| |
Please call the parish
office and ask for Liz in regards to the
following: establishing a wedding date,
rehearsal, obtaining a package with all
the necessary information, including the
permission slip.
After you spoke with Liz and received
the package the first thing you must do
is obtain permission from your local
Catholic pastor to be married outside of
your parish and here at the Basilica.
Please have him fill out the enclosed
permission slip which is included in the
package; please return it to the parish
office (Attn.: Weddings), within two
weeks time. The reservation fee is
required to accompany your permission
slip. Now your local pastor will
complete all the necessary church
paperwork for you and send it on to us.
This must be here at the mission at
least one month prior to your wedding
day.
The time for your Wedding is always a
concern and in an effort to accommodate
as many couples as possible, we have set
aside six wedding spaces per weekend for
celebrating the Sacrament of Marriage.
They are:
In the Basilica:
Fridays @ 2:00 p.m.
Saturdays @ 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and
3:00 p.m.
In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel:
Saturdays @ 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Since we are an active parish, our
schedule does not allow for weddings in
the evening or on Sundays. We do,
however, consider other weekday times
depending on the availability of the
Basilica and Chapel. For your planning,
the Basilica seats 450 people and the
chapel seats 70.
We schedule wedding rehearsal times on
Thursday or Friday evenings. These are
scheduled on a “first come; first
served” basis at 4:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. or
6:00 p.m. For your rehearsal, please
enter the church through the alcove on
the main parking lot. Kindly arrange the
rehearsal as soon as you can! If a
visiting priest is officiating at your
wedding, he must be here for the
rehearsal, or the rehearsal is
cancelled.
I or one of our associate pastors
usually officiate at all wedding
ceremonies here in the Basilica. I
certainly make exceptions for priests
who are family members or long time
friends of the family. They simply have
to write me a letter saying they will
perform the wedding and that they would
like delegation to do so.
The Music for your wedding is very
important. The Basilica of San Carlos
provides a splendid musical environment
for your celebration. Organ, trumpet,
strings, piano as well as vocal soloists
are heard to great advantage in our
church. Since your wedding ceremony, be
it a “Mass” or the so called “Simple
Ceremony”, is a religious event, all
musical selections are to be of a
religious nature. Anything from the
secular repertoire must be performed
before the ceremony begins as your
guests are being seated.
Below you will find the information for
our music director at the Basilica.
Please call him and get on his schedule
as soon as possible. All music must be
approved by our Basilica Music
Director/Organist. Coordination of
soloists and other instruments is
accomplished with the help of our Music
Director. Only the Basilica organist may
play our organ for a wedding. If he is
unavailable other arrangements, with our
approval, can be made.
The day of the rehearsal and the Wedding
itself can be very hectic and our
Wedding Day Coordinator is always there
to help you. She supervises the
rehearsal along with the priest, opens
the bride’s room, coordinates the
entrance rite, rings the Basilica bells
at the end of the ceremony and is
generally on hand to lend moral support
to the wedding party prior to the
celebration. Please call her and get on
her schedule as soon as possible; her
information can be found below.
Some other odds and ends about the
ceremony here would be:
You are responsible for your marriage
license. You must bring the license to
the rehearsal.
Your Wedding Party must not exceed 8
bridal attendants and 8 groomsmen. This
includes the maid of honor and best man.
Photographers are requested to be
respectful and not walk around during
the ceremony. Still and video
photography are allowed. Flash
photography is not allowed during the
ceremony. Photographers must take all
shots of the entrance procession from
the mid section of the basilica NOT from
the front of the main aisle!
Flowers for your ceremony are your
responsibility and should be arranged
with any of our local florists. We
generally recommend two arrangements on
either side of the altar. More than this
needs approval from me. Due to the
danger to yourselves and your guests we
cannot allow aisle runners; the throwing
of rice or birdseed; or lighted candles
in the congregation. We would also ask
that decorations not be taped or nailed
to the pews. Some florists have clips
that work nicely and others simply tie
them on with beautiful ribbons. Your
cooperation in this is most appreciated.
We can provide a Bride’s Room. Please
make arrangements for the use of this
room with the wedding day coordinator.
On the day of the wedding, the Bride’s
room is available for one hour before
each wedding (10-11 am for the 11:00
a.m. wedding, 12-1 p.m. for the 1:00
p.m. wedding and 2-3 p.m. for the 3:00
p.m. wedding). Do not leave anything in
this room as we can not be responsible
for missing articles. Plan on having a
friend who is not in the bridal party,
take all your personal items to the car
as you leave this room.
Please a gentle reminder here that no
food or alcoholic beverages are allowed
on the Mission property. Also remember
that your transportation to your
reception cannot come into the
courtyards of the mission. This is again
due to danger to your guests and the
many pilgrims and tourists who visit the
mission each day.
There are required Stipends and Fees for
having your wedding here at Carmel
Mission. The reservation fee is required
to accompany the permission slip within
two weeks. This fee secures your wedding
date and time. The Stipend includes the
organist, wedding day coordinator, and
sacristan.
The Basilica is $1,800.00 and includes:
- A $350.00 non refundable reservation
fee.
- A $850.00 stipend to the Mission (this
helps with maintenance and restoration
work)
- $600.00 distributed by the pastor to
the wedding staff.
The Chapel is $1000.00:
- A $350.00 non refundable reservation
fee.
- A $250.00 donation to the Mission
- $400.00 distributed by the pastor to
the wedding staff.
So to close, the community of Carmel
Mission and I look forward to this great
day of rejoicing and celebration for you
and your family. We will work hard to
make this the first of many happy days
that you will share together. God bless!
Joyfully,
Fr. John Griffin, Pastor
CARMEL MISSION BASILICA
OFFICE HOURS 9AM-12 NOON
12-1:30 LUNCH
1:30-4:30PM
PHONE 831-624-1271
FAX 831-624-8050
Or write to us: 3080 Rio Road, Carmel,
CA 93923
Wedding Planner / Wedding Day Coordinator
Please contact Liz Tana to establish a
date for a wedding. She will help you
and answer your questions regarding the
date & time of the rehearsal and
wedding. Call her at 831-624-1271.
Music Director / Organist
Online Music Samples (click link
below)
Please contact the Carmel Mission Music
Director leaving you name and address on
his answering machine or provide him
with your address through the mail. He
will in turn send you suggestions for
music for your wedding ceremony.
Edward L. Soberanes, P. O. Box 1632,
Carmel, CA 93921
(831) 624-4744 esoberanes@aol.com
|
