{"id":1309,"date":"2017-09-13T13:59:06","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T12:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecwst.com\/?page_id=1309"},"modified":"2026-04-28T10:43:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:43:01","slug":"weddings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/weddings\/","title":{"rendered":"Weddings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2><em>If you&#8217;re thinking about getting married in one of our churches, please read on for almost everything you need to know about getting married in church<\/em>.<\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Can anyone marry in church?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As long as it&#8217;s legal, you\u2019re welcome to marry in the Church of England, whatever your beliefs.\u00a0 It\u2019s your church and we welcome you! (but do read on for more information)<\/p>\n<p>It is more complicated if one of you is a foreign national, but there may still be a way forward so please check.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Do we need to attend church regularly?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Parish church is your church whether you attend regularly or not: you are welcome to have your wedding in the church but please read the qualifying reasons below.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Qualifying Reasons<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>You can marry in your parish church providing that one of you<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>has at any time lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months<\/li>\n<li>was baptised in the parish concerned\u00a0<strong>or<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>was prepared for confirmation in the parish\u00a0<strong>or<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>has at any time regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months\u00a0<strong>or<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>That one of your parents, at any time after you were born:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>has lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months\u00a0<strong>or<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>has regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months<strong>\u00a0or<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>That one of your parents or grandparents<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>was married in the parish<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0<strong>What if one of us has been divorced?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It is often possible for you to remarry in church, but you should talk to the vicar who will be taking the service.\u00a0 The\u00a0Vicar will want to help you, but will also want to talk frankly about your hopes for the future.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What are &#8216;Banns&#8217; and why do we need them?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Banns are a legal announcement in church of your intention to marry and a chance for anyone to put forward a reason why the marriage may not lawfully take place.\u00a0 They need to be read in the parish where each of you lives as well as the church in which you are to be married, if that is somewhere else.\u00a0 You must have your banns read out in church for\u00a03 Sundays during the 3 months before the wedding.\u00a0 This is often done over\u00a03 consecutive Sundays but does not have to be.<\/p>\n<p>(If there is not enough notice given for the banns to be read before the marriage is due to take place, or in the case of the marriage of people whose nationality is not British, or if one or both of you do not live in England, the\u00a0Common Licence procedure\u00a0needs to be used rather than banns)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What about music and hymns?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Weddings over the centuries have included everything from classical soloists to rock bands.\u00a0\u00a0The Vicar will talk to you about whether you want a traditional wedding or something with a bit of a difference.<\/p>\n<p>There are usually 2 or 3 hymns sung during a wedding service.\u00a0 Try to find hymns that are familiar to your guests and are easy to sing!\u00a0 The Vicar or the organist at the church where you are to be married will be pleased to help you decide.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Can we have a video?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If you are recording a person\u2019s performance, e.g. an organist, they are entitled to an additional fee; ask\u00a0the vicar if their musician&#8217;s contract or working agreement sets this out.\u00a0 Any service which includes music, poetry or other creative works that are in copyright should not be recorded without first obtaining permission from the copyright owners, either directly or through the cover of a copyright licence.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What will it cost?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Please click on the links below for a list of\u00a0costs for each parish.\u00a0 Some of these charges are required legal fees for marrying in a church; it may vary slightly for you depending on your circumstances.\u00a0 The basic legal fee includes the cost of the Vicar, the church, calling your banns, the marriage certificate, the verger and lighting.\u00a0 The statutory fee doesn&#8217;t include extras you may choose or decline, these are things like heating in the church, having an organist, bells, choir or flowers.\u00a0 You do not have to have any of these, but if you choose them there will be an extra cost.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][vc_btn title=&#8221;Download list of fees for Elmton with Creswell&#8221; color=&#8221;primary&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; link=&#8221;url:http%3A%2F%2Fecwst.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F02%2FWedding-Fees-Elmton-Creswell-2019.pdf||target:%20_blank|&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][vc_btn title=&#8221;Download list of fees for Whitwell with Steetley&#8221; color=&#8221;primary&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; link=&#8221;url:http%3A%2F%2Fecwst.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F05%2FWedding-Fees-Whitwell-w-Steetley-2022.pdf||target:%20_blank|&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>So what do we do next?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We hope you will decide to have your wedding in church.\u00a0 If you do decide you would like to get married in one of our churches, or have any questions, please call 01909 722354.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>And finally<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The website<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yourchurchwedding.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0<strong>www.yourchurchwedding.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0gives some very useful information.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] If you&#8217;re thinking about getting married in one of our churches, please read on for almost everything you need to know about getting married in church. Can anyone marry in church? As long as it&#8217;s legal, you\u2019re welcome to marry in the Church of England, whatever your beliefs.\u00a0 It\u2019s your church and we welcome [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1309"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1309"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"http:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2680,"href":"http:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1309\/revisions\/2680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecwst.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}