Weddings & Blessings
Planning a wedding or blessing?
Congratulations!
We are here to help you prepare for your big day, but we are also there afterwards to support you throughout all the big moments in life.
Our churches are special places where many couples have exchanged vows and asked for God’s blessing on them.
There are many options whether it is the legal marriage service, a blessing after civil marriage, or prayers of thanksgiving.
How to arrange a ceremony?
To arrange a blessing, thanksgiving, or renewal of vows, get in contact to discuss your plans, we would love to hear from you.
To plan a legal wedding ceremony, follow these steps:
Step 1 - check what your local parish is here >
Step 2 – Check the legal requirements >
Step 3 – get in contact to discuss your plans, we would love to hear from you.
Step 4 – Start planning the ceremony with the Vicar! This guide can help you with some of the decisions: Your Church Wedding >
FAQs
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We affirm and celebrate gay and queer relationships in our churches. You are welcome here! We offer prayers of thanksgiving and celebration. Please get in touch to arrange this.
Sadly, the Church of England does not yet allow us to legally perform same sex marriages, we continue to advocate for this to change. Gay couples will need to legally register their marriage at the registry office first, followed by a ceremony of prayer and thanksgiving in the church.
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People who have been married before can get married in our churches. There are some different procedures when one or both of you have been married before, but we are very happy to walk you through this. Just get in contact with us to discuss this.
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Banns are an announcement of your intention to marry and a chance for anyone to put forward a reason why the marriage may not lawfully take place. Banns are an ancient legal tradition and have been read out every week in churches across the land for millions of couples, over many centuries. Banns need to be read in the parish where each of you lives as well as the church in which you are to be married, if that is somewhere else. They need to be read out in church for three Sundays during the three months before the wedding.
If there is not enough notice given for the banns to be read before the marriage is due to take place, or if one or both of you are British but do not live in England (or Wales), the Common Licence procedure needs to be used rather than banns.
If one or both of you is a national of a country which is outside the European Economic Area, you will require a Superintendent Registrar’s Certificate to marry, rather than have banns read.