6 steps to getting married in Diocese of Little Rock

Follow these steps to get married in the Church

By Arkansas Catholic Staff

1. Contact your pastor: Contact your parish to make an appointment to speak to your pastor at least six months before your tentative wedding date. During your initial meeting with the pastor, the necessary paperwork and assessment of preparation for marriage will begin. Special circumstances, such as being underage, pregnant, from different religious backgrounds or previously married, will also be addressed. 

2. Take FOCCUS inventory: You and your fiancé will take a premarital inventory designed to help you learn more about each other and your unique relationship. In the Diocese of Little Rock, couples take the Facilitating Open Couple Communication Understanding and Study (FOCCUS). Then you will spend time with your priest or deacon reflecting on your responses and how they affect your relationship and might carry over into your married life.

3. Attend a marriage education program: Together, you will participate in a formal marriage preparation course, such as in-person or virtual Pre-Cana Day, Sponsor Couple or another program approved by the Diocese of Little Rock. Which program you attend is determined in consultation with your pastor.

4. Learn Natural Family Planning: Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an umbrella term to describe the methods used to achieve or avoid pregnancy based on observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman’s menstrual cycle. 

5. Set the date and plan the wedding: You will have additional meetings with your priest or deacon to complete the process, including final paperwork, setting the wedding date, planning the wedding liturgy, etc. 

6. Pray together: If you aren't already, start praying with each other, for each other and for your upcoming marital life together. After the wedding, be sure to carry the habit over into your marriage. Prayer is a powerful way to enrich and care for your marriage.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Reha, diocesan family life director, at (501) 664-0340 or

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