Religious Wedding: What Documents Do You Need?

Do you wish to be united before God in a religious way? The thing is…you don’t know where to start. Don’t panic! Our wedding planners’ team helps you in the process so that the organization of your wedding is simple and pleasant, whatever the religious ceremony you celebrate. 

Catholic wedding, an answer the call of love

The Catholic wedding is a sacrament given by God. It formalizes your love according to the laws and values of the Church. Being united before God is also asking for his blessing and protection. For that, you must prepare a wedding file. You will see it is not very complicated. Each one of the spouses will need to give to the bishop the following documents to obtain approval for the union. 

A copy of your birth certificate

You must contact the city hall of your birthplace to get it. If you were born abroad, you will have to go to the Foreign Affairs’ office and ask for a copy. Be aware his document is essential as it is necessary for a civil wedding as for a religious one.  

A baptism certificate

The priest that will marry you at the parish will give it to you. Indicate the date of the ceremony to him and mention this certificate will serve for your wedding. If one of you is not baptized or has a different religion, an exoneration is to be asked to a bishop.

If you want to celebrate a Catholic wedding in Italy, it is necessary for at least one of the spouses to be baptized.  

A civil wedding certificate

It is mandatory to be civilly married at the city hall before the church ceremony in most countries. The mayor will give you the wedding certificate on this occasion. 

The marital status sheet of the wedding witnesses

Their names and personal information are to be communicated. The wedding file must be completed with a life project or a declaration of intentions. You will write it based on your meetings with the priest of your home’s parish. The aim is to express your commitment, loyalty, mutual assistance, and education of your children in the Christian faith. The Catholic New Agency explains to you what marriage represents and its fundamentals.

If you decide to get married in another church than the one of your local community, ask for an authorization to your priest. Do you want a religious wedding in Italy? This is possible! The wedding file you have constituted with the priest of your church will be sent to the Italian parish of the place your ceremony will take place. Finally, we recommend you agree on the wedding date with the priest as soon as possible as some churches are booked up to one year in advance.   

Kiddouchine (Jewish wedding), the start of a religious life together

In the Jewish religion, marriage is critical as it symbolizes the union of a man and a woman with the aim of founding a family. The Jewish community is attached to some traditions and precise rituals. If you want to get married with due respect to Jewish traditions, you must give the rabbi a file that includes the following documents. 

The family records of both spouses parents

By providing your family books, you prove your Judaism. In the opposite case, a conversion to Judaism is necessary for a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony. 

A single status certificate

This document is established by the Beth Din of the city or country of origin. The foreign spouses must ask for it to the consistory of the native city or consulate of the native country.  

When the date is fixed, address the consistory to program a first meeting. All of the documents mentioned above must be sent in a file three months before the wedding at the wedding service of your home country’s consistory. Once signed by the rabbi, it will be transferred to the consistory of your city. If the file is accepted, the wedding will be registered by the wedding service. You only have left to pay the consistory license fee that corresponds to the retribution of the rabbi that will celebrate your union. 

If you wish to celebrate your Jewish wedding in Italy or Corsica, you can invite your rabbi on site to give you the marital blessing. you can also call upon the services of an Italian or Corsican rabbi. Waste no more time: get married according to the Jewish tradition and maybe add an Italian note to your ceremony!

Muslim wedding (zawaj), a festive union

Muslim wedding ceremonies present similarities with Jewish or Christian proceedings and symbols. For instance, the Muslim wedding starts with a henna ceremony and extends over several days as in the Jewish confession. To celebrate a Muslim union, the couple must agree on the nikah, wedding contract based on the Koran’s guidelines. Moreover, if the groom is not a Muslim, it will be impossible to celebrate the wedding in a mosque. On the contrary, the bride can have a different confession. 

Please note that a union at the mosque is not mandatory for the religious value of the wedding to be recognized. In fact, many Muslim families celebrate weddings at home or rent a reception hall. The most important thing is to pay due respect to Koranic values and traditions. 

About the required administrative documents to get married at the mosque, they are rather similar to the other religions’ ones. The civil wedding certificate and the birth certificates – delivered by their birthplaces city hall –  of the spouses are needed. 

The traditions of a Muslim wedding

A Muslim wedding is generally presided by an imam, but in reality, any Muslim can celebrate it. For a first wedding, the imam asks for the father of the bride’s consent to give her hand. In the custom, the family of the bride brings a dowry that is mentioned by the imam during the wedding consent procedure attended by the men of the family. During the religious ceremony, men and women are separated. It is only during the party – traditionally the seven following days after the wedding – that the celebration is mixed. The particularity of a Muslim wedding for the bride is that she must have several dresses. The custom advises seven.