St. Mary's New Site

Getting married at St. Mary's

It gives us great pleasure to support couples in making the big commitment of getting married!

If you are considering this, the first step is to contact either our Vicar, Ken Shill, or our Curate, Louise Nicolls, who will arrange to see you and make firm arrangements. See contacts

All those who are getting married at St Mary's are invited to attend two Marriage Preparation Sessions. We have a small team of couples who run these mornings, which look at important issues to do with marriage itself and practical ones like music, the format of the service etc. The sessions are light-hearted, non-threatening and user-friendly ( we hope!), and couples seem to enjoy them and find them helpful.

Recent changes to the rules and regulations on marriages in the Church of England

Thousands of couples dreaming of a church wedding will find more churches to choose from as of 1 st October 2008 -the day when the new Church of , England Marriage Measure comes into effect. It means that the Church of England's network of 16,000 churches -ancient or modern, intimate or grand, simple or spectacular -can offer a wider wedding welcome than at any time in the Church's history.

The Marriage Measure has completed its parliamentary process. Up until then, the law established the right for a couple to marry in the parish church where one or both of them live, whether they are baptised or not, and whether they are churchgoers are not. To marry in any other parish required - special licence or six months of regular attendance followed by entry on the local church electoral roll.

But the new laws, initiated by the Church of England and now approved by Parliament, have added to this right of residency, making it just as easy for couples to marry in a church where they have a family or other special connection, even if they don't live there.

The General Synod decided that the existing laws were too restrictive in a mobile society and took the initiative to change them last July. Synod wanted churches all over England to be free to celebrate more weddings and support more marriages. The changes will mean an engaged couple are welcome to be married in church in a parish if just one of these applies:

• One of them was baptised or prepared for confirmation in the parish;
• One of them has ever lived in the parish for six months or more;
• One of them has at any time regularly attended public worship in the parish for six months or more;
• One of their parents has lived in the parish for six months or more in their child's lifetime;
• One of their parents has regularly attended public worship there for six months or more in their child's lifetime; their parents or grandparents were married in the parish.

For more about weddings in the Church of England, go to http://www.yourchurchwedding.org/