Thinking of getting married

Your Church Wedding

Booking the Church

Once you have decided to get married at St Michael’s, give the Vicar a call to tell him your good news and when you would ideally like to get married. We can see if the church and he are free and we can work through the legalities of getting married there. There are lots of ways to qualify so don’t worry we can usually find a way for you to get married at our beautiful Victorian country church of St Michael and All Angels’ in Beckwithshaw.  Contact details:  The Church Office is open between 9.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Telephone 01423 873577 – answerphone out of office hours.

Please go to the Church of England Weddings website for ways in which you can qualify to be married at a particular church.Click for link.

What Happens Next?

Once you have made initial contact you will be invited to come and have a chat about your wedding. There are a few forms to fill in and some legal bits to ensure you comply with the law and then you can spend some time planning your wedding. About three months before the service, we will contact you to arrange a meeting, to plan the order of service, to do some wedding preparation and to arrange a rehearsal. If your banns are being published (wedding details read out in church) you will also need to contact the Vicar of any other parish in which one or both of you lives. They will also arrange to read your banns within three months of the ceremony and issue you with a certificate that this has been done. Please note the marriage cannot take place without this certificate.

What happens in the service?

The service usually lasts about 45 minutes. It will include readings, prayers and hymns, vows will be exchanged, the registers signed and a blessing given. There can be between one and three hymns (two or three is usual) and you may wish to choose the music for the entry of the bride, the signing of the register and as you leave the church at the end of the ceremony . One Bible reading needs to be included.  A second reading can be added, either from the Bible or another source. If a non–Biblical reading is chosen, please check the content with the Vicar in advance.

What “Order of Service” do we need?

Many couples arrange for an “Order of Service” to be printed along with other wedding stationery. Otherwise, the Church can produce a simple, personalised, service sheet for a small additional cost.

If you are arranging the printing ensure that you send us a draft and receive approval of the wording before printing. The Wedding Service includes a number of passages for the congregation to join in and these need to be included.

What about flowers?

Please speak to us about your flowers. You may, of course, wish to use professional florists but we have contacts with local flower arrangers who would be happy to help with your flowers.

We ask that you leave a least one arrangement in Church for the congregation at our next Sunday Service to enjoy.