Starting a wedding (matrimony) case

A wedding case guides a couple's preparation from the first meeting to the rehearsal, with the prep steps and canonical paperwork laid out.

Open the case

• 1. In Matrimony, create a couple. For each party, link a parishioner record or type their name (Vianney never guesses identity).
• 2. Set the wedding date if you have one — it is optional at this point, and the prep steps re-date themselves when you fill it in later.
• 3. Once the case is open, set each party's religion on the case itself: Catholic, Baptized Christian, not Catholic, Not baptized, or Unknown. This is what drives the canon-law advisories.
• 3. In a multi-site parish, choose the church.

Preparation steps

The case clones your parish's prep template — initial meeting, FOCCUS inventory and review, a preparation program, canonical paperwork and dispensations, liturgy planning, and rehearsal — each with a target date counted back from the wedding. Tick steps as they are completed.

Tips

• Change the wedding date and Vianney recomputes the target dates for steps not yet done.
• Edit the steps under Matrimony → Prep template to match how your parish actually prepares couples. Those defaults clone into each new couple as its case opens; changing them never rewrites a couple already in preparation.
• Religion choices drive the canon-law advisories — see Marriage dispensations and canon law.