How exciting!We wish you every blessing as you prepare for your wedding, one of life’s great moments, a time of solemn commitment as well as good wishes, feasting and joy. You will have some practical questions to which you will need answers and it is hoped that you will find the details below helpful.
You can also click on the logo on the right for more information about weddings in the Church of England. To make an enquiry about possible date availability, and learn about normal arrangements at Colerne Parish Church, please contact the Benefice Administrator by email here. To view the Weddings and Baptisms Photo Gallery please click here. |
Click on the logo above for a host of information about weddings in the Church of England.
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Wedding Guide for Couples
A comprehesive Wedding Guide for Couples that addresses all aspects of your wedding in our church is available here: here
A comprehesive Wedding Guide for Couples that addresses all aspects of your wedding in our church is available here: here
Occasionally asked questions
Who can marry in Colerne Parish Church?
Under the law, there are broadly three ways you can marry in Colerne Parish Church:
1. By one or both of you being resident in the parish, or on the Church Electoral Roll
2. By one or both of you having a ‘qualifying connection’ with this parish
3. By Archbishop’s license
A person has a qualifying connection with a parish by virtue of one or more of the following:
A. You were baptised in the parish (this does not apply where the baptism formed part of a combined service of baptism and confirmation).
B. You have been confirmed and your confirmation is entered in a register belonging to a church or chapel in the parish.
C. Your parent or grandparent was married in the parish.
D. You have had your usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months.
E. Your parent has had his or her usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months during your lifetime.
F. You have habitually attended public worship at Church of England services in the parish for at least 6 months.
G. Your parent has habitually attended public worship at Church of England services in the parish for at least 6 months during your lifetime.
The references to baptism, confirmation and marriage, and to attending public worship, are all confined to services according to the rites of the Church of England.
To join the Church Electoral Roll, you must become a regular worshipper at this church. You can do this by joining our Church Family on a regular basis (at least once a month) for six months. You will also need to have been baptised.
What about Banns?
Before you can be married, certain legal formalities need to take place to make sure you are both free to marry. Usually this is done by reading of Banns of Marriage in the parish churches where each of you live. There is a fee payable for each of the Banns reading.
If at least one of you lives in Colerne then your Banns will be read in Colerne Parish Church for three Sundays. Most couples like to be present to hear their Banns read and we look forward to welcoming you to the services when your Banns will be read. We also hope that you will enjoy coming to church on a regular basis in the months leading up to your wedding. To discover more of God's love for you and his purpose for your lives will be a strong foundation for your marriage.
If one of you lives in another Parish, your Banns of Marriage will also have to be read in that parish church. It is your responsibility to contact the Rector / Vicar there and make the arrangements for your Banns to be read. He or she will arrange to have the Banns read and then issue you with a Banns Certificate for which a fee is payable to that parish. You must give this certificate to the priest officiating at your wedding as soon as you are issued with it because your marriage cannot legally go ahead unless he or she has seen it. We suggest that you contact your local church around four months before your wedding.
How much will it cost?
The basic cost of a wedding in Colerne Parish Church starts at around £475. This cost is a combination of fees set by the Church Commissioners of the Church of England as well as a contribution to Colerne PCC for maintenance etc. Additional costs will relate to flowers and the ringing of the bells, should you wish either of these. Cheques should be made payable to the ‘Colerne PCC ’ and must be paid in full before the date of your marriage. If either of you do not live in the parish, you will also have to pay a fee to have your Banns read at your local church(es). Please do not hesitate to contact the Benefice Administrator should you have any further questions about costs.
One of us is divorced - does this matter?
We believe that marriage is for life but recognise that, sadly, some marriages do fail. In certain circumstances a divorced person may marry again in Church. You will need to discuss this further with our Priest in Charge, who may be contacted, in the first instance, via the Benefice Administrator here
What do we need to think about for the service?
You may find it useful to start exploring the meaning of Christian marriage from the service book before choosing music and readings. The priest officiating at your wedding will also explore this with you as well as discussing with you the music, bible readings and prayers that you would like. You can find our more information about the service itself from the link to the Church of England wedding page on the right.
You may need an organist or maybe the choir. Our Benefice Administrator will assist by putting you in touch with our director of music who can also assist with your hymn and music selections. It is usual to have two or three hymns - try to choose ones that your friends and family will know! If you want to provide your own music or musicians of any kind, you should discuss this withthe priest officiating at your wedding.
You do not have to have an Order of Service but most people do and you should prepare this yourself and let the priest officiating at your wedding see a copy before you get it printed.
If you want to have flowers at the service, please contact Gina Brierley on 01225 742988 to discuss and make arrangements.
Practicalities
Rehearsal
A rehearsal is held in church shortly before the day. Try to have the Best Man, Bridesmaids and anyone ‘giving away’ the Bride present for the rehearsal. The priest officiating at your wedding will make arrangements with you.
Photography and Video
You are welcome to ask your nominated photographer to take photos during the service providing they are sensitive to the nature of prayer and worship and do not use flash photography except during the signing of the register and after the service has concluded. The photographer must contact the priest officiating at your wedding before the day to confirm details.
If you would like the service to be videoed, you must contact the churchwardens to ensure that you have the permission and licences. Please note that additional fees might be payable for this.
Timings
We allow about an hour for the service which includes time for the taking of photographs outside afterwards or inside the church if it is raining. Please do not be late as we will not allow a late service to interfere with another booking of the church and the priest officiating at your wedding may have other appointments. If you arrive very late then the priest officiating at your wedding may decide not to proceed or shorten the service accordingly.
Confetti
For confetti, please use dried or fresh flower petals only, which are biodegradable. Confetti may not be thrown or strewn inside the church, but may be thrown in the churchyard along the stretch of path facing and leading to the churchyard gate. Please do not throw confetti along the stretch of path leading to the West Door or in other areas of the churchyard or near graves.
Car Parking
There is no parking allocated to the church albeit Colerne Church of England Primary School may be able to help, provided that the wedding is not on a school day.
Passports
Brides may have their passport in their new name prior to the wedding. Details on how to do this are available from HM Passport Office.
Retiring Collection
Our church is an active centre of Christian worship and ministry and activity with our community while the church building is 800 years old and is an historic, Grade I Listed Building. Our ministry, activities and maintenance of our church building are essentially self-funded and undertaken and maintained by volunteers from within our community. We are pleased to welcome your use of the church and the churchyard, and it would be appreciated if you could mention in your order of service that a retiring plate will be available for people to support our work here, keeping the church open and providing the services for special days like yours
Service Arrangements
Arrangements for the ringing of bells, participation by our choir and other practicalities for your service are dealt with through either the officiating priest or the Benefice Administrator; please contact them with any enquiries - details on our Contacts page.
Organist
It is helpful to let the priest know that you would like to have an organist. However, it is for you to contact an organist directly in order to make the necessary arrangements. You should pay the organist directly.
Finally - it’s your day and we want it to be a day for you to remember so if you have any further questions, just ask!
Under the law, there are broadly three ways you can marry in Colerne Parish Church:
1. By one or both of you being resident in the parish, or on the Church Electoral Roll
2. By one or both of you having a ‘qualifying connection’ with this parish
3. By Archbishop’s license
A person has a qualifying connection with a parish by virtue of one or more of the following:
A. You were baptised in the parish (this does not apply where the baptism formed part of a combined service of baptism and confirmation).
B. You have been confirmed and your confirmation is entered in a register belonging to a church or chapel in the parish.
C. Your parent or grandparent was married in the parish.
D. You have had your usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months.
E. Your parent has had his or her usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months during your lifetime.
F. You have habitually attended public worship at Church of England services in the parish for at least 6 months.
G. Your parent has habitually attended public worship at Church of England services in the parish for at least 6 months during your lifetime.
The references to baptism, confirmation and marriage, and to attending public worship, are all confined to services according to the rites of the Church of England.
To join the Church Electoral Roll, you must become a regular worshipper at this church. You can do this by joining our Church Family on a regular basis (at least once a month) for six months. You will also need to have been baptised.
What about Banns?
Before you can be married, certain legal formalities need to take place to make sure you are both free to marry. Usually this is done by reading of Banns of Marriage in the parish churches where each of you live. There is a fee payable for each of the Banns reading.
If at least one of you lives in Colerne then your Banns will be read in Colerne Parish Church for three Sundays. Most couples like to be present to hear their Banns read and we look forward to welcoming you to the services when your Banns will be read. We also hope that you will enjoy coming to church on a regular basis in the months leading up to your wedding. To discover more of God's love for you and his purpose for your lives will be a strong foundation for your marriage.
If one of you lives in another Parish, your Banns of Marriage will also have to be read in that parish church. It is your responsibility to contact the Rector / Vicar there and make the arrangements for your Banns to be read. He or she will arrange to have the Banns read and then issue you with a Banns Certificate for which a fee is payable to that parish. You must give this certificate to the priest officiating at your wedding as soon as you are issued with it because your marriage cannot legally go ahead unless he or she has seen it. We suggest that you contact your local church around four months before your wedding.
How much will it cost?
The basic cost of a wedding in Colerne Parish Church starts at around £475. This cost is a combination of fees set by the Church Commissioners of the Church of England as well as a contribution to Colerne PCC for maintenance etc. Additional costs will relate to flowers and the ringing of the bells, should you wish either of these. Cheques should be made payable to the ‘Colerne PCC ’ and must be paid in full before the date of your marriage. If either of you do not live in the parish, you will also have to pay a fee to have your Banns read at your local church(es). Please do not hesitate to contact the Benefice Administrator should you have any further questions about costs.
One of us is divorced - does this matter?
We believe that marriage is for life but recognise that, sadly, some marriages do fail. In certain circumstances a divorced person may marry again in Church. You will need to discuss this further with our Priest in Charge, who may be contacted, in the first instance, via the Benefice Administrator here
What do we need to think about for the service?
You may find it useful to start exploring the meaning of Christian marriage from the service book before choosing music and readings. The priest officiating at your wedding will also explore this with you as well as discussing with you the music, bible readings and prayers that you would like. You can find our more information about the service itself from the link to the Church of England wedding page on the right.
You may need an organist or maybe the choir. Our Benefice Administrator will assist by putting you in touch with our director of music who can also assist with your hymn and music selections. It is usual to have two or three hymns - try to choose ones that your friends and family will know! If you want to provide your own music or musicians of any kind, you should discuss this withthe priest officiating at your wedding.
You do not have to have an Order of Service but most people do and you should prepare this yourself and let the priest officiating at your wedding see a copy before you get it printed.
If you want to have flowers at the service, please contact Gina Brierley on 01225 742988 to discuss and make arrangements.
Practicalities
Rehearsal
A rehearsal is held in church shortly before the day. Try to have the Best Man, Bridesmaids and anyone ‘giving away’ the Bride present for the rehearsal. The priest officiating at your wedding will make arrangements with you.
Photography and Video
You are welcome to ask your nominated photographer to take photos during the service providing they are sensitive to the nature of prayer and worship and do not use flash photography except during the signing of the register and after the service has concluded. The photographer must contact the priest officiating at your wedding before the day to confirm details.
If you would like the service to be videoed, you must contact the churchwardens to ensure that you have the permission and licences. Please note that additional fees might be payable for this.
Timings
We allow about an hour for the service which includes time for the taking of photographs outside afterwards or inside the church if it is raining. Please do not be late as we will not allow a late service to interfere with another booking of the church and the priest officiating at your wedding may have other appointments. If you arrive very late then the priest officiating at your wedding may decide not to proceed or shorten the service accordingly.
Confetti
For confetti, please use dried or fresh flower petals only, which are biodegradable. Confetti may not be thrown or strewn inside the church, but may be thrown in the churchyard along the stretch of path facing and leading to the churchyard gate. Please do not throw confetti along the stretch of path leading to the West Door or in other areas of the churchyard or near graves.
Car Parking
There is no parking allocated to the church albeit Colerne Church of England Primary School may be able to help, provided that the wedding is not on a school day.
Passports
Brides may have their passport in their new name prior to the wedding. Details on how to do this are available from HM Passport Office.
Retiring Collection
Our church is an active centre of Christian worship and ministry and activity with our community while the church building is 800 years old and is an historic, Grade I Listed Building. Our ministry, activities and maintenance of our church building are essentially self-funded and undertaken and maintained by volunteers from within our community. We are pleased to welcome your use of the church and the churchyard, and it would be appreciated if you could mention in your order of service that a retiring plate will be available for people to support our work here, keeping the church open and providing the services for special days like yours
Service Arrangements
Arrangements for the ringing of bells, participation by our choir and other practicalities for your service are dealt with through either the officiating priest or the Benefice Administrator; please contact them with any enquiries - details on our Contacts page.
Organist
It is helpful to let the priest know that you would like to have an organist. However, it is for you to contact an organist directly in order to make the necessary arrangements. You should pay the organist directly.
Finally - it’s your day and we want it to be a day for you to remember so if you have any further questions, just ask!
