St. Mary's Wedding Cost
NJHunter 
Reynoldsit has been years but when I got married they did not care parishioner or not or or even baptized for that matter as long as you had cash.Very sad actually.
jdem You don't have to be a member of the parish but you should call the rectory to talk to the parish secretary.
wagsinhkt 
Caged Animal 
Steven Why is it very sad that a church would expect compensation for performing a wedding? Do you think that they don't incur expenses?
The lights need to be turned on (oh, and churches pay electric bills just like everyone else); in the winter, heat needs to be turned on (oh, and churches pay oil/gas bills just like everyone else); someone needs to be at the church to have it ready, to be there when sanctuary is decorated/flowers are delivered/ etc. (oh, and churches pay their employees just like everyone else).
A church needs to carry insurance, (that they pay for, just like everyone else) for when your great aunt Tillie trips and falls and sues the church for negligence (and churches do get sued for accidents, just like everyone else).
You expect the church to be clean for your wedding, the rest rooms to be spotless and fully stocked with tp, paper towels, soap, etc. (churches again pay the employee who does that cleaning, and they pay for supplies for their bathrooms, just like everyone else.)
The Pastor who performs the ceremony has had years of schooling to be able to perform the ceremony. Typically, at least in most churches, the pastor/priest/minister has several meetings with the couple to do premarital counseling. Do they not deserve compensation for doing the most important part of the wedding? (How much are you paying the dj?) Some churches set a contracted amount for the pastor or roll it into the church fee, but some pastors just ask for a donation.
The church musician/organist has had years and years of lessons and practice so that they can play that music that you walk down the aisle to. AND they buy the sheet music (just like anybody else) so that they have the pieces you want. Again, some churches roll the cost of the musician into the stated fee, some church musicians contact individually.
When your wedding is over, someone has to clean up the church so that it is ready for the next wedding, or the next worship service......
So now tell me again, why is it sad that there is a fee for a church to do the MOST important part of your wedding-the part where, you know, you're actually married?
churchperson It is not sad they accept money. Are you getting the reception hall for free? They have to turn the lights on and heat/AC the church for your special event. Often times the utilities are turned off or set very low to save money when the church is empty. Also, most churches have paid music directors. He/She may need to get paid to do extra events above the normal church services. (like overtime). Maybe they also have to do an extra cleaning of the church or mowing the lawn so it will look nice for your wedding.
Also, catholic weddings are usually held in the bride's parish. If you wish to marry in another parish you usually require permission from the bride's church or the Bishop. Best advice is from wagsinhkt; call the rectory at St. Mary's.
JBJSKJ Not sure about weddings but a funeral mass is $1,000!!
Weddings are probably the same. BUT remember everything cost extra. Organist, singers, flowers etc, are all extra. Churchperson is being a little dramatic. when I got married at Our Lady Of The Mountain it was $400, I had to decorate put the flowers at the alter, and clean up when I was done. All you are paying for is mostly the priest, and electric. Any other costs are your responsibility to do. every church is different.
teenie Funny, people will pay $80,000 for a grand reception with champagne, a 3 tier cake, Band/DJ, rent tuxes, a $5,000 dress, etc, etc and yet will talk crap about the church (supposed to be the most important part!) asking for a few hundred bucks!
Nobody seems to get pissed at the DJ for charging $800 to sit there for a few hours, or the bakery charging $100's for a fancy cake...but the church want some money...whoooa now, they are horrible!
Heidi I don't think Steven meant it as that. I'm not Catholic but my husband is. We had our wedding in a catholic church and obviously gave money to the church. However from my understanding from quite a few Catholics ( remember I am not catholic so this is just based on conversations) is that the church is willing to bend rules for money or has become much more relaxed in certain areas for the right price. (I'm not trying to start a religion war/argument). For instance we had to do pre-cana. Where normally this takes time over the course of a certain period, we found a church to do it with just a couple of hours on a Saturday literally 3 weeks before our wedding. I don't know what St. Marys charges, but we gave $500 for the organist, priest, and paying for electricity. We had to do set up, clean up, and we also donated our flowers to the church to use.
sunshinenj sunshinenj that is the exact issue I had. My wife and I went to St. Marys to discuss getting married there. The priest said since my wife was not baptized catholic it would be another 250. apparently god does not require baptism for a little extra cash. We walked out discusted and got married at Davids Country in by a retired priest that actually cared about the act of marriage and not just the payment. One would expect in the church when you sit down with a priest to address marriage that it be discussed as a sacrament that is declared to be and the donation be a side note . When the priest is more business then your private business for the reception it is a sad state of a church.
I would be concerned where the money goes!Paid full tuition at the school for 10 years..50k,and they blew it all to the point the school had to close.They still send me envelopes for donations..they will never see a penny from me again.
To all you people who responded with such verocity....if you read the actual statements, you would see that the point being made wasn't that the church was charging. It was that they were charging and had no interest if you were of that religion or if you had even been baptized.
Geeze Louise. Calm down and take a breath!!
Dee I was actually responding to Steven's comment. I actually have no idea if/how much the church charges for weddings.
Why when people have a question, they don' t go to the source? There you will get the correct answer, and not a bunch of back & forth that goes off topic and still no answer to the question lol
Clyde Potts Call the church rectory, the secretary there you want to speak to is Arlene. She will help you! Her husband is actually the Deacon and marries people, so nice and a pleasure to work with!
Heidi,
I was born and raised catholic , yes I too had the wonerdful experience of what I felt was extortion by the church on several occassions.
I was asked to be godparent to one of my friends newly arrived daughters, although I was not a member of my friends parish ( in Rockaway at the time ) , and now attending a Lutheran church, "they would give further consideration if an adequate donation was made by my friends" ( not sure of the exact verbiage they used ) , but the point I was making is that ( and this is my opinion ) , it has been my experience that 'unless ' you are continually donating on a regular basis to the churches , they want "additional" monies beyond the norm . I personally, have been turned off by the catholic churches , they are fixated on monies ( which explains why their holdings are so vast.
I myself, believe in a higher power, not the monetary funds of the church as a priority ..
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