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Weddings
Congratulations. We would love to marry you here.
Your wedding day will be one of the most important days in your life. If you live in Shipston, or have a connection with the parish, you can be married at St. Edmund's.
Start here
You will have lots to plan, so do get in touch as soon as you can and we can talk through the options together.
Your day, your service
Traditional or contemporary. Simple or creative.
We will work with you to make the service unmistakably yours. You choose the music, the readings and how the church is dressed. An organist or a jazz band. Flowers or balloons. Almost anything else you can think of.
The website Your Church Wedding is a good place to start browsing ideas, and we are always happy to answer questions in person.
What you can choose
The parts that make it yours.
Music
Hymns with the organ, a choir, a band, or recorded music as you come in. We can also arrange for the bells to be rung.
Readings and words
Choose the readings and who reads them, and pick the form of the vows and prayers that feels right for you.
How the church looks
Flowers, balloons, candles, ribbons on the pew ends. Tell us what you have in mind and we will make it work.
How it works
Three steps to the day.
Nothing complicated, and no paperwork you have to work out alone.
01
Get in touch early
Contact the parish office and we will check the date, confirm your connection to the parish and answer your first questions.
02
Banns and legal bits
Your banns are read here on three Sundays before the wedding. If you live in another parish, they are read there too.
03
Plan the service
We meet to choose readings, music and the shape of the day, and we walk through it together before the wedding.
Fees
What it costs.
Wedding fees are set nationally by the Church of England and reviewed every January, so we will confirm the exact figures for your year when we meet.
Please never let money be the thing that stops you asking. Come and talk to us.
The marriage service
The statutory legal fee, including the banns read here.
Set nationally
Banns in another parish
If either of you lives elsewhere, banns are read in that parish too.
Small extra fee
Organist and bells
Both are optional, and we will talk the costs through when we meet.
Optional
Flowers and decoration
Arrange your own, or we can put you in touch with people who do.
Up to you
Frequently asked
Questions we hear a lot.
Can I design my own service?
Yes. We will work with you to make your service unique to you, and you can choose music, readings and decorations. It can be traditional or contemporary, simple or creative, and it should reflect what you would like. You can have an organist or a jazz band, flowers or balloons, or almost anything else.
How much will it cost?
The legal fee for marrying in church is set nationally by the Church of England and rises slightly at the beginning of each year, so we will confirm the current figure with you. If you would like an organist or the bells rung there is an extra fee, which we can discuss when we meet. If you live in another parish, you will need to have your banns read there too, which carries a small additional cost.
We're getting married abroad but would like a church blessing. Can we have this?
Yes. There is a service especially for this, so do get in touch and we will arrange it with you.
I'm divorced. Can I get married in church?
In most circumstances we will gladly conduct a second wedding in church. You will need to speak to the minister, who will chat with you about your past and your hopes for the future, to make sure we can support you in making your new marriage secure and stable.
Do you conduct same sex marriages?
The Church of England now allows churches to offer prayers of love and faith for loving, committed, same-sex couples as part of their normal worship services, and the Rector and Parochial Church Council of St. Edmund's have decided that we will offer those prayers if requested. We are very blessed by the presence of LGBTQIA members of our church family and community, and it will be an honour to pray with them at special moments in their lives and celebrate the gift of love. We look forward to the time when we can offer full standalone blessing services, and we continue to work for full equality and equal marriage.
Prayers of love and faith
Same-sex couples are welcome to ask us to pray with you.
The Church of England now allows churches to offer prayers of love and faith for loving, committed, same-sex couples as part of their normal worship services. The Rector and Parochial Church Council of St. Edmund's have decided that we will offer those prayers if requested.
We are very blessed by the presence of LGBTQIA members of our church family and community, and it will be an honour to pray with them at special moments in their lives and celebrate the gift of love. We look forward to the time when we can offer full standalone blessing services, and we continue to work for full equality and equal marriage.
Next step
Let's find your date.
Send us a note with the year you have in mind and your connection to Shipston, and we will come back to you with the options.
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