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“It was a special service for us, a wonderful part of a wonderful day.” Madeleine, Bride.
“Standing up and saying those words, ‘All that I am, I give to you’ is something I will never forget.” Jeff, Groom
“I’ve never been to a service with such real attention to the couple. It was a highlight of the whole day.” Emma, Congregation
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+ Why get married in Church?
You can get married pretty much anywhere these days, from the local registry office to a beach in the Canary islands. But Christian weddings happen in churches, and the majority of Christian weddings in the UK happen in the Church of England.
But you don’t have to “sign up” as a Christian to feel there’s something about a church that makes it a special place to get married in. It could be because it’s a place of prayer, where people have worshipped God, often for centuries. It could be because there’s something in those ancient words “…for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part…” that nothing else can touch. It could be because of the centuries of wisdom the Church has built up about the meaning of marriage. It could be that, for whatever reason, your wedding won’t feel right unless it has been blessed by God in a Church.
There are all sorts of reasons for getting married in Church. We would love to talk with you about them.
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+ Why get married in this church: Perry Hill, St George with Christ Church and St Paul?
We love marrying people at this church: around twenty couples a year get married here. We are blessed with a church that’s both beautiful, especially the stunning pre-Raphaelite rose window which will be above you when you say your vows, and functional: it’s a warm, modern building with good wheelchair access, toilets etc.
While it’s a great occasion of joy, it’s also something to be taken seriously, and most couples work with us on preparations, not just for the wedding but the years of marriage that lie ahead. We will talk with you about how to take that forward.
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+ Who can be married here?
This is a parish church and anyone resident in this parish can get married here. If you both have British passports, the legal way to make sure your marriage is ‘public’ is to announce it at the main parish church service on at least three Sundays prior to your marriage: this is called “Banns” and is a great tradition that goes back hundreds of years in the Church of England. Hearing your “Banns” read out is a curiously exciting part of the run-up to your wedding.
If one or other of you does not have a British/ EU passport, then you will need a “Common licence”. This isn’t a Church requirement but a requirement of the state, because the Church in this instance is acting on behalf of the state. And it’s not a requirement of the British state so much as states internationally: it’s our responsibility to be able to confirm to, say, the country of Nigeria that the marriage happened with due legal process. Practically speaking, it means that once you have seen a member of the clergy team at St George with Christ Church and St Paul, then we will pass you on to a member of the local clergy called the “Surrogate” who will deal with the paperwork of your marriage application from then on. The Church has to send the details of your identity off to a central office, which will take a few weeks to turn it around
If you don’t live in the parish, but come to the Church regularly, you can still get married with “Banns”. If you don’t live in the parish or come to Church regularly (and why not? We’re very friendly!), then you will need to apply for a “Special licence”
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+ How do I know if I live in the parish?
Click on the link above and the map shows you the borders of the parish. If you are still not sure, or the map isn’t working
Check with us by leaving a message or alternatively by coming in on a Saturday morning, and we can see exactly. Roughly speaking, our parish boundaries are as follows:
To the west, the boundary is Forest Hill station and the railway lineTo the north, the boundary for the most part is Stanstead Road, though all the roads around Blythe Hill are in our parish, even those north of Stanstead RoadTo the east, the boundary is the Pool river, from Catford Bridge station, down through the sports grounds all along it.To the south, the boundary is just above the Bell Green Sainsbury’s.
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+ What if one of us is divorced?
We believe marriage is for life. At the same time, we recognise that sadly some marriages do fail. We also recognise that some of the most successful marriages are those where one or other partner has already been married and divorced, and in our church we do marry people who have previously been divorced.
While we aren’t interested in a witch hunt about who was responsible for the break-up of a previous marriage, we do expect to have a frank discussion in the course of wedding preparation about prior experience of marriage and what lessons have been learnt.
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+ How much does it cost?
From the Church side of things, including all the legal documents, a wedding will cost around £360. It can be a little more or less and we wll be happy to discuss this with you-without obligation!
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