Marriages

The clergy at St Mark’s love taking weddings, so, if you’re looking at this page with a view to getting married  - welcome! You don’t have to be baptised, members of the Church of England, or regular churchgoers to get married at St Mark’s. The Parish Church is here for you! Under new 2008 legislation, you can get married at St Mark’s if you or your partner live within our parish boundaries, or on one of these other seven conditions:

one of you:
•    was baptised in St Mark’s Church or
•    was prepared for confirmation in the parish or
•    has at any time lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or
•    has at any time regularly gone to normal church services in the church for a period of at least 6 
     months

or

one of your parents, at any time after you were born:
•    has lived in St Mark’s parish for a period of at least 6 months or
•    has regularly gone to normal church services in the church for a period of at least 6 months

or

one of your parents or grandparents:
•    was married in St Mark’s parish.

If you don’t qualify to be married at St Mark’s under any of the above headings, still get in touch, and we’ll see if we can help you in another way – perhaps by putting you in touch with a church where you would meet one of the criteria.

If you’ve been previously in a marriage or civil partnership which has been legally dissolved you may well be able to get married at St Mark’s. We’ll need to meet you, though, and talk things through and consult the Bishop. If, in the end, we’re not able to conduct a full wedding service for you, we would be able to offer you a moving service of Dedication, to follow on from a civil ceremony.

Some people like to have a service of Dedication for their friends and family in England to attend, after they have been married in a ceremony abroad.

Couples planning to get married or have a Marriage Dedication Service at St Mark’s are asked to give good notice (preferably at least six months) so that we can talk all these matters through with you and go through a course of preparation with you both. This includes asking you each to do a questionnaire on-line, covering all sorts of topics which are important in married life  (family, sex, money, beliefs, friends, ambitions – to name but a few), and then looking through your answers with you as a couple.  This way, you may get to know each other a bit better (!), the vicar who’ll be taking your wedding will get to know you, and you’ll get to know her. We’ll also want to advise you on planning your service, and talk through the meaning of those very special vows. In these ways, we aim to give you a really ‘personal service’ at St Mark’s.

For more information on Church of England weddings, visit www.ourchurchwedding.org.