Getting Married

If you are look­ing to get mar­ried – con­grat­u­la­tions!

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Marrying in church is personal, meaningful and spiritual just as you want it to be. Churches are special and unique places to get married in - the prayers, promises and the whole service of celebration become part of your marriage, on the day itself and beyond.​

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The inform­a­tion below answers many of the com­mon ques­tions people have about where they can be mar­ried, but if you have any other ques­tions or would like to discuss the ceremony please con­tact one of our clergy. 

Can I be mar­ried at Christ Church?

Wed­dings are gov­erned by the law of the land and Church law. You need to check that neither you nor the per­son you hope to marry are sub­ject to immig­ra­tion con­trols and/or have over­stayed your visa; and one of you is ‘con­nec­ted’ to the par­ish accord­ing to the rules of the Church of England

If one of these cri­teria seems to be a prob­lem in your case, don’t panic. Read the inform­a­tion below and feel free to con­tact us if you need to know more. We will require doc­u­ment­ary proof of these things and may have to refer you to other agen­cies or author­it­ies (such as the Regis­trar or the Home Office) in case of doubt, par­tic­u­larly with regard to immig­ra­tion status.
 

How can I be con­nec­ted with Christ Church?

You can marry in a Church Cf Eng­land Church such as Christ Church if you can show that one of you has at any time lived in the par­ish for a period of at least six months or was Bap­tized in the par­ish con­cerned or was pre­pared for Con­firm­a­tion in the par­ish or  has at any time gone to nor­mal Church ser­vices in the par­ish Church at least once a month for a period of at least six months or that one of your par­ents, at any time after you were born has lived in the par­ish for a period of at least six months or has reg­u­larly gone to nor­mal Church ser­vices in the par­ish Church for a period of at least six months or that one of your par­ents or grand­par­ents was mar­ried in the parish 

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Are there any excep­tions to these con­di­tions?

Yes. In cer­tain cir­cum­stances a Spe­cial Licence may be gran­ted for couples who can­not attend the Church on a reg­u­lar basis

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 I (or my part­ner) are sub­ject to immig­ra­tion con­trols or have over­stayed a visa

The Church of Eng­land is obliged to uphold the law as to who can marry in the UK, which includes the visa status of non-E.U. cit­izens and the Immig­ra­tion Act 2004 as amended. People who enter the UK on a visa and wish to marry an E.U. cit­izen must have per­mis­sion to do so as part of their visa, and their visa must be cur­rent. Mar­ry­ing in the Church of Eng­land is not a way of evad­ing the require­ments of the law or the con­sequences of hav­ing over­stayed a visa, because the legal require­ments must be sat­is­fied before the mar­riage can take place. We advise any­one who wishes to seek to get mar­ried at Christ Church, or any other Church of Eng­land par­ish church to resolve any immig­ra­tion and other visa issues before approach­ing us. You may have to be referred to the Super­in­tend­ent Regis­trar or the Home Office to obtain the cor­rect paper­work and permissions.

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Is there any­thing spe­cific which will pre­vent me from get­ting mar­ried at Christ Church?

Yes. If either of you has a divorced part­ner still liv­ing, then you will not be able to be mar­ried at Christ Church.

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What is a ‘par­ish’?

Each Church of Eng­land Church serves an area called a par­ish. It has fixed bound­ar­ies and you can check which par­ish you live in by vis­it­ing http://www.achurchnearyou.com/ and search­ing with your post­code.

Because of the vari­ety in size and shape of par­ishes, the Church of Eng­land Church you are nearest may not be your par­ish Church, espe­cially in large cities.

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How much does it cost?

Please see the Church of England table of fees

Church of England Parish Fees Page

Banns of Mar­riage

Banns of mar­riage must be read if you are mar­ried in church. They are an oppor­tun­ity for someone to raise legal objec­tions to a mar­riage, e.g., one of the couple is too young. If you wish to marry at Christ Church or you live in the par­ish but are get­ting mar­ried else­where in most cases you will be required have your Banns ‘read’ at Christ Church. Please con­tact us to arrange an appoint­ment to do the neces­sary paperwork.

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Please see a member of the clergy of our parish for further inform­a­tion on Banns of Mar­riage and for the Banns of Mar­riage applic­a­tion form, or you may like to download it via this link Banns Application Form

What pre­par­a­tion is required?

Mar­riage is a won­der­ful and import­ant part of your life. If you want to be mar­ried at Christ Church you will be asked to make a com­mit­ment to reg­u­lar wor­ship as part of your pre­par­a­tion for Chris­tian Mar­riage. You will be shown how the ser­vice works and how to pre­pare a ser­vice book­let. There will also be a full rehearsal in the week before your wedding.