Welcome!
We are happy to serve you as you plan your wedding day at St. Bernard’s. It is a special day for you, and also for us. We hope this short resume will make your planning easier and enhance the sacredness of this blessed sacrament.
- Father Clyde K. Foster
- Father Norman Douglas
- Rev. Mr. James White
- Rev. Mr. Ramos DiMascio
Before the Wedding:
1. Permissions and Marriage Preparation For persons who are not parishioners of St. Bernard Parish a letter of permission from their pastor is required before a firm date can be set. You are encouraged to meet with your pastor, register in the parish if you have not already done so, and discuss doing the marriage preparation in your own parish. You are certainly welcome to join St. Bernard Parish if you intend to continue living your faith in this community. In order to register here you will need a letter of permission from your current parish or the parish in which you live. Any Roman Catholic priest or deacon in good standing is welcome as a guest to preside at a wedding at St. Bernard. For persons residing outside of the Diocese of Cleveland, in addition to the letter of permission, a further statement on the part of the minister accepting responsibility for marriage preparation and necessary Church permission or dispensations needs to be obtained. In these cases, the papers need to be sent into the proper diocese which will then send them to the Diocese of Cleveland. Those papers will then be forwarded here.
2. We first meet to get acquainted and discuss the process of marriage preparation. We also determine that you are free to marry in the Church, that is, you have not been married before either civilly or in church, your former spouse is deceased, or you have an annulment or dispensation from a former marriage. If you or your fiancée have been married before and an annulment or dispensation is needed, in accord with diocesan policies, no date can be set. We will start the process to obtain an annulment or dispensation right away. Experience indicates that a simple annulment (one which entails only documents) takes a few months while a formal annulment takes from one to two years.
3. Our diocese provides various kinds of pre-marriage preparation programs. These can be found on the Cleveland Diocesan Website: dioceseofcleveland.org:
- Marriage & Family Life Office
- Engaged Encounter Weekend
- Pre-Cana Day
- Natural Family Planning
4. You will also find very helpful information at a website sponsored by the U.S. Catholic Bishops: foryourmarriage.org.
5. Baptism certificates or copies are required (in the case of a Catholic, a copy dated six (6) months before the wedding).
6. Catholics should be confirmed before the wedding in order to be fully initiated into the church. Those who wish to arrange to be confirmed or enter the Catholic faith should call Deacon Ray DiMascio at 535.3700 or the church office.
7. The inventory, Prepare/Enrich, is used in this diocese. It is taken online and the results are shared with the couple. There is a fee for this service.
8. Donation to St. Bernard Memorial Fund. The people of St. Bernard Parish have for more than a century given visible expression to their faith in the building and maintaining of their church building. Their hard work and their generous donations have provided a worship space that has and continues to serve many people throughout the Akron area. The costs of operating and maintaining the church building are very large and continue to increase. To meet these costs we need to seek significant donations from all those who are served by the use of this building.
You are asked to consider $1,000 as an appropriate offering to the St. Bernard Memorial Fund. This figure represents one year’s donation ($20 x 50 weeks). This amount may represent a small percenttage of the total you are likely to be spending on your wedding. Please consider your other wedding expenses, your resources, and, in conscience, offer the maximum portion of the $1000.00 that you are able. Your donation should be seen as an expression of faith and gratitude for all that you have received from God, including the generosity and sacrifice of the people of St. Bernard parish.
At the time St. Bernard Church is reserved for a wedding, a $100 non-refundable deposit is requested.
Should the date be delayed or changed, this deposit will be applicable toward any rescheduled date.
9. Some important items of note:
a. Offerings and Fees
- Non-refundable Deposit $ 100
- Prepare/Enrich & Marriage Preparation Materials. $50
- Church & Priest S125
- Organist $125 (Our organist Jim Kintz is suggested)
- Soloist (if desired) $125.00
- Donation to Memorial Trust $1,000 ($20 x 50 weeks)
(Cash payments are fine. If above fees are paid by check, please issue individual checks to facilitate their being deposited into their proper accounts)
b. Music Selection
All music needs to meet the liturgical, musical and pastoral criteria for a religious celebration. All music choices must be worked out in advance with our organist, and then shared with the priest celebrant. Our organist, Jim Kintz, can be reached at the parish office (330-253-5161X25)
He can also help you to arrange additional musicians or soloists if desired.
c. Photographers
Photographers may take pictures during the ceremony, taking care not to disturb the participants or the congregation. Pictures may be taken after the ceremony, but you are asked to limit this to no more than 45 minutes. There is often less time available due to a tight wedding schedule. You must be finished at least 30 minutes prior to another wedding or service.
For 2 PM weddings we ask that photos be concluded by 3:30 PM. It might be prudent to defer the receiving line until the reception to provide the photographer with as much time as possible.
Video cameras are permitted, but AC outlets in the church are not numerous or easily accessible.
You may need 100 feet of extension cord to reach the nearest outlets in the church or balcony.
d. Flowers
Flowers are welcome in the church, but are not expected. We try to maintain a variety of green foliage to compliment the marble and whatever colors you have chosen for your wedding. Florists need to be advised by the wedding party as to the setup time before the service, and must remove the extra flowers, candles and runner afterwards so as not to interfere with other services following your wedding service. Pew bows and runners are discouraged, but permitted as long as the wedding party takes responsibility for their removal after the service. The aisle length is 125 feet if you are using a runner.
e. Rice, confetti, bird seed, balloons and flower petals are not allowed.
f. Bridal Room is available on the first balcony for the preparation of the Bridal Party. No alcoholic beverages are permitted in this room. Remember to put someone in charge of the room to remove all personal items before the wedding begins so that the next bride and her party will find a suitable place to prepare.
g. Parking
Please encourage your wedding party and guests to park in The University of Akron parking deck just to the south of the church for both Friday nights as well as Saturday weddings. The bridal limousines may park in front of the church during the wedding.
h. Friday Weddings take preference over any previously scheduled Friday rehearsals. Because of this, it may occasionally be necessary to reschedule a Friday rehearsal.
PLEASE NOTE: Please bring the following: the Liturgy Planning Sheet; Wedding Program; Wedding License; and Fees and Donations no later than the day of the rehearsal. Thank you.