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Congratulations on your
decision to get married!
We wish you the very best in your
life together, and want you to get the most out of the wedding day
itself, and the time leading up to it. This page contains information
about fees for the wedding, and answers to other questions that
you may have at this early stage.
Wedding Booking Evening |
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These are held every Wedesday
evening, 6.30-7.00pm at Christ
the Vine Community Church, Jonathans, Coffee Hall. This
will be your first point of contact with us.
During this session ... |
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We will ask you to fill in an application
form, to begin the process.
It is important that you tell us immediately if either:
We will be able to give
you further information if either of these is the case. |
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A member of the clergy
team will take some time with you to discuss details
of your application, and find out a bit more about you. |
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A member of the
booking team will complete the evening by taking booking
fee (normally a cheque for £30) after which a
date and time will be booked. The booking fee is not
refundable.
(NB: This will not apply if you live outside the parish,
or have been married before.) |
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Weddings take
place every Saturday either at St Mary's Woughton
or St Thomas's Simpson, but not at both churches
on the same day. For example, if you wish to be married
at St Mary's, then it is important that the date you
select is one allocated to that Church.
Only three weddings can be held on each Saturday. |
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The Cost
of the Wedding |
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The member
of the welcome team that you see will discuss your individual
needs with you.
The fees for a wedding in
one of our churches vary depending on your personal requirements.
The basic fee for the wedding is fixed by The Church Commissioners
and the Parish.
Extras can include having
an organist, bellringers, church-arranged flowers and permission
for a video, all of which will add to the cost.
A wedding with all the usual
trimmings costs about £500. |
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What will happen next? |
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Following
an accepted booking, and the deposit being paid, you will
both be invited to our Marriage Preparation course. This is
run at least three times through the year, at different times,
so you should be able to make one of them. This year they
will be run on a Sunday afternoon, or a Saturday morning,
or three Tuesday evenings. The course is a golden opportunity
for you to spend time together thinking about married life.
It is also a chance to meet other couples intending to marry
in Woughton.
Finally, it is at the Preparation
course that you will find out the member of the clergy who
will be performing your wedding ceremony, and possibly be
able to spend a short time with him/her. Therefore it is crucial
for you to attend.
Following the Preparation
course there will be other meetings between you and the minister.
You will have time to look at the things you’d like
at your service - hymns, music, readings etc. which will make
the service personal to you.
About 2-3 months before the
wedding, you will receive a letter asking you to come back
here on a Wednesday evening, between 6.30-7pm to finalise
any outstanding details, and to pay the balance of the wedding
cost. It will be necessary for either banns to be read or
authority obtained from the Registrar. The Minister taking
your wedding will explain this to you. It is most important
that you follow the appropriate procedure.
Finally, you and the minister
will have a Wedding rehearsal, usually in the week before
the wedding itself. This is an opportunity to walk through
the service and sort out the final details. |
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Use of a video in a
wedding |
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We are happy for you to
use a professional video photographer for your wedding. However,
please bear two important things in mind:
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The minister taking
your wedding will be quite specific about where the
video is to be located. The videoer will need to come
to the rehearsal. |
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Permission needs to be given before
a service is recorded. In particular, the organist is
entitled to a higher fee if his performance is recorded,
so we have to make a charge for this permission. |
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For copyright purposes
a licence must be in force before the service can be
recorded. This is a legal requirement. A professional
video photographer will probably have a licence, but
please check that the firm you select is complying with
the law of copyright. If a friend or member of the family
is taking the video, they can get all the information
they need about obtaining a licence from www.videolicence.co.uk |
Usually we advise people to
use a member of the family, to film shots outside the church
before and afterwards. 5 or 10 minutes of footage can, in
the long run, be more worthwhile than an hour of the service. |
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Printed Order of Service |
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If you are planning to
have a special order of service printed, please discuss this
first with your minister for advice on the correct wording. |
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| Information
for couples either of whom have been married before and whose
former partner if still alive
Woughton Parish has a policy
of remarrying divorcees because we believe that the compassion
and forgiveness of Jesus Christ makes possible genuine new
beginnings. However, the marriage of someone who has been
married before is not simply ‘on demand’.
The clergy as well as the
couple concerned need to be sure that this is the right way
forward. The member of the clergy team who you see tonight
will explain to you the process we have in the parish of Woughton.
It needs to be understood that the clergy are not obliged
to fulfill your wishes for a marriage here until they are
satisfied that it is the right thing to do.
The process for you will work
like this:
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You fill in an application
form, but will not be able to book a date on the first visit. |
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A member of the clergy
will then contact you to make an appointment for a detailed
interview. This will take 1-2 hours, and give both you and
the member of the clergy an opportunity to think and reflect
on your experiences and hopes for the future.
NB: We will need to see the Decree Absolute at this meeting. |
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The couple will be advised
at the end of this interview whether a wedding booking can
be made, and, if so, you may return on a Tuesday to book the
date and pay the deposit.
It is possible that the member of the
clergy may feel that it is not right for you to be married
in one of our churches and, if this becomes the case, alternatives
will be discussed with you. |
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| Information
for couples who are requesting marriage and who both live
outside the parish boundaries
The Parish of Woughton includes these areas
of Milton Keynes, shown inside the red Parish boundary on
the map:-
Simpson, Ashland, Tinker’s
Bridge, Netherfield, Springfield, Oldbrook, Fishermead, Woolstone,
Coffee Hall, Beanhill, Eaglestone, Woughton Park, Woughton-on-the-Green,
Peartree Bridge and Leadenhall.
If you and your partner live
in another part of Milton Keynes, or in another part of the
county, it is still possible for you to be married in one
of our churches. However, it is a requirement for the wedding
that you are on the electoral roll of our parish. To come
onto the electoral roll, all applicants must:
* be baptised
* be over 16 years of age
* have attended Sunday worship in one of our churches for
26 weeks.
Therefore, it will not be
possible to confirm the date of your wedding until you have
completed these requirements.
Please talk to the member
of the clergy about this if you have any questions, or would
like to begin the process for coming onto our electoral roll.
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| Please
don’t hesitate to contact any of the clergy
team if you have any questions about getting married
in the Parish.
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