Congratulations on your engagement! Your wedding day will be a very special day for you, and we want to help you prepare for it as well as we can. We also want to help you prepare not just for the special day, but for your entire married life together. Marriage is a sacrament in the Catholic Church. It is not only a very special moment for the two of you; it is also a sacred event for all of us.
Contact the pastor six months in advance of the planned wedding date. You may contact him at [email protected] or 479-754-3610. This will give the couple sufficient time to complete the marriage preparation program at Holy Redeemer.

1. Complete the Prenuptial Questionnaire.
2. If you are a Catholic, supply a baptismal certificate that has been issued within the past six months. You should contact the pastor of the church where you were baptized and request that he send to Holy Redeemer a copy of the baptismal certificate. The pastor will know what to do.
3. If you are not Catholic, arrange for your parents (or another reliable witness) to complete the Testimony of Freedom to Marry form, which will be supplied by the pastor.
4. Complete the FOCCUS and returning to discuss the results of the FOCCUS with the pastor or counselor.
5. Complete a Natural Family Planning class. The pastor will supply you with information concerning this. The NFP must be completed prior to the wedding date. All couples of child bearing age are required to complete this course. It can be completed online. You can find more information by clicking on the link "Natural Family Planning" which is to your left.
6. Attending a one-day Pre Cana conference. The dates and places for this will be provided by the pastor. This must also be completed prior to the wedding date.
7. Planning the marriage ceremony with the help of the marriage manual Marriage is For Keeps.

Inter-Faith Marriage: If one of the parties is not a Catholic, they will be required to complete a brief course of instruction about the Catholic faith. The Catholic party will be required to sign the following Declaration and Promise: “I reaffirm my faith in Jesus Christ, and with God’s help, intend to continue living that faith in the Catholic Church. I promise to do all in my power to share the faith I have received with our children by having them baptized and reared as Catholics.” The non-Catholic party is to be informed of this requirement so that it is certain he/she is aware of the promise and obligation on the part of the Catholic party.