Dear Friends,

The community of Christ the King would like to congratulate you on your engagement and upcoming marriage. We are glad that you have chosen to celebrate your marriage in the church. We deeply believe that your love for one another is a beautiful gift from God and that it is given to you not only to build and strengthen each other but also to enrich the whole Body of Christ. Your love for one another will not only influence the two of you but hopefully will mirror the love that the Lord has for all of us. This is why we believe that marriage is a sacrament.


We also know that these can be hectic times for you as you prepare not only for your wedding celebration but also the quality of the relationship you will share for life. Sometimes, immediate concerns can override the deeper and more important elements of engagement – namely, the hard work and communication necessary to prepare for your day-to-day commitment. When all is said and done, when the wedding day and honeymoon are over, what you have is the quality and depth of your relationship. You both have made a commitment to one another that you will work to prepare yourself for marriage. The most important preparation you can undertake is to develop your relationship with one another and with the Lord. One of the ways to do that is to share together as much as possible in the preparation. The way that each of you makes decisions can greatly increase your knowledge of each other.


We have put together some information and guidelines that we feel will help you prepare for your ceremony here at the Cathedral. We hope these are helpful to you and will answer many of the questions you may have regarding your service.



RESERVING THE CATHEDRAL 
Since the Cathedral of Christ the King has over 40 weddings annually, it is required to email the wedding and events coordinator at least six months in advance of your preferred date when reserving the church.  Inquiries should be made to [email protected] Wedding times are at 11 AM, 2 PM, or 7 PM on Saturdays, but can also be scheduled on the half hour, if preferred. Rehearsal times are at 6:15 or 7:15 on the previous evening and generally last for 45 minutes.



FEES
Two fee structures exist: parishioner and non-parishioner. For rates, contact the wedding coordinator at [email protected] A deposit of one half of the facilities fee is required to book your date and can be remitted to:

CTK
attn: Weddings
299 Colony Blvd
Lexington, KY 40502


Please make all checks payable to Christ the King.  The balance of the facilities fee will be due 6 weeks before your rehearsal, but can be paid anytime up until that date.  Please note that this fee does not include the customary monetary gift for your officiant. If you wish to give the priest a donation, please do so at the rehearsal.



CONTACTING YOUR PRIEST OR DEACON
The first step is for the couple to contact the priest or deacon who will preside at the wedding liturgy. This should also take place at least six months prior to the wedding. He will be able to walk you through the preparation process and answer many of your questions. We are more than glad to celebrate with you, however, priests and deacons from other parishes other than the Cathedral clergy are welcome to officiate here. If you choose someone other than one of our clergy, he is to call the Cathedral office to confirm the date and time of your wedding and rehearsal. He will be responsible for your marriage preparation and all of your paperwork. If they are from outside of our Diocese a letter of suitability is required and is the responsibility of the officiant. 



MARRIAGE PREPARATION 
Each couple is required to participate in a marriage preparation program. The priest or deacon preparing you for marriage will explain the programs to you. You may also refer to the diocesan website. Sometimes there may be a need to attend a program in another diocese. The priest or deacon who will preside at your wedding can answer questions regarding this circumstance. Since marriage is a lifetime commitment, we would also encourage you to take advantage of marriage enrichment programs after your marriage. 



CATHEDRAL WEDDING COORDINATOR 
The Cathedral of Christ the King will provide a wedding coordinator for both your rehearsal and ceremony. Their purpose is to prepare the sanctuary for your service, act as sacristan if necessary, direct traffic of people in the church (both vendors and guests) and coordinate the procession and recession of the bridal party. They will meet with you once, to go over the details of your service, and touch base with you a few days before your ceremony for final details. 



MUSIC
Music/musicians are the responsibility of the bride and groom. Weddings are a time of prayer, so the music must be liturgically appropriate and approved. In general, if vocal music is to be sung, the text should be from scripture, a Hymnal, or other suitably sacred verse. Secular, pop, or other songs are more appropriately used at the reception.

The Cathedral Assistant Director of Music, Gabrielle Manion, is here to assist you in this important aspect of your ceremony and will approve all selections. As the Cathedral Organist, she is the most appropriate choice as an accompanist for your wedding. She will also assist you in hiring additional musicians, if desired. Again, as the Cathedral has many weddings during the year, you should contact Gabrielle at least six months in advance. She can be reached at [email protected] The fee for Gabrielle’s services is $250, which includes 30 minutes of prelude music before your ceremony. Should she not be available for your ceremony, she will assist you in acquiring another organist/pianist. If you choose to use musicians other than Gabrielle or her assigned substitute, both they and the music chosen must be approved by Gabrielle and a $50 consultation fee will be required. 

A Cathedral Cantor is required for a wedding mass with communion  and Gabrielle will assist you in hiring a suitable person. The cantors at Christ the King are available for $150. All fees are to be made payable to each musician and must be received at least one week prior to the wedding. 

Music selections and the order of service can be found here.

VENDORS
All vendors must be able to take the direction of the Cathedral Wedding Coordinator. Vendors will be allowed on the premises beginning two hours before your service, both for decor and photography. Photographers/videographers should check in with the Cathedral Wedding Coordinator upon arrival, to go over CTK rules and order of the ceremony. Included in the facilities fee is the use of the brides and grooms rooms in the Parish Life Center for dressing or assembling before the ceremony. These rooms will also be available two hours before the wedding for your use. Please remember to take care of this area, since other groups use it too, and leave it in the same condition you found it in.  



DECOR
A florist is the responsibility of the bride and groom. As mentioned in the vendor section, they are not to arrive at the church until two hours before your service and must return within one hour of the service ending to collect anything left behind by the couple. They will be responsible for any cleanup having to do with flowers or decor they placed prior to the wedding. If they leave any mess that has to be cleaned up by Cathedral personnel, a $50 extraordinary clean up fee will be charged to the bride and groom.  

Flowers used for weddings must be real flowers. No silk or plastic arrangements will be allowed. If you use flower petals down the aisle in the church during the procession, you must provide an aisle cloth, if real petals are to be utilized (In this case only, silk petals are allowed).  This is generally handled by your florist. A 75 foot aisle cloth is the length required. You will also be responsible for picking up said petals after the ceremony. Flower arrangements in front of the altar should not exceed 4 feet in height and may not obstruct the altar or tabernacle in any way. The church asks that you donate at least one arrangement for mass the next day, if possible.  No tape or anything with a sticky residue will be allowed on the pews or altar rails to secure flowers or pew bows. No birdseed, rice, or flower petals will be thrown in front of the church.  If candles are to be used, including unity candles, they must be provided by the couple and the dripless type. CTK has two different types of unity candle stands for your use however, and this can be arranged with the Cathedral Wedding Coordinator.  CTK also provides the white wedding banners that hang over the altar, available for your use for a fee of $100, made payable to Christ the King and due by rehearsal. Please notate wedding banners and the date of your service on the memo line if paying by check. This should also be scheduled with the Cathedral Wedding Coordinator. Other decor available through CTK will be discussed when you meet with our coordinator.