"Civilly Married Couples" (an article on their status in the Church and what could be done about it, if needed)

[mdgspencer]

see forcatholichusbandsandwives.blogspot.com/2010/02/civilly-married-couples.html

 

[runningdude]

Mostly good advice; one correction:
For Catholic Husbands and Wives:

If a couple of civilly married, baptized non-Catholics were to become Catholic, then their status would depend on whether their former community recognized the validity of civil marriage or not. If their civil marriage was recognized as valid, then, in the eyes of God and the Church, that marriage would also be sacramental. This is because the Church considers that all valid marriages between baptized persons are automatically sacramental even in those cases where the particular religious community does not number matrimony among the sacraments.

Protestants have no obligation to seek a religious wedding. Their churches cannot bind them to follow any marriage rule beyond the civil requirements for marriage.

Besides the Catholic Church, only Orthodox Churches can bind their members to church law regarding marriage. When an Orthodox individual wishes to marry a Catholic, he must generally seek a dispensation from the Orthodox bishop. However, if the Orthodox bishop refuses, the Catholic Church could unilaterally give a dispensation to allow a valid wedding to occur.