This July 19th, John and Lauren will be joined in the sacrament of matrimony at Saint Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Crystal Lake. This choice was obvious to us since both of our families are Catholic and this is our parish.
While the Church itself recommends engaged couples to set a meeting up with the priest of your choice at LEAST 6 months before the wedding date, John and Lauren did this right after we got engaged (December).
Our officiant is going to be Monsignor Dan Hermes, a priest who has been with our parish since 2001. He is a kind man who loves God, and has been a wonderful person with guiding us towards the faith as we prepare to marry. During our first meeting, we talked about ourselves and took the FOCCUS pre-marriage inventory that asked us crucial questions about each other. For those who are wondering what subjects are covered, we are not going to tell! It is a fun process, but most importantly it makes you think about things in your relationship beyond the big day, which is the rest of your life together. We were truly blessed by this experience and we became even more excited about getting married for life.
As a part of our preparation, we were recommended to attend two classes. One was the Gift of Self seminar which was held at St. Thomas, and another was the Engaged Encounter class we took over a two-day course. Both of these classes brought us closer together and we are even more thrilled for our marriage.
St. Thomas is a beautiful church. Lauren has been there ever since she was born! She received the sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist, Confirmation, and now Matrimony. Every time we go to Mass each Sunday, we smile at each other knowing that this is going to be the place where we become one.
How great is that?
For those who are considering having a Catholic ceremony, we advise you to give your full trust and do it! We kept our hearts and our minds open to this whole experience and we are firm believers that this was what was meant for us!
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