A church wedding is always special. Not only do our buildings provide a beautiful setting for your big day, but the Church of England marriage service recognises the deep significance of the event taking places, connects couples with the rich traditions of marriage and offers prayers and a blessing for each couple as they begin their married life together. We believe that a church marriage is different because God is invited to be part of the proceedings!
We offer those getting married in our churches a personal service. By the time you get married you will know the priest taking your service and he/she will know you.
If you would like to consider getting married, we'll meet with you to check you meet the legal requirements, book the church and date and answer any questions you have. Then, in January we gather all our wedding couples together for 4 sessions of marriage prep, during which we cover the legal formalities, help you plan your service and look through the marriage service itself to teae out some of the lessons it teaches about building a successful marriage. We then read your banns during the 3 months before the service, offer you a rehearsal the week before the wedding and then marry you on your wedding day, sending you away with a marriage certificate and our best wishes. We love to keep in touch with those we have married and its always a joy when couples return for a Sunday service or maybe even a Christening!
Legally, to marry in one of our churches you need to satisfy one of the following criteria:
- You live in the parish
- You have a sometime lived in the parish for more than six months
- Your parents have lived in the parish for more than six months during your lifetime
- You were Christened or Confirmed in the parish
- Your parents or grandparents were married in the parish
- You attend church for 6 months
To find out more about a Church of England wedding please see here