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Celebrating the Sacrament of Marriage at Carmel Mission.

Congratulations on your engagement and your decision to marry in the Roman Catholic Church. You join countless couples who, throughout the centuries, have shared this great sacrament with one another. Through this sacrament, God enriches your lives, and your lives in turn shall enrich the Church and our world!
Here at the Mission, we know that this is both a wonderful time in your lives as well a stressful time. The church seeks to help you prepare yourselves for the great day of your wedding as well as helping you with spiritual, psychological and practical things that will make your wedding day a Sacrament that will last a lifetime!
The guidelines that follow will help you prepare for your sacrament and wedding day here at San Carlos Borromeo Mission. We welcome you here as our guests and invite you to read these guidelines over carefully thus avoiding embarrassing and hurtful misunderstandings. So here are the simple things we ask you to accomplish as you prepare to celebrate your wedding here with us!

Obtaining Permission

The first thing you must do is obtain the permission of your local Catholic pastor to be married outside of your parish and here at the Basilica. Please have him fill out the enclosed permission form and return it to our parish offices, within two weeks’ time. The reservation fee is required to accompany your permission form. Your local pastor or delegate will complete all the necessary church paperwork for you and send it to your local Diocesan Tribunal. If you reside within the Monterey Diocese, this paperwork should be sent directly to Carmel Mission.
This must be here at the Mission at least one month prior to your wedding day.

Wedding Time Slots

The time for your Wedding is always a concern and in an effort to accommodate as many couples as possible, we have set aside four wedding spaces per weekend for celebrating the Sacrament of Marriage. They are:

  • In the Basilica
    Fridays @ 2:00 PM
    Saturdays @ 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 3:00 PM
  • In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel
    Fridays @ 2:00 on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th Fridays
    Saturdays @ 11:00 A.M., 1:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M.

Since we are an active parish, our schedule only allows weddings to occur on most Fridays and Saturdays. For your planning, the Basilica seats 450 people and the chapel seats 70.

We schedule wedding rehearsal times on Thursday or Friday evenings. For your rehearsal, please enter the church through the gates in the rear parking lot. A map will be provided. 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.

Guidelines

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, the Rite of Marriage with or without a Mass, is a religious event, all musical selections are to be of a religious nature.

You can find contact information for the Basilica Music Director in our brochure. Please contact her to get on the schedule as soon as possible. All music must be approved by the Music Director. Coordination of additional instruments and/or outside musicians must be arranged with our Music Director prior to securing their services.

Our cantor is the only soloist allowed for the ceremony itself. Other soloists (friends of the family, etc.) are allowed to sing before the ceremony by special arrangement with the Music Director.

Please note: The responsorial psalm is “always” sung by the cantor at a wedding celebrated in the Basilica. There are no exceptions.

Only the Basilica organist may play our organ for a wedding. If she is unavailable other arrangements, with our approval, can be made.

Rehearsal for wedding

The day of the rehearsal and the Wedding itself can be very hectic and our Wedding Day Coordinator is always here 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. You are welcome to bring your own consultant. Since the consultant is your representative, our Wedding Day Coordinator will defer to the consultant except in reference to the wedding ceremony, which has been arranged by you and the priest.

Some other odds and ends about the ceremony here would be:

Your Wedding Party must not exceed 8 bridal attendants and 8 groomsmen. This includes the maid of honor, best man, etc.

Any additional vendors, hired by you, must be aware and abide by our guidelines while on the Carmel Mission premises.

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 midsection 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 (Basilica weddings only). On the day of the wedding, the Bride’s room is available approximately 45 minutes before each wedding (10:15 -11 AM for the 11:00 AM wedding, 12:15 -1 PM. for the 1:00 PM wedding and 2:15 -3 PM. for the 3:00 PM wedding). Plan on having a friend who is not in the bridal party, take all your personal items to the car immediately following the ceremony.

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. Parking is allowed for your wedding guests during the time of your ceremony. Cars may not be left while they are attending the reception. If your guests will be arriving by bus/ limousine, please check with Wedding Day Coordinator regarding parking.

There are required Stipends and Fees for having your wedding here at Carmel Mission. The reservation deposit fee is required to accompany the permission slip within 2-3 weeks of placing your hold on a specific date. This fee secures your wedding date and time. Please contact us for current information.

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!

About the Mission:

Welcome to the Carmel Mission Basilica and the Shrine of Saint Junipero Serra, the Founding Father of California! Today the Mission is an active Catholic Parish, museum, and school, and it is at the center of one of the most historic and beautiful Pacific coast communities in State. This historic site has the great designation of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is both a National and State Historic Landmark.

 

Brife History: Foundation and Early Spanish Era 1770 – 1797

Fray Junípero Serra originally established Misión de San Carlos del Puerto de Monte-Rey on the south shore of Monterey Bay on June 3, 1770, as ordered by the Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico).  But San Junípero immediately recognized the advantages of the Carmel River site and petitioned for the Mission’s relocation in a letter dated June 12, 1770 – less than two weeks after his arrival at Monterey aboard a packet ship, the San Antonio. San Junípero had discovered that the nearest Indian village was located five miles to the south, near the mouth of the Carmel River, and that the overland expedition under Captain Gaspar de Portolá had camped there – finding the water and pasturage to be far superior to Monterey.

 

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