CONGRATULATIONS!
You have become engaged and your hearts are fluttering! You've decided to plan your wedding and you are caught up in love for each other and are looking forward to your future life together. Getting married is the most important commitment you will ever make and if you marry in a Christian church, your vows will be made before God and in the presence of witnesses. Maybe you feel that you would like to be married in church but consider that you don't have any real belief and trust in God, so you are unsure how to ask the question as to whether you can be married in church? Please don't let that stop you asking the question!
Whether you have 2 years or 2 months to prepare for the "Big Day", we will guide you through your preparations for this day and help you with some of the necessary decisions and choices you will need to make
The Church of England gives people who do not have a former marriage partner still living, the right to be married at the Parish Church in England where one or other of the parties to the marriage live. Since October 2004 there are also various "qualifying connections" by which it is possible for couples to be married in Parish Churches where they do not necessarily live. These can be found on the webpage http://www.yourchurchwedding.org
If both of you are UK citizens you will normally require only the formality of the reading of the banns of marriage to complete the legal requirements before your wedding day. However if one or both parties to the marriage are not UK citizens than it will be necessary to apply for a Common/Bishop's Licence. Although we would want to encourage you to get involved in the life of the church where you are to be married, there is no obligation to attend church regularly, or indeed for either or both parties to have been baptised .
if either of you has been married before and has a previous marriage partner who is still alive, then it is important to mention this when contacting us, as there is a different process that must be followed to determine the appropriateness of offering you a Wedding Service in Church.
However, it is generally possible to offer people who have been divorced a Service of Prayer and Dedication in Church after Civil Marriage in a Register Office, so that you can still commit yourselves in prayer to one another. So please do ask if you want to consider being married in church and one or other or both of you has been divorced.
Marriage in church must take place between 8am and 6pm, and may do so on any day of the week by mutual agreement. We don't usually offer weddings on a Sunday. As well as the Church of England's own website http://www.yourchurchwedding.org, there are many useful websites to refer to as far as all the planning is concerned. From cakes to honeymoons there is no shortage of advice but once you have planned and arranged where the wedding is to be, everything else will quickly slot in, we are sure. If you need help with flowers in church, we can assist you. Or maybe you need to discuss where to park the cars of guests who come to your wedding? We can and will help you with these questions and more!