrying within the parish family (these are listed above and on the left). Please note that while you will not pay a deposit for reserving the church, there will be a $250 fee to cover the costs of your preparation.

Are you already married but looking to have your marriage convalidated in the Catholic Church?

If you have been married civilly but desire or need to have your marriage convalidated (i.e. to be a godparent who is in good standing, etc.), please speak with Haley Metzger (hmetzger@eastsideregion.org)  for more information.

1) Meetings with Priest/Deacon 

2) Complete M1/M2/MB Form (as needed) (Set up through St. Cecilia/St. Mary)

3) FOCCUS Pre-Marriage Inventory (Set up through St. Cecilia/St. Mary)


 

Pre-Cana Retreats are designed to create time and space for you and your fiance to withdraw from the busy days of work, wedding planning, and your bustling social calendar and to actively reflect on the beautiful commitment that you are about to make to one another. With a variety of options that last either a day or a weekend, you will experience meaningful talks given by other Catholic spouses, valuable one-on-one discussions, and transformative time for prayer and the sacraments. Explore the options below and select the one that fits your needs and interests best!

• Genesis Retreat (Archdiocese of Cincinnati: Marriage and Family Life Office)
• Engaged Encounter (Cincinnati-Covington Catholic Engaged Encounter)
• Three to Get Married (Regnum Christi Ohio Valley)

What is Natural Family Planning? Is it just Catholic-approved birth control? Is it pseudoscience? Is it effective?

The modern world has a lot of myths about NFP, so it's not unreasonable to ask these questions. In short, Natural Family Planning

• Enables couples to work in accordance with God's natural design to experience the fullness of the unitive and procreative elements of the marital act. Contrary to birth control, NFP allows them to make a total gift of self which is always open to life but also encourages reflection and the exercise of self-mastery in situations where conceiving a child may not be seemingly prudent.
• Is a school of methods that are scientifically based, teaching couples to recognize natural signs of fertility and infertility. Many methods specifically require a licensed health practitioner to be the instructor!
• Has a 98-99% effectiveness of delaying pregnancy when practiced correctly. NFP has also been helpful to some couples who stuggle with infertility in determining irregularities that may need to be addressed by their physician.
• Promotes greater unity and communication between spouses, as fertility is seen as a shared gift and responsibility.

Choose ONE of the NFP methods listed below:

• Sympto-Thermal Method, aka "STM" (Couple to Couple League)
• The Creighton Method (Creighton Fertility Care)
• The Billings Method (Billings Ovulation Method Association)
• The Cross-Check Method, aka "STM" (NFP International, Inc.)
• Marquette Method (Marquette University College of Nursing - NFP)

The sacrament of marriage is the greatest sign here on Earth of the love Christ has for His Bride, the Church. Consequently, your Wedding will not only be an opportunity for your loved ones to share in your joy and marital bliss but to have an encounter with the Divine Bridegroom in the cermony itself. Our team want to ensure that this twofold experience is as beautifully transcendent and moving as possible, and you will work with us to ensure this is so. 

For St. Cecilia's:

Bob Kellison
Director of Music Ministry
(513) 871-5757 ext. 208
bkellison@stceciliacincinnati.org

For St. Mary's Hyde Park:

Katie Barton
Director of Music and Liturgy
(513) 321-1207 ext. 8402
kbarton@smshp.com

Click here for guidelines regarding music, church decor, and other logistics on your wedding day.

• Stewardship of Prayer:
  • Faithful Participation in the Sacramental & Spiritual Life
    • Must I go to Mass every Sunday?
    • Why Confess my Sins to a Priest?
• Stewardship of Ministry:
  • Active Involvement in the Life of the Parish 
    • Ways to Get Involved in the Young Adult Ministry
• Stewardship of Finance:
  • Supporting the Good Work of the Church
    • Register here for St. Cecilia Online Giving
    • Register here for St. Mary Online Giving
• Practicing Chastity Until Marriage: 
  • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Speaking the Truth in & through your Body
    • The Secret About Sex and Holiness
    • Why Did God Give us Bodies?