Religious Wedding: What Documents to Provide

Do you wish to unite before God and have a religious ceremony? Not sure where to start? Don’t worry! Our team of wedding planners will assist you with the steps to ensure the organization of your religious wedding is simple and pleasant, regardless of the ceremony you choose. Explore a detailed guide on the essential documents needed for a religious wedding documents.

Catholic Wedding: Answering the Call of Love

A Catholic wedding is a sacrament blessed by God, making your love possible according to the laws and values of the Church. To unite before God, you’re also asking for His blessing and protection. For this, a dossier must be prepared. It’s not very complicated… Each spouse must submit the following documents to the bishop for approval of the union.

Required Religious Wedding Documents:

• Birth Certificate: Contact the city hall of your place of birth to obtain this. If you were born abroad, you will need to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request a copy. This document is crucial for both civil and religious marriages.
• Baptism Certificate: Request this from the priest who will marry you at the parish. Provide the date of the ceremony and specify that this act is for your marriage. If one of you is not baptized or belongs to another religion, a dispensation from the bishop will be required. For a Catholic wedding in Italy, at least one of the spouses must be baptized.
• Civil Marriage Certificate: It is mandatory to be married at the town hall before the church ceremony. The mayor will provide the civil marriage certificate.
• Witnesses’ Civil Status Form: You need to provide their names and contact details.

The marriage dossier is to be completed with a life plan (or declaration of intent) which you will write based on your discussions with the priest of your local parish. The goal is to express your commitment through the Church’s fundamentals: freedom of consent, fidelity, mutual assistance, and the Christian education of children. The Catholic Church will explain what marriage and its fundamentals represent.

If you decide to marry in a different church from your residence, request authorization from your priest. If you wish to have a religious wedding in Italy, your religious dossier, prepared with the priest of your church, will be sent to the Italian parish where your marriage will be celebrated. We recommend fixing the wedding date with the priest as early as possible since some churches are booked a year in advance.

Kiddushin (Jewish Wedding): Beginning a Religious Life Together

In Judaism, marriage is very important as it symbolizes the union of a man and a woman with the aim of starting a family. The Jewish community is very attached to certain traditions and a precise ritual. If you wish to marry according to Jewish tradition, you will need to provide the rabbi with a dossier containing the following documents:

Required Religious Wedding Documents:

• Birth Certificate: Obtain this from the city hall of your birthplace.
• Parents’ Religious Marriage Certificate (Ketubah): If you don’t have this certificate, provide the name of the rabbi who married them, along with the date and place of their religious marriage.
• Family Books of Your Parents: These documents prove your Judaism. Otherwise, conversion to Judaism would be necessary for a traditional Jewish wedding.
• Certificate of Celibacy: This document is issued by the Beth Din of the city or country of origin. Foreign spouses must request it from the local consistorial or the consulate of the country of origin. Once the date is set, contact the consistorial to schedule an initial meeting.

All these documents must be sent as a dossier three months before the wedding to the marriage service of the Paris consistorial. Once signed by the rabbi, it will be returned to your local consistorial. If the dossier is accepted, the marriage will be recorded by the marriage service. You then just need to pay the consistorial fee corresponding to the rabbi who will officiate your union. If you wish to celebrate your Jewish wedding in Italy or Corsica, you can bring your rabbi on-site for your blessing or hire an Italian rabbi.

Muslim Wedding (Zawaj): A Festive Union

Muslim wedding ceremonies have similarities with Christian or Jewish procedures and symbols. For example, a Muslim wedding starts with the henna ceremony and can last several days like in Jewish religion. To celebrate a Muslim union, the couple must agree on the nikah, a marriage contract based on the Quranic precepts. Moreover, if the groom is not Muslim, it is impossible to celebrate the wedding in a mosque, although the bride can be of a different faith. Note that marriage in a mosque is not obligatory for its religious value to be recognized. Many Muslim families celebrate weddings at home or rent a reception venue, as long as it adheres to the values and traditions of the Quran.

Required Religious Wedding Documents:

• Civil Marriage Certificate: This must be obtained from the town hall.
• Birth Certificate: Issued by the city of birth for the spouses.

Traditions of the Muslim Wedding

A Muslim wedding is generally officiated by an imam, but technically any Muslim can perform it. For a first marriage, the imam asks the bride’s father if he agrees to give his daughter’s hand in marriage. It is customary for the bride’s family to provide a dowry, the amount of which is mentioned during the marriage acceptance by the family men. During the religious ceremony, men and women are separated. The celebration becomes mixed traditionally during the seven days following the wedding. A unique aspect of a Muslim wedding is that the bride must prepare several dresses, with the custom recommending seven.