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You for Your Enquiry about a Wedding
at St Bartholomew’s
Thurstaston
Current
marriage law states that you can get married in the parish church:
If one of you is resident in the parish
If
one of you is on the electoral roll of the parish church (ie you
have been regularly (at least two Sundays each month) attending
one of the churches for 6 months and have filled in a form to
say that you consider this to be your church).
If
one of you
was
baptised in the parish (and has been entered in the church register);
or
has
been confirmed and the confirmation has been entered in a church
register book belonging to the parish. (This would have been
done on the basis that the person concerned was prepared for
confirmation in the parish); or
has
at any time had his or her usual place of residence in the parish
for at least 6 months; or
has
at any time habitually (at least two Sundays each month) attended
public worship in the parish for at least 6 months;
If
one of your parents has at any time during your lifetime:
had
his or her usual place of residence in the parish for at least
6 months; or
habitually (at least two Sundays each month) attended public
worship in the parish for at least 6 months.
If your parent or grandparent was married in the parish.
(In this list references to being baptised, confirmed or married,
or attending public worship, all refer to Church of England services.)
Divorce
is not a prohibition to getting married in church but you will need
to fill out an application form stating why you wish to be married
in church. Go
here for a copy. The Rector will then need to meet with you
to talk frankly about the past, your hopes for the future and your
understanding of marriage. You will need to be able to produce a
decree absolute proving that you are no longer married. If you are
not currently a member of the church, you will also be asked to
attend church services on a regular basis over a six month period
to demonstrate you commitment to the Christian Faith.
The
Church marriage service invites God to become the third partner
in your relationship. This means that you will each need to be willing
to take the Christian Faith seriously, and we would encourage you
to become active members of our church (or the church where you
live) so that as a church fellowship we can get to know you and
support you in your marriage.
You
will be required to attend a marriage preparation day (usually a
Saturday in February) which provides opportunity for you as a couple
to spend time together discussing issues related to your marriage,
and to meet with other couples who are preparing for marriage.
If
you can fulfil the above criteria and would like to book a wedding
at St Bartholomew's you will need to contact the Rector.
Wherever
possible we only take one wedding booking per Saturday (in order
to avoid complications of two wedding parties getting mixed up together);
however for popular summer dates we will do two weddings on the
same day, and the times will need to be negotiated carefully. When
booking your wedding we cannot guarantee that it will be the Rector
who will take the service, as weddings are booked so far in advance,
that holidays etc. have not usually been booked. We do not accept
wedding bookings for Sundays or Bank Holidays. Monday to Friday
weddings can be arranged, but we cannot guarantee that you will
be able to have specific flower colours (see reverse), or that the
bell ringers will be available.
Information
about rules regarding flowers, photographs, videos etc, is set out
below.
Marriage
is a wonderful gift of God. We look forward to meeting with you
and celebrating your special day with you.
Flowers at Wedding Services
Flowers for wedding service will be arranged by the church flower
arrangers. You will be invited to specify a colour scheme, which
the flower arrangers will do their best to meet. There are four
price bands which you can choose from (1. Sanctuary only, 2. Sanctuary
and Nave, 3. Sanctuary, Nave and Porch, 4. Sanctuary, Nave, porch
and Lychgate). See Fees Chart for more information. Under exceptional
circumstance it may be possible to arrange for a commercial florist
to have access to the building to do your wedding flowers - please
speak with the Rector about this as soon as possible.
Photographs
at Wedding Services
Photography is not permitted during the actual service, except for
non flash photography from the back of church. Your photographer
can take as many photographs as they like in the run up to the entry
of the bride, and again at the end of the service i.e. after the
registers have been signed.
Videos
at Wedding Services
You are permitted to arrange to have a Video of your wedding service,
but you will need a licence as all music is subject to copyright
law. The alternative to a licence is declaration stating that the
video 'is for private and domestic use only and will not be used
for any commercial purpose or to be shown in public' - we have a
form for this. The video operative will be asked to be stationary
throughout the service, so as not to detract from the act of worship.
There is an additional copyright cost for any wedding which is recorded
(see Fees Chart). This fee applies whether it is a professional
recording, or a family member or friend taking 'home movie' - the
fee is to cover the cost of the live performance of music.
Music
at Wedding Services
Most couples request the presence of our church organist for hymns
and music at the entry of the bride and exit of the couple. If you
do not require the church organist you must let us know as soon
as possible (and preferably 3 months before the date of your wedding).
You also need to let us know if you have an alternative form of
music e.g. a family member or friend who will play the organ, a
string quartet etc. Some couples request their favourite piece of
music to be played on CD during the signing of the registers -The
Rector must see a copy of the words in advance and we must be notified
at least a month before your wedding so we can arrange to get the
right equipment into St Bartholomew's.
Readings
at Wedding Services
It is a requirement that there is at least one Bible Reading within
the service. If you would like to have an additional reading e.g.
a poem etc, this is permissible by agreement with the Rector, who
needs a copy of the reading well in advance of the service.
Confetti
at Wedding Services
We politely request that all confetti is confined to outside of
the church building and church yard and preferably is biodegradable.
Orders
of Service for your Wedding Service
Most couples choose to produce an order of service for their wedding,
which includes the words of the hymns. As all hymns are subject
to copyright law, you will need to print "Copyright by permission
Christian Copyright Licence 1200925" somewhere on your order
of service. Alternatively, you may choose to use our church hymn
books - you will need to check that the hymns you want are available
within the hymn books!
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