Weddings - FAQ

Having decided you want a church wedding, the first thing to do is to come along to church, either to our main Sunday service at 10.45 am or our Families@4 services (4pm, every 4th Sunday of the month), to book your wedding. After the service, please approach the minister leading the service and ask them to point you in the direction of the Parish Clerk, who is responsible for filling out wedding booking forms. If your circumstances make attendance difficult, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone to discuss a mutually convenient time to meet.

Once your booking form has been completed, we ask for a £50 non-refundable deposit to secure your wedding date and time.

When you have booked your wedding, the minister taking the ceremony will arrange to meet with you to make more detailed plans. Decisions on matters such as a Bible reading, hymns, and other music are usually made at this meeting.

Prior to your wedding, we will invite you to attend a marriage preparation day. This includes reflecting as a couple on the key features of a lifelong relationship such as good communication, resolving differences, financial management, and so on. We also devote some time to looking at the spiritual aspects of marriage and the content of the service. This course usually takes place during February.

The normal preliminary to getting married in the Church of England is by Banns. 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. There is a small fee for publishing the Banns. Banns must be read out in church for three Sundays during the three months before the wedding. This is often done over three consecutive Sundays but does not have to be.

If you do not live in the Parish of Haughton and want to marry at St Andrew's, the banns must also be read in the parish where each of you lives, as well as at St Andrew's. To find your parish church, visit http://www.achurchnearyou.com/.

The Parish of Haughton le Skerne covers Haughton Green, Whinfield, Springfield, and Red Hall. Those not living in the parish but with a connection to St Andrew's Church may also be allowed to marry here. Acceptable connections include:

• Having lived in the parish for at least six months
• Being baptised in the parish
• Being prepared for confirmation in the parish
• Regularly attending normal church services in the parish for at least six months

Parents' or grandparents' connections to the parish, such as being married there, may also qualify you.

Special guidelines apply if you have been divorced. If under 18, you must have your parents' consent to marry.

The service consists of prayers, readings, hymns, and songs. The minister will say a few words about the meaning of Christian marriage. The promises made by the bride and groom include:

'...from this day forward;
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death us do part.'

The marriage is registered during the service, usually at a table near the High Altar. We pray with God's help that these promises will be kept and that your marriage will be both life-giving and life-long.

The wedding fee covers legal and administrative aspects of a marriage by Banns, the use of the church building, and personnel. An additional charge applies for video recording, covering copyright for hymns and readings.

For current wedding fees, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The marriage service states marriage is for life. However, St Andrew's wishes to care for those who have tried and failed but honestly want to try again. Please speak to the Rector if you are divorced and wish to marry at St Andrew's.

We can help with planning the content of the service. Other pages on readings, music, and the Order of Service on our website can help with your thinking.