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Weddings

A church wedding is a great way for a couple to express their life-long commitment to each other. We will do our best to make your wedding a wonderful, spiritual, experience for you and your family and friends. You are able to get married in two beautiful church buildings, either All Saints, or St Catherine’s.

To book a wedding with us, please contact the Parish Office. They will arrange for you to meet with a member of clergy to go through some of the different options and set a date. To reserve a particular date we ask for a deposit of £50.

We will also ask you to attend a marriage preparation morning. This will enable you to meet other couples who are preparing to get married, will explore what makes for a strong and lasting marriage, and will give you an opportunity to plan some of the details of your wedding service.

We look forward to hearing from you, but in the meantime here are the answers to some common questions:

Who can get married at All Saints or St Catherine’s?
If neither of you has been married before and at least one of you lives in the parish or meets one of the other ‘qualifying connections’ then we will be able to take your booking.  If you are unsure whether you live in the parish please check by visiting ‘A Church Near You’ and clicking ‘find us’.

If you don’t currently live in the parish, and you’re not already on our Electoral Roll (membership list), then you can still get married with us if you can show:

That one of you:
•    has at any time lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or
•    was baptised in the parish concerned or
•    was prepared for confirmation in the parish or
•    has at any time regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months or
That one of your parents, at any time after you were born:
•    has lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or
•    has regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months or
That one of your parents or grandparents:
•    was married in the parish

If none of these things are the case, don’t worry! You can still get married with us, but you’ll need to attend our services for a period of 6 months (so you can go on our Electoral Roll). We will usually take a provision booking once you have attended for about 3 months. We ask you to normally attend at least twice a month.

Do you remarry divorcees?
We are happy to talk to you about the possibility of remarrying in church, but we will ask you to worship with us so we can get to know you before we discuss this further. We will want to discuss with you what is different about this new marriage, and lessons learned from your previous marriage.

What are banns?
Banns are the legal method by which we acquire the license to perform your wedding. Banns have to be read here at All Saints or St Catherine’s, and if one of you lives in another parish in that parish as well. It is your responsibility to arrange to have your banns read in the other parish. It is worth contacting them well ahead of your wedding date to ensure that they are read. The other parish will also need to charge you, for providing a certificate to prove that the banns have been read. We encourage you to come along to the service here at All Saints to hear the reading of your banns.

To find out which parish you live in, please visit A Church Near You, which includes a postcode finder (the link will open in a new window).

The service
We normally conduct weddings on a Saturday, when the wedding times are 10:30am, 1pm and 3:30pm. We understand the difficulties in booking receptions, etc so try to be flexible on dates. You are asked to choose up to three hymns to be sung during the service. We will also talk to you about music as part of our wedding preparation sessions and will provide you with a list of frequently requested hymns. Except during Lent and Advent there will be some flowers in church, but you are welcome to provide additional flowers. Further details will be given at the wedding.

What is the cost?
The amount you will pay varies a bit depending on exactly what you choose. For All Saints and St Catherine’s in 2017, the minimum is £456, with extras to pay depending on whether you need heating, and want the organ played or bells rung. The charges will be explained in more detail at your first appointment.

Do you do wedding blessings?
We are very happy to carry out wedding blessings, where the couple repeat their wedding vows. Increasingly, people choose to get married abroad, and a wedding blessing is a good way of allowing friends and family to celebrate the wedding, once the couple have returned from their honeymoon. Wedding blessings are also a good way of celebrating significant anniversaries. Again, please contact the Parish Office to find out more details.

How can I find out more information?
Please visit the Church of England’s wedding website

Or fill out this enquiry form to find out more.