Why get married in church?
Click
here for a
wedding booking (and banns) form.
A
marriage service, wherever it is held, is a
public declaration of love and commitment to
your partner.
If you choose
to get married in a Church of England church,
there is an added dimension - the assurance that
God cares about your relationship and that his
resources and strength are available to help
you. Including God in your marriage doesn’t mean
that you will avoid all the usual ups and downs,
but you will know that you can look to God for
help and guidance, and that his love will
sustain you. You will also have the support and
encouragement of the wider Christian Church
family.
Marriage, the
Bible tells us, is a gift of God in creation and
a means of his grace, a holy mystery in which
man and woman become one flesh. It is God's
purpose that, as husband and wife give
themselves to each other in love throughout
their lives, they are united in that love, just
as Christ is united in love with his Church.
Having decided
you want a church wedding, the first thing to do
is to talk to your vicar, Duncan Ballard. As the
established church, the Church of England gives
everyone, with no former partner still living,
the right to get married in their or their
partner's parish church. Speak to Duncan directly
by calling in at church or at the vicarage, or phone to make an appointment.
St. Mark's is
a lovely church in which to get married. It can
comfortably seat up to 80 guests yet is small
enough for intimate, family occasions.
Downstairs there is a church hall and toilet
facilities, whilst to the front of the building
is a large, well kept lawn with beautiful flower
beds, perfect for photographs and perhaps an
outdoor wedding reception!
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If you've chosen a church wedding, we would love to help you
create a service which is meaningful and personal to you. Click
here for our guide to
music and readings for your special day.
Further information and guidance on the
marriage service itself is available here.
A guide to the costs of getting married can be found
here.
Thinking about a church wedding?
Read our
frequently asked questions to find out more:
Q/
What do Christians believe about marriage?
A/ Christians
believe that marriage is a gift from God. In the marriage
ceremony, a couple make a public declaration of lifelong
commitment to love each other, come what may.
More...
Q/
Where can I get married?
A/
Everyone lives in a parish and belongs to a parish church.
That’s the church you should contact for more information about
getting married. In your case, that's probably St. Mark's,
although we have an arrangement with the churches on this side
of the city that allows you to be married in St. Mark's, St.
Martin's London Road, St. Philip and St. James Whittington or
St. Matthews and Holy trinity Ronkswood regardless of which of
the four parishes you actually live in.
Q/ I’m
not baptised. I don’t go to church. Can I still get married in
church?
A/ Yes! If
you live in the parish of the church you want to marry in.
Q/ How
do I book the church?
A/ Get in
touch with Duncan.
He will
almost certainly wish to meet with you in person to discuss your plans.
Q/
What if I want to be married in a different church?
A/ If
you are a regular worshipper in that church, it is
usually possible to be married there. Just speak to your
minister.
If you are not a regular worshipper
why not start attending? You will normally be expected to
attend services for some time before becoming eligible to be
married there.
If you
have a special connection with the church, you can apply for a
Special Licence. To
apply or find out more contact
The Faculty Office,
1 The Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3JT tel: 020 7222
5381
Q/
We’ve decided to get married abroad but we would like a church
blessing. Is that possible?
A/ There is no
reason why you shouldn’t do this.
There is a service of prayer and dedication after a civil
ceremony and this can be adapted. There are no legal
requirements.
Q/ I’m
divorced. Can I still get married in church?
The Church of
England believes that marriage is for life. But it recognises
that sadly, some marriages do fail. In some
circumstances, the Church accepts that a divorced person may
marry again.
Speak to
Duncan, your
parish priest. He will want to talk to you frankly about
your past and your hopes for the future.
Marriage in church after divorce,
is available or can be ordered from
Church House Bookshop,
tel: 020 7898 1300
Q/ I’m
Church of England and he’s a Catholic. Does that matter?
A/ People of
all denominations have a right to be married in their parish
church. So it
doesn’t matter from the Church of England’s perspective.
More...
Q/Why
do we need marriage preparation?
You have
probably invested a lot of time planning your wedding. The day
is important but your marriage should last for the rest of your
life. However much you think you know each other, you are still
two separate individuals with different backgrounds,
personalities, experiences, hopes and fears. The Worcester South
East team
offers an opportunity to talk through these issues, sometimes on
your own, and sometimes as
a group with other couples. This day course usually takes
place sometime in March or April.
Q/
What are the legal requirements?
A/ The
normal preliminary to getting married in the Church of England
is by
banns.
If you are
under the age of eighteen, you must have your parents’ consent
to marry.
There are
circumstances where some form of licence, such as a common
licence or special licence, is more appropriate. If this is
appropriate, Duncan will discuss with you what you need to do.
There are
special guidelines on church marriage if you have been divorced
(See question above).
Q/ How much will it cost?
A/ The legal fees for a marriage cover the publication of the
banns, the marriage service and a certificate of marriage. These
fees are fixed centrally and can be found
here.
These fees do
not cover any extras you may wish to have for the service, such
as a choir, organist, special lighting, fees for
video recording and so on, although at St. Marks they do include
two large arrangements of flowers, one at the altar and one by
the pulpit in your choice of colours provided you get in
contact soon enough.
Q/ Can
we be involved in planning the service?
A/ Yes.
You can choose to have a
modern language service
or one in
more traditional language
including the Book of Common Prayer service.
For some
ideas about hymns and readings,
click here.
More…
Q/ Should we have one or two rings?
A/ A wedding ring is a symbol of unending love and faithfulness,
and of the commitment you are making to each other. It is
entirely up to you whether you have one ring or two.
Q/ Can
I marry in any other colour than white?
A/ Yes
Q/ Can we have a video recording of the service?
A/ You will need to ask permission from the Church and there
will be a small fee as we need to pay for a performing rights
certificate to cover copyright. Speak to Duncan about this.
Q/ Do you have rehearsals?
A/ The
minister taking your service will probably want to meet you and
the other people taking part in the service before the wedding,
in the church, to talk to you all about what to expect.
Q/
What about flowers in church?
A/ St. Marks can
provide these for you at a reasonable charge and the
flower arranger will be happy to discuss what you want. Two
arrangements are included in the fees. You can
also do your own or engage your own florist.
Q/ May
we marry on a Sunday?
A /Although
you have the right to get married in a church, the time of the
service is decided by negotiation with your minister. It must be
between 8am and 6pm and not clash with other services. Therefore
you could get married on a Sunday provided it was not at a time
of the normal Sunday services and the minister was willing to do
it. There may be an extra fee if a cover minister has to take
the wedding.
Q/What
happens if one of us lives abroad?
A/ Marriage by
Common Licence can take place on the basis of one of the couple
living in the parish or regularly attending the church without
any action being necessary where the other party lives. Your
vicar will know how to apply for a Common Licence. However, because most clergy or
churches like to offer marriage preparation, we would like to see
you both.
Q/
What happens if one of us is a foreign national?
A/ If one
is a national of a country outside Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa, the EU or USA The Church has a
responsibility to conduct marriages which will be recognised in
the country the bride or groom comes from. This is done for the
couple’s benefit not just for bureaucracy. Therefore, the
Faculty Office strongly recommends that these marriages should
be done by Common Licence rather than banns and some dioceses
ask the person to obtain from the relevant embassy or consulate
a letter saying their marriage will be recognised. There are
now stricter rules applied by the Civil registry office to
prevent ‘sham’ marriages.
More...
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