Weddings
Thinking of Getting Married? Congratulations!
Congratulations! If you’re visiting this page you’ve probably just got engaged. If you’re looking at getting married in one of our churches, here’s what you need to know and what to do next.
Come and Talk to Us:
Please talk to us as early as possible so that we can reserve a date for you before booking your reception venue, as we cannot guarantee we will have your chosen date available.
By law we have to establish whether you have a qualifying connection with the parish before we can confirm whether you can officially marry in the church. This is usually not a problem if at least one of you can fulfil one or more of the following requirements:
You were baptised in the parish
You were confirmed in the parish (or confirmed elsewhere but your confirmation is recorded in the parish register)
You have lived in the parish for at least 6 months
You have attended public worship in the parish for at least 6 months
Your parents have lived in the parish for at least 6 months
Your parents have attended public worship in the parish for at least 6 months
Your parents were married in the parish
Your grandparents were married in the parish
If you want to discuss the above eligibility criteria, please contact us for further information. If you don't automatically meet one of the legal requirements, this does not mean your wedding can not go ahead in the church, but you would need to build up the connection by attending the church on a regular basis leading up to the wedding. Please rest assured that we really want to enable your marriage to go ahead if we possibly can.
Here’s what will happen:
After an initial conversation, you’ll need to meet with the Vicar to go through a few things as you start to prepare for your wedding. The Vicar will also need to check your ID before we can agree to marry you.
After we’ve done this, if you have not already done so, you will need to complete a Wedding Application Form so that we can then confirm your booking.
Finally, every couple getting married in one of our churches is invited to a marriage preparation course. We think marriage is worth investing in, so we would like to help couples put down some strong foundations. Our next marriage preparation course us on March 11th 2023, and all of our wedding couple who are getting married in 2023 or beyond are welcome to attend. Please speak to the Vicar for more details or complete this online form.
Banns of Marriage
This is part of the legal process for getting married in a church and we will need to publish the banns of marriage in this parish. However, if either of you does not live within the parishes, you are also required to have the banns of marriage read in your local parish church. We can talk you through this process and give you more information should you be unsure.
Also, if you are getting married in another parish, but live in our parish, we would need to publicise your banns of marriage and provide a certificate to confirm this has been carried out. If this is the case, you can complete the following form. Once this has been completed, we will be in touch with you to arrange the next steps. This will include the need for us to carry out ID checks. You can see more information about the ID that is acceptable here.
Contact
The best next step is to contact our vicar via email at nigelmoat@ousevalleybenefice.org. He will talk you through everything you need to know and to look at possible dates - although we do encourage you to book early.
You can find out more about getting married in a Church of England church by visiting the Church of England 'Your Church Wedding' website.
Application Form
If you would like to complete an application form, you can do this by completing this online form. Alternatively, our Vicar will be able to provide you with a paper copy.
Identification
We are required to check your ID before we can agree to marry you in church or publish your banns of marriage. You can see more information about the ID that is acceptable here.
Exciting times are ahead. May God bless you!
Marriage Preparation Day
Each year we hold a Marriage Preparation Day and invite all of our wedding couples to join us for the day. This will give you all the opportunity to meet each other as you journey along this path towards your wedding.
During the day, which includes lunch and refreshments, we will talk about the big day itself and what you might expect from the service. We will also show some videos from the Care for the Family Marriage by Design course. This is a widely used resource for anyone preparing to marry - and 99% of all couples who take part say that they would recommend it to others.
We are in the process of booking the 2024 course. If you would like to attend, you can indicate which dates you would be available on this online form. We will then select a date that would suit as many of you as possible.
Additional Information for your Big Day
You can see our suggested standard order of services on this website. This will help you as you start planning for the big day, but don't worry as we will talk you through this. Click here for more details.
You can see a list of popular hymns that are chosen for wedding services here. You are not limited to these hymns and you may want to include more modern worship songs. If you want any help in choosing the music for your wedding, speak to the person who will be leading the service.
All church weddings need to include Bible readings. However, you can also include other readings or poems that you might like. You can see a list of popular Bible readings here to help you choose which one you would like.
You have a number of options in terms of the vows you can say during your wedding. You can see more details here - this will detail the options you have in relation to the preface, the vows, the giving of the rings and the blessing. Most people choose the first options for each - but you are able to choose which you prefer. If you are not sure we will talk you through the options.
The vicar will arrange to meet you and the key people one or two days before the service for a wedding rehearsal. He will talk you through the running order for the service itself and answer any questions you may have. It may help you to read through the Wedding Service document beforehand to give you an idea of how the service flows. This may answer some of the questions you may have, or prompt you to ask some other questions so please do have a read through it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have to be baptised in order to be married in one of our churches?
No - Many people think that you have to be baptised in order to be married in church. This is not the case and is not a requirement of the Church of England.Marriage Certificate - When do you get you marriage certificate?
You no longer receive a marriage certificate on the day of the wedding - but don't worry. During the wedding you will sign what is now called the Marriage Document. The Vicar will send this to the registrar by recorded delivery. You will then be able to order a copy of your certificate from the Norfolk Council Council website. Should you wish, you can apply for the certificate in advance of the wedding. For more details, please see the Norfolk Council Council website.