Home About St Peter’s Accessibility Bredhurst School Chapel Christenings Contact Us Directions Funerals History and Guide Letter from Kondoa Notices Pictures Registers Resources Sunday Services Village Hall Home About St Peter’s Accessibility Bredhurst School Chapel Christenings Contact Us Directions Funerals History and Guide Letter from Kondoa Notices Pictures Registers Resources Sunday Services Village Hall Home About St Peter’s Accessibility Bredhurst School Chapel Christenings Contact Us Directions Funerals History and Guide Letter from Kondoa Notices Pictures Registers Resources Sunday Services Village Hall	Getting Married at St Peter’s “Why would you make the most important promise of your life anywhere else?” (quote from a couple asked why they wanted to be married in church) So, who can get married at St Peter’s? Answer: YOU! Please note: You do NOT have to be Christened, Baptised or otherwise to be married in our church. If either of you have been divorced please click here. Otherwise all you need is a link with the area and under the current rules you can get married at St Peter’s if: At least one of you lives in the Parish of South Gillingham (Bredhurst, Wigmore, Parkwood, Hempstead). To find out which parish you live in, click here, fill in your Post Code and then click on your house on the map. Your parish church will be named to the right of the map (you may need to scroll across). OR At least one of you was baptised (Christened) in our parish (which includes All Saints Hempstead, St Matthew’s Wigmore, St Paul’s Parkwood as well as Bredhurst) OR Either of you or any one of your parents lived in or worshipped in our parish at any time for 6 continuous months (in the case of the parents this has to be during your lifetime) OR if your parents or grandparents were married in our parish OR At least one of you is on our Church electoral roll. To be on the electoral roll you must have been Baptised (Christened) and have regularly attended St Peter’s or another church in the parish for at least six months. We get a lot of our congregation this way! And if you’ve not been Christened we can talk to you about that as well. So come and see us! Or contact us A phone call to the office will get your date and time booked. After that all is easy! Why St Peter’s? · Beautiful, traditional setting · Can seat up to 120 · Village Hall available for Receptions · Accessible to wheelchairs · Support from the clergy (and congregation if you come along beforehand) – we will not only help you design the perfect ceremony but also offer a marriage preparation course (“great fun but very thought provoking” is typical of the feedback we get). Before you decide, take a look at the other churches in the parish. Or check the Resources page for churches outside our parish. What will it cost? £600 all in. All the certificates, the ceremony, the building, professional organist, stupendous flowers. Choir and video license are the only optional extras. Full details here. Love of God is free and always has been. Worried about the cost? Want to get married but can’t afford it? Have a look at these ideas. What if one or both of us is divorced? We offer a service of blessing following a civil marriage that does not require any special permission or the following of any special rules. It is approximately the same ceremony. To book this, simply phone the office. We can marry people who are divorced, but only with permission and after a number of discussions. There are strict rules on this, but please ask and we will happily talk to you. At least one of you must live in our parish (To find out which parish you live in, click here). We are not able to conduct a wedding if either of you has been divorced more than once or if your present relationship was a cause of the divorce. We suggest you come to a church service as a first step as we will also ask you to attend church regularly before we agree to conduct the marriage. Marriage after Divorce: The Bishop’s Regulations Service of Blessing Text – Click on “Pastoral” and scroll down to “Marriage” and you will see the link. We are living together. Does that matter? No. And we happily marry couples who already have a family – your own children make wonderful bridesmaids and page boys.	Laurence and Julie, 20^th April 2002 What will it cost? What if one of us is divorced? We are living together. Does it matter? What are Banns? What happens in a Marriage Service? Send us a picture Who can get married at St Peter’s What will it cost? What if one of us is divorced? We are living together. Does it matter? What are Banns? What happens in a Marriage Service? Send us a picture Who can get married at St Peter’s What will it cost? What if one of us is divorced? We are living together. Does that matter? What are Banns? What happens in a Marriage Service? Who can get married at St Peter’s What will it cost? What if one of us is divorced? We are living together. Does that matter? What are Banns? What happens in a Marriage Service?
That’s it – you’re married! (In ye olde dayes this was signified by signing ye booke. Now it’s signified by 2 hours of photographs……..) Home About St Peter’s Accessibility Bredhurst School Chapel Christenings Contact Us Directions Funerals History and Guide Letter from Kondoa Notices Pictures Registers Resources Sunday Services Village Hall	What are Banns? Banns are an ancient tradition and also a legal necessity. They date from the times when you would have lived in a small village and everyone knew you. Given the often complex family links, only your neighbours and family would know if you were too closely related to be married, or if you were already married. So the Banns were introduced to ensure that only those legally entitled to be so were married. This piece of law remains in place to this day – despite press reports that it has been abandoned. We write to couples with a personal invitation to come to St Peter’s to hear the reading of their Banns about two months before their wedding. This takes place as part of our regular 11am services We usually read the Banns of marriage at the beginning of the service. It is a very simple ceremony. The Minister says: “I publish the banns of marriage between N & N and X & Y, etc. If any of you know cause or just impediment why these persons should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony ye are to declare it. This is the first/second/third time of asking.” (We use the olde worlde wordes because they sound brilliant in our olde worlde churche but rest assured you can have your wedding in modern English!) At the reading of Banns the couples do not actually have to do anything but simply remain in their seats. If you do not live in the parish you also have to arrange for your banns to be read in the parish where you live. Don’t worry about this; our administrator will explain all.	Mind the confetti doesn’t get down your shirt………. Who can get married at St Peter’s What will it cost? What if one of us is divorced? We are living together. Does that matter? What are Banns? What happens in a Marriage Service? Send us a picture
	What happens in a Marriage Service? Well, we marry you. The Marriage service is a Christian ceremony, so there will also be hymns or words of praise, a bible reading and prayers. Why not come along to a wedding with us – drop the curate an e-mail or ring the office for times and dates. Look at our service planner for summaries of the services, readings, etc. This is the text of a real service. This is a link to .rtf files (can be opened in most word processors) of the official services. You will need to scroll down to the Marriage section. Oh, and the vicar dresses up in fancy robes. I mention that because Emma, pictured left and right, made the red scarf that Graham sometimes wears.
Home About St Peter’s Accessibility Bredhurst School Chapel Christenings Contact Us Directions Funerals History and Guide Letter from Kondoa Notices Pictures Registers Resources Sunday Services Village Hall	Have a look in our Resources section for other useful documents. Some of our rules may sound excessive but they are designed to ensure that we keep within the law, and that you are not distracted during the service and can enter fully into the proceedings. These documents may be helpful in understanding them: Useful Info (includes notes on flowers, music, etc) Rules for Flowers Marriage Preparation Groups Detailed Statement of Fees Rules for videos Photography at Weddings Marriage after Divorce: The Bishop’s Regulations	Who can get married at St Peter’s What will it cost? What if one of us is divorced? We are living together. Does that matter? What are Banns? What happens in a Marriage Service? Send us a picture
The children get, er, “roped in”, to ring the bells (sorry for the pun)	Been Married at St Peter’s? How about sending us a picture for our weddings gallery? Please send your favourite to the curate with a note saying you agree to our using it on the web page. Note that pictures produced by your professional photographer must NOT be sent unless we have their permission in writing for it to be used – we are happy to include their name and number as an incentive to them but they should be aware that we will only use small file sizes to avoid long download times.

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