Weddings & Blessings

Planning on getting married?

Congratulations! Our churches have been special places for many couples who have exchanged vows. We can also offer blessings and prayer services for couples who have had a civil ceremony elsewhere or a renewal of vows.

A wedding or blessing can be one of life’s great moments, a time of solemn commitment, celebration and joy. During the service we pray for God’s blessing on you in good times and in bad and commit to praying and encouraging you in the days and years ahead.

Firstly, get in contact to discuss your plans, we would love to hear from you.
This website can help you plan your church wedding: Your Church Wedding >
There are certain things that must happen in a church wedding to ensure the marriage complies with UK civil and church law. You can find out about this here: legal requirements >
To find out whether you live in our parish then enter your address here: achurchnearyou.com >

FAQs

We already live together and/or have children – is this a problem?

No, this is not a problem, we celebrate all healthy relationships and would love to perform your wedding.

What are ‘banns’ and do we need them?

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.

We are a gay couple – can we get married in your church?

Sadly, the Church of England is not yet legally allowed to perform gay marriages. We want people of all sexualities and genders to be welcome in our churches in Benwell & Scotswood so we offer services of prayer and celebration. Just like any couple, begin by contacting one of the clergy to discuss your plans.

I am divorced, can I get married in your church?

Yes, this is possible. 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.

We don’t live in your parish – can we still get married in your church?

Yes, this is possible. We operate as part of a parish system, which means you can legally get married in a parish church where you meet one of the following criteria:

1. One or both of you live in the parish. To find out what parish you live in then enter your address here: achurchnearyou.com >

2. One or both of you is a member of the parish electoral roll. To join the electoral roll you have to worship regularly in that parish church for at least 6 months (as we are a team parish, that can be any of our 4 churches).

3. One or both of you has something called a ‘qualifying connection’. This means, at any point, yourself, a parent, grandparent, or godparent has:

lived in the parish for at least 6 months;
or has attended worship in the parish for at least 6 months;
or was baptised, confirmed, or married in the parish.

We will do our best to find that connection and help you through the bureaucracy. Everyone in the UK lives in a parish, so if there is no connection with us then there will be with another church and we'll help you identify which church it is.