Welcome to Long Tower!
Congratulations on the decision to make your love a sacrament. Marriage is a gift from God. We will do our best to help you prepare for your wedding and for your married life together. To arrange a pre-marriage course please contact: Pastoral Centre, 164 Bishop Street, Derry. Tel: 71362475. www.accord.ie

Church Requirements Please make contact with one of the priests of the parish in which you LIVE so that Pre-Nuptial Enquiry Forms can be completed and the relevant pre-marriage preparation arranged. Please note that the priest of the bride's parish has the responsibility of preparing the couple for marriage. Request a Baptismal Certificate and if necessary a Confirmation certificate from the parish in which you were Baptised/Confirmed. This certificate cannot be more than six months old at the time of marriage. Confirm the arrangements with the priest who is officiating at the wedding. If he is from another diocese or from a religious order, you must forward details of his name, address and telephone number to the parish secretary, so that he can be registered as a temporary officiate in the Derry Diocese.

Civil Requirements
Collect a Marriage Notice Application Form from the Registrar of Birth, Deaths and Marriages in the Guildhall. This can be obtained at ally time from one year to 14 days prior to the wedding. At least 14 days notice must be given. Notice for all marriages must be given in the twelve-month period prior to the date of the marriage.
The minimum period is fourteen days before the date of the proposed marriage, but if you leave things as late as this you could be faced with the need to postpone your wedding.
Complete and ask the officiating priest to sign the Marriage Notice Application Form. Return the duly completed form to the Registrar. When the Registrar is satisfied there is no legal impediment to the marriage, a Marriage Schedule will be prepared from the information, which the parties have supplied. The Schedule is a most important document - no marriage can proceed without it.
* Leave your Marriage Schedule in the Long Tower Parochial House at least 2 days prior to the wedding.
It is important to stress that compliance with these regulations is the sole responsibility of the couple not the priest. If these civil requirements are not met NO WEDDING CAN TAKE PLACE. We would advise you therefore to make contact with your local Registrar's Office and they will instruct you on the necessary procedures.
Wedding Rehearsals
Rehearsals usually take place 2 to 3 days prior to the wedding at a time that is mutually agreeable between the couple, the priest and the church. The wedding rehearsal can be booked by telephoning the Parochial House and usually takes place immediately before (i.e. 6pm) or directly after (Le. 8pm) evening Mass on a weekday.
Photographs
Most wedding photographers and videographers are professional, reverent and discreet. We simply ask that they refrain from using extra lights or delaying the arrival of the bride, and they limit their movements during the Mass.
Flowers
Long Tower Church is very ornate and does not require flowers to make it beautiful; therefore we encourage simplicity in floral arrangements. If you wish to have some flowers you may contact our parish flower arranger, Patricia McCormack (71354606). She will advise and give details of the cost. NO flowers during Advent or Lent.  This is a tradition, which has long been established to preserve the austerity of these two seasons. We wish to continue this tradition.
Music
Religious music only, i.e. HYMNS NOT SONGS. The social reception later in the day provides ample opportunity to sing secular and romantic songs. Instrumental music in the church must also be religious. Please communicate this to your musicians.
Money
Weddings do not have to be expensive but most couples spend considerable sums of money for their wedding day. The Church always recommends simplicity rather than extravagance in the material aspects of the wedding. We would invite you, however, to consider making a few donations: the church itself, the sacristan and the altar servers.
Care for the church
Please note that the following items me not permitted in the church or its grounds:
CIGARETTES, CHEWING GUM OR CONFETTI. When issuing invitations we encourage you to draw the attention of your guests to these guidelines. Mobile phones must be switched OFF in the church.
God loves YOU!
Finally, we celebrate your love for each other. We very much encourage you to pray together daily and attend Mass every Sunday. This will be the sustenance of your engagement and your marriage. We wish you God's choicest blessings all the days of your life.