Weddings
Your Wedding in the Parish of Linslade
If you are thinking about getting married in this parish, please read on! If you decide to have your wedding here, you may be assured that all the members of our church who will be involved in your wedding aim to help to make it a special day for you, and, above all, a memorable beginning to your married life together.
At your wedding you will both make solemn vows to each other which involve a life-long commitment “from this day forward, for better, for worse… till death do us part.” It is a commitment in which you will need the support of your family and friends who will come to witness the promises you make to each other.
Who may be married in church?
You don’t have to be a churchgoer to be married in church, but if neither of you has been baptised (christened) we will want to be sure that you are in sympathy with Christian beliefs. This could even be a time for you to take stock of your basic beliefs and hopes about life, and you might like to join one of our short courses to find out more about what Christians believe.
The most important thing is that when you come to the marriage service you are able to make your promises and say Amen to the prayers with integrity. You won’t be simply going through a traditional ritual; you will want to make your vows in a spirit of truthfulness. This also means that it is important that you yourselves both want the wedding to be in church, and it’s not a case of one of you wanting to please the other, or pleasing parents – or even grandparents!
You may have heard that the ministers of some churches are not prepared to conduct a church wedding if one or both of the partners is divorced. In this parish we are prepared to consider a second marriage, depending on the circumstances that led to the previous marriage breakdown.
Why a church wedding?
Whether you make your vows in church, registry office or elsewhere, they will be equally solemn and equally binding in law. But if you are married in church you will also ask God for help and strength to keep those promises, and the priest will pronounce God’s blessing on your union. This is needed more than ever today, in a culture that often discourages us from making binding promises.
What legal preparations do we have to make for the wedding?
When you book your wedding we will fill in a form with all the information that is required for the entry in the marriage registers. We will check this shortly before the wedding in case any details have changed. You will also have to make a formal declaration of your intention to marry and establish that you are legally free to marry. Usually this is done by the calling of banns. Banns are published (read out) at the main morning service at 10.00am on three Sundays before the wedding; the last time must be within twelve weeks of the wedding date. If you both live in the parish of Linslade, they only need to be called here, but if either of you lives elsewhere they need to be called in that parish too and you have to obtain a certificate to give to the minister conducting the wedding. There is a small fee for the calling of banns. We will assist you with meeting these requirements when you meet with us to plan the wedding service.
Sometimes it is more appropriate for a couple to be married by licence. We will discuss that with you when you come to book your wedding.
Which church – St Barnabas’ or St Mary’s?
The parish church is St Barnabas’, built in the mid nineteenth century when Linslade began to grow round the railway station and canal. Christians gather here to worship God Sunday by Sunday, and day by day. It is also a place where people gather to give thanks to God at important moments in their lives – baptisms, weddings and funerals. It is spacious and has a fine organ, and is conveniently situated with a large car park and less than five minutes’ walk from the train station.
Weddings may also take place at St Mary’s Old Linslade, built in the twelfth century, but a couple or miles away from today’s community of Linslade and no longer big enough for the numbers who come to church. Because of the location and age of the building there are several limitations and restrictions. Weddings may be held there between May and September only, as there is no proper heating and the path up to the church can be very muddy in wet weather. May can be quite a chilly month, so you should bear that in mind when deciding what to wear! Seating is limited to a congregation of eighty. There are no toilet facilities, so you will need to advise your guests to make a comfort stop before they arrive at the church. In addition, parking is very limited. No vehicles are allowed into the churchyard, apart from the bridal car, and, by prior arrangement, a vehicle bringing a disabled wedding guest.
The organ at St. Mary's is small and limited, so please bear this in mind when choosing your music. You may arrange for CDs to be played, if you wish.
The churchyard is managed with advice from the local wildlife conservation trust to encourage a rich variety of wild flowers. We ask you to respect this.
St Mary’s is not used regularly for worship, and so we make a surcharge for weddings there to reflect the extra work required to prepare the building for a wedding. This may be reduced at the discretion of the vicar in certain circumstances.
Planning the wedding service
Every couple coming to be married is different. We hope that your marriage service will express your feelings and hopes for your future life together. You will have considerable choice, not only choosing the hymns, other music and readings, but also choosing prayers and even what form your vows should take. We will give you copies of all the material you need.
The minister who is to officiate at your wedding will meet with you to help you to choose what is best for you, and to talk through the meaning of the vows you will make. There will also be the opportunity for a rehearsal a few days before the ceremony, so that you and other people with important roles know what to expect and can relax and enjoy the actual wedding day.
Hymns suitable for a wedding
One important way you can make the service your own is in the music and hymns that you choose. There are several websites which can give you some ideas. We are also happy to give you suggestions. If you are having a printed order of service you can include hymns not in our hymnbook, so long as you can provide the music. We have a copyright licence covering many modern hymns. However, if you want to reproduce the words (and the music) of any hymn subject to copyright not covered by our licence, you will be responsible for obtaining permission and for paying any fee. We ask you to discuss your choice of hymns with the minister before you arrange to have them printed in your order of service (if you are having one).
If you would like some ideas about music at the beginning and end of the service and during the registration of the marriage, there are special CDs featuring suitable organ voluntaries. They are available from good music shops, or you may be able to borrow one from the public library. The organist is always pleased to meet you and to discuss the various possibilities.
Printed order of service
It is not necessary to have a printed order of service, provided that the hymns you have chosen are in our hymnbook (Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New). However, a printed order does mean that you can choose hymns not in our hymnbook. You can also include prayers and other words for the congregation to join in. You will be given an outline order of service for your guidance when you first meet with the minister who is to conduct your wedding – this will usually be around three to four months before the wedding day.
Please show a draft copy to the minister conducting your wedding before you get it printed, and make sure that you print enough copies for the choir and clergy as well as your guests.
Flowers in church
There are certain times when we do not have flowers in church (apart from personal flowers) – that is Advent (the four weeks before Christmas), and Lent (the six weeks before Easter). At other times you may either ask our parish flower co-ordinator to arrange your flowers or else make your own arrangements in consultation with our flower team.
We have flowers in church not just for decoration, but also as part of our offering of worship to God. For this reason we expect that you will leave your flowers in church after the wedding.
What about the fees?
Some fees (the statutory fees) are set nationally each year; others are set by our parochial church council. When you book your wedding you will be given a list of fees and charges for the current year. Unfortunately we can’t guarantee that they will remain the same for next year!
Further information
The Church of England website has an area which will should answer any other questions you may have:
weddings
And, or course, you are welcome to contact us to talk through any other questions you may have.
The main point of contact for Weddings and Funerals is the Ouzel Valley Team Ministry administrator:
email: [email protected]
phone: 01525 381418
Your Wedding in the Parish of Linslade
If you are thinking about getting married in this parish, please read on! If you decide to have your wedding here, you may be assured that all the members of our church who will be involved in your wedding aim to help to make it a special day for you, and, above all, a memorable beginning to your married life together.
At your wedding you will both make solemn vows to each other which involve a life-long commitment “from this day forward, for better, for worse… till death do us part.” It is a commitment in which you will need the support of your family and friends who will come to witness the promises you make to each other.
Who may be married in church?
You don’t have to be a churchgoer to be married in church, but if neither of you has been baptised (christened) we will want to be sure that you are in sympathy with Christian beliefs. This could even be a time for you to take stock of your basic beliefs and hopes about life, and you might like to join one of our short courses to find out more about what Christians believe.
The most important thing is that when you come to the marriage service you are able to make your promises and say Amen to the prayers with integrity. You won’t be simply going through a traditional ritual; you will want to make your vows in a spirit of truthfulness. This also means that it is important that you yourselves both want the wedding to be in church, and it’s not a case of one of you wanting to please the other, or pleasing parents – or even grandparents!
You may have heard that the ministers of some churches are not prepared to conduct a church wedding if one or both of the partners is divorced. In this parish we are prepared to consider a second marriage, depending on the circumstances that led to the previous marriage breakdown.
Why a church wedding?
Whether you make your vows in church, registry office or elsewhere, they will be equally solemn and equally binding in law. But if you are married in church you will also ask God for help and strength to keep those promises, and the priest will pronounce God’s blessing on your union. This is needed more than ever today, in a culture that often discourages us from making binding promises.
What legal preparations do we have to make for the wedding?
When you book your wedding we will fill in a form with all the information that is required for the entry in the marriage registers. We will check this shortly before the wedding in case any details have changed. You will also have to make a formal declaration of your intention to marry and establish that you are legally free to marry. Usually this is done by the calling of banns. Banns are published (read out) at the main morning service at 10.00am on three Sundays before the wedding; the last time must be within twelve weeks of the wedding date. If you both live in the parish of Linslade, they only need to be called here, but if either of you lives elsewhere they need to be called in that parish too and you have to obtain a certificate to give to the minister conducting the wedding. There is a small fee for the calling of banns. We will assist you with meeting these requirements when you meet with us to plan the wedding service.
Sometimes it is more appropriate for a couple to be married by licence. We will discuss that with you when you come to book your wedding.
Which church – St Barnabas’ or St Mary’s?
The parish church is St Barnabas’, built in the mid nineteenth century when Linslade began to grow round the railway station and canal. Christians gather here to worship God Sunday by Sunday, and day by day. It is also a place where people gather to give thanks to God at important moments in their lives – baptisms, weddings and funerals. It is spacious and has a fine organ, and is conveniently situated with a large car park and less than five minutes’ walk from the train station.
Weddings may also take place at St Mary’s Old Linslade, built in the twelfth century, but a couple or miles away from today’s community of Linslade and no longer big enough for the numbers who come to church. Because of the location and age of the building there are several limitations and restrictions. Weddings may be held there between May and September only, as there is no proper heating and the path up to the church can be very muddy in wet weather. May can be quite a chilly month, so you should bear that in mind when deciding what to wear! Seating is limited to a congregation of eighty. There are no toilet facilities, so you will need to advise your guests to make a comfort stop before they arrive at the church. In addition, parking is very limited. No vehicles are allowed into the churchyard, apart from the bridal car, and, by prior arrangement, a vehicle bringing a disabled wedding guest.
The organ at St. Mary's is small and limited, so please bear this in mind when choosing your music. You may arrange for CDs to be played, if you wish.
The churchyard is managed with advice from the local wildlife conservation trust to encourage a rich variety of wild flowers. We ask you to respect this.
St Mary’s is not used regularly for worship, and so we make a surcharge for weddings there to reflect the extra work required to prepare the building for a wedding. This may be reduced at the discretion of the vicar in certain circumstances.
Planning the wedding service
Every couple coming to be married is different. We hope that your marriage service will express your feelings and hopes for your future life together. You will have considerable choice, not only choosing the hymns, other music and readings, but also choosing prayers and even what form your vows should take. We will give you copies of all the material you need.
The minister who is to officiate at your wedding will meet with you to help you to choose what is best for you, and to talk through the meaning of the vows you will make. There will also be the opportunity for a rehearsal a few days before the ceremony, so that you and other people with important roles know what to expect and can relax and enjoy the actual wedding day.
Hymns suitable for a wedding
One important way you can make the service your own is in the music and hymns that you choose. There are several websites which can give you some ideas. We are also happy to give you suggestions. If you are having a printed order of service you can include hymns not in our hymnbook, so long as you can provide the music. We have a copyright licence covering many modern hymns. However, if you want to reproduce the words (and the music) of any hymn subject to copyright not covered by our licence, you will be responsible for obtaining permission and for paying any fee. We ask you to discuss your choice of hymns with the minister before you arrange to have them printed in your order of service (if you are having one).
If you would like some ideas about music at the beginning and end of the service and during the registration of the marriage, there are special CDs featuring suitable organ voluntaries. They are available from good music shops, or you may be able to borrow one from the public library. The organist is always pleased to meet you and to discuss the various possibilities.
Printed order of service
It is not necessary to have a printed order of service, provided that the hymns you have chosen are in our hymnbook (Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New). However, a printed order does mean that you can choose hymns not in our hymnbook. You can also include prayers and other words for the congregation to join in. You will be given an outline order of service for your guidance when you first meet with the minister who is to conduct your wedding – this will usually be around three to four months before the wedding day.
Please show a draft copy to the minister conducting your wedding before you get it printed, and make sure that you print enough copies for the choir and clergy as well as your guests.
Flowers in church
There are certain times when we do not have flowers in church (apart from personal flowers) – that is Advent (the four weeks before Christmas), and Lent (the six weeks before Easter). At other times you may either ask our parish flower co-ordinator to arrange your flowers or else make your own arrangements in consultation with our flower team.
We have flowers in church not just for decoration, but also as part of our offering of worship to God. For this reason we expect that you will leave your flowers in church after the wedding.
What about the fees?
Some fees (the statutory fees) are set nationally each year; others are set by our parochial church council. When you book your wedding you will be given a list of fees and charges for the current year. Unfortunately we can’t guarantee that they will remain the same for next year!
Further information
The Church of England website has an area which will should answer any other questions you may have:
weddings
And, or course, you are welcome to contact us to talk through any other questions you may have.
The main point of contact for Weddings and Funerals is the Ouzel Valley Team Ministry administrator:
email: [email protected]
phone: 01525 381418