A CHURCH OF ENGLAND WEDDING

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 tie the knot in a Church of England (or Church in Wales, which is very similar in many respects) Wedding Ceremony. This article covers all the aspects of a Church of England (and Church in Wales) Wedding Ceremony from first contact with the local vicar right through to the recessional music as you leave the Church as husband and wife.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

Who Can Be Married and Where Can They Do So?
The first point to make clear is that you do not need to have been baptised or even be a regular churchgoer to marry in the Church of England or Church in Wales – both Churches will welcome newcomers to the faith and non-regular attendees with open arms so long as they understand and believe in the vows that they will make.

Assuming that as a couple you are both comfortable and happy to make your vows in the presence of God, then your local Church Minister will be more than happy to marry you. All British citizens, with no former partner still living, have the right to marry in their local parish Church or in the Church where they are on the Church’s Electoral Roll (to obtain enrolment, you need to have attended the Church for worship for a minimum of 6 months). Effectively this means that couples may have up to 4 Churches from which they can choose to marry in – let us explain that a little more:

• If the couple live together, or in the same parish, and do not regularly attend Church, then they will only be allowed to marry in their local parish Church.