The Church of England, along with the Church in Wales, and several other churches around the world, forms part of the tradition of Anglicanism, one of the prinicpal strands of Christianity. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, and as such has more members than any other Christian faith in the country.
Each year around 60,000 couples in the UK tie the knot in Anglican Church weddings and through recent changes to the qualifying connections in the Church of England, this figure could well rise in the coming years. Rather than being restricted to just a handful of churches, couples marrying in the Church of England are now free to choose from a much broader range, allowing them to hold Church weddings in a church where they, or a member of their family, have a special connection.
Consequently, couples tying the knot in a Church of Enland wedding are welcome to be married in a church within a parish as long as any of the following conditions exist:
 The Bride or Groom's parents were married within the parish
The Bride or Groom's grandparents were married within the parish The Bride or Groom was baptised, or prepared for confirmation, within the parish The Bride or Groom has lived in the parish for 6+ months (at any stage of their lives) The Bride or Groom has regularly attended public worship in the parish for 6+ months (at any stage of their lives) The Bride or Groom's mother and/or father have lived in the parish for 6+ months (during their child’s lifetime) The Bride or Groom's mother and/or father have regularly attended public worship in the parish for 6+ months (during their child’s lifetime)
In the Church in Wales, the 2008 rules have not yet been brought in, meaning that the original 1949 Marriage Act restrictions still apply. Consequently, a couple marrying in the Church in Wales are only able to marry in the Bride and/or Groom's local parish church.
If you do have any questions on the above, don't be afraid to ask your local Church Minister. They will be more than used to fielding such questions and will be more than happy to help.
As soon as a couple have decided which of the qualifying Churches they wish to wed in, the next step is to make an appointment with the relevant Chuch Minister. The Minister will examine the background to the marriage and suggest the most appropriate step for beginning the arrangements. For more information on arranging Anglican Church weddings, be sure to check out our guide to the arrangement of Church of England/Church in Wales wedding ceremonies.
Once the arrangements for the marriage have been put in place, the couple can then begin to think about other aspects of Church weddings; the order of service, hymns, readings and vows for example. More information on each, alongside answers to the most frequently asked questions can be found elsewhere on the site in a series of dedicated articles.
Recommended Reading
For those of you wanting to find out more, we've a whole host of other articles on wedding ceremonies on our site packed full of expert information and helpful advice, not to mention our online wedding directory that's filled with venue decorators, approved wedding premises, musicians, photographers and more.
For friendly tips and helpful advice take a look at our wedding ceremonies forum, or why not check out the 'related articles' and 'pages & websites you may like' below.
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