Marriage
Everybody loves a good wedding – including God! The story of Jesus turning water into wine takes place at a wedding and many people have pointed out the amount of water Jesus changed … equivalent to about a thousand bottles! The moment when a couple face each other and make promises about spending the rest of their life together is a moving as well as a joyful event and it is our desire to make your special day just that – very special. Most of the wedding service is organised by the Church Office and they will always be pleased to help with any questions you may have. But we also want to help you to know the meaning of the promises you will be making and so the process of getting married begins from the moment you let us know that you would like to consider getting married in St Peter’s ….
First of all …. Congratulations!
So you want to get married and you are thinking of having your service St Peter’s. Because there are some legal rules we have to conform to, the first thing we need to do is to ask a few questions:
Why Church?
These days it is possible to get married in all sorts of places, all over the world – but people still want to get married in Churches. The fact that you are reading this means that you are thinking about it and we would encourage you to ask the question as to what it means to you. For some people, it is about tradition, or a connection with the place where previous generations of their family got married. For others, there is a sense that getting married in Church offers something “different” or “more”. We would suggest that as a Church offers a space where people think about the spiritual aspects of life, and that we speak about the couple being joined at a very deep, spiritual level in their marriage, a Church is the best place to start the next chapter of your life together.
Are you qualified to get married in St Peter’s?
The first thing to say is that you can get married in a Church where you have (or have had) a reasonable family connection. Basically, if one of you or your parents, or grandparents have lived in Yateley for 6 months at some point in their lives, you can get married in St Peter’s. More details are in the Marriage policy, which you can read by clicking here.
Have you been married before?
If you have been married before, it may be possible for you to have your wedding in the Church and can read about the way this works in the Marriage Policy. However, if that is not possible, we would be delighted to have a “Service of Blessing after a Civil Marriage”. If you would like to talk to us about this, please contact us and let’s talk about it
What date and time are you planning?
We will do our best to cater for whatever date and time you would like to book for your service, but it may not always be possible due to holidays and the availability of the people who are needed for your service. But we will do our best!
Same sex Weddings & Blessings
The Church of England is not legally able to perform same sex weddings and whilst it is possible to have prayers of blessing for a same sex relationship in some Churches, St Peter’s doesn’t offer this.
Is there anything else we need to know?
One important thing to realise is that the Church is not a “wedding venue” in the same way that, say, a hotel is. A wedding in Church is subject to the rules that the Church must obey and, in practice, this means that the words of the service, including the vows you make, are already set out and can’t be changed. It is important to reflect a bit on this because not just the words, but the whole service, is something which reflects hundreds of years of thinking, where millions have been married in a traditional way, with aspects and practices of the service reflecting a lot of love and prayer over the generations. So having an organ, how the processions happen and even things like where the photographer works from all reflect the fact that your wedding is a Church service, in every way. We want it to be full of joy and happiness, but it is also a solemn and serious business!
Come and find out more and have a chat with us – we would love to be a part of your special day!