Marriage

Why do you want to get married in church?

In a Christian Marriage Service you will make some very serious statements and promises about your beliefs and intentions. These need to be considered carefully and understood properly if your marriage service is to be anything more than just an impressive ceremony. While we will do all we can to help you with your preparation, much depends upon your own efforts and cooperation.

The fact that you want to be married in church is taken to imply that you have some real commitment to the Christian Faith and to the practice of it. How that commitment and practice is expressed will differ for each one, but that there should be some expression of it is not in doubt.

For Catholics, attendance at Sunday Mass (an obligation that can now be fulfilled also on a Saturday evening) is often seen as the minimum outward sign of the practice of their faith and certainly Catholics ought to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) shortly before their wedding. Moreover, it is not unreasonable to expect that Catholics who wish to marry in their church should be seen to be practicing members of it in the months and weeks before their wedding.

We know that sometimes people may feel embarrassed because they have not been to church for a very long time. Please do not let such worries concern you whether you are a Catholic or not. Just come. And we hope that not only will you find a welcome but that you will be pleasantly surprised to find yourself quite at home in a peaceful and friendly atmosphere. Feeling at home in the church where your wedding is to take place will also enhance your wedding day all the more.

Please read the following pages carefully. They will help you to prepare for a lovely wedding and a happy marriage. They tell you what you must do to prepare for your wedding and answer some of the questions we have been asked frequently over the years by those preparing for marriage.