He gives Juliet a potion will make her seem to be dead on the wedding day.
to help marry him and Juliet
Juliet asked Friar Laurence to help her avoid marrying Paris by giving her a plan to fake her death so she could be with Romeo instead.
Romeo asks friar Laurence to marry him and Juliet in secret
The Friar knows that Juliet is already married. He doesn't want to have to refuse to marry her to Paris in a public way. His plan not only helps Juliet, it also gets him off the hook.
Yes, he's making arrangements for their wedding.
When Juliet arrives at Friar Laurence's cell, it is Paris who is speaking with the Friar. Paris is there to discuss marrying Juliet, but Friar Laurence is aware of her secret marriage to Romeo. This sets up the conflict that will lead to the tragic events of the play.
Act 4 is all about the planned wedding between Juliet and Paris, how Juliet first objects, then consults the friar, then agrees to the wedding, then takes the potion the friar gave her and is found and taken for dead on the morning she was to have married Paris.__________________________________________________________________A quick overview in bullet points:Juliet encounters Paris at Friar Laurence's cellFriar Laurence and Juliet hatch a planJuliet consents to marry ParisJuliet feigns her own death
To reconcile their families.
The actual ceremony is not depicted, but in Act 2, Scene 6 we see Friar Laurence lead Romeo and Juliet away to be married.
The nurse instructs Juliet to go to Friar Laurence's cell to be married to Romeo secretly. She will then go to Romeo's house where they will consummate their marriage and plan for their future.
She would rather marry Romeo than Paris...
Friar Laurence gives Juliet a potion at the opening of Act 4. It is the only way she can avoid being bigamously married to Paris. It is not a poison, however, just a Mickey Finn designed to knock her out for a couple of days.