Top tips for planning your Church Wedding

Whilst on lockdown we know many of our brides to be will be using this time to plan for their big day…

Here our senior stylist Heather has put together some super informative top tips for those of you considering a church service and talks through the general flow of your ceremony.

Planning a church wedding?

There are so many incredible places to get married now, you can tie the knot almost anywhere you choose, but there is something extra special about the bell-chiming tradition of marriage in church.

Where can I get married?

There are lots of ways you can have a viable connection to a parish (and in some cases you don’t have to be baptised to be married in church). This means there are so many stunning churches that could be the setting for your wedding ceremony, or perhaps you have a family tie such as your grandparents were married in a church special to you all.

As long as you have attended at least one service a month for 6 months prior to your big day- you can qualify to get married in the church of your choosing. Have a chat to the Priest or Vicar- in advance of booking your wedding reception venue to ensure date availablity – and they will explain your options.

What are Banns?

Your intentions to marry need to be announced in church for three Sundays in the three months leading up to your big day. It’s lovely to attend the services when this is taking place to build a real connection in the run up to your wedding.

This is a legal tradition and must be completed at your local parish and the church where you will be married, if that’s somewhere else. You will then be given a certificate as proof that your Banns were read. Check out achurchnearyou.com and type in your postcode to figure out your local parish church- they each have their own boundary and you might be surprised which area you fall into.

Ceremony

A church ceremony normally lasts around half an hour and includes-

Welcome words from the vicar and a hymn

Declaration and vows

Exchange of rings and a blessing

Bible reading

Signing the register (your Vicar is also your registrar)

Ending the service- usually with prayer and another hymn.

There are options to personalise your service too- add in other readings from poetry or something more special to you both as a couple. You can also choose your own hymns- the yourchurchwedding.org website has a good selection of traditional hymns to choose from. It’s good to pick ones that your guests will know, this makes their singing a lot better!

Things to ask –

Confetti- Your chosen Church may only let you throw the biodegradable kind and there’s lots of tutorials online on how to make your own confetti by drying out petals and cutting pretty shapes from dried leaves which adds a really personal touch.

Flowers- Let your vicar know what your ideas are – your florist may need permission for things like a floral arch or pew-end displays. Most churches will have floristry volunteers and they can be helpful with this too!

Order of service- This is the booklet that leads your guests through the service and keeps everyone in the loop. Ask for help with this, your vicar may have suggestions of what to include.

Photographer/ Videographer- Ask if they can visit the church to see the space before the big day, they may only be allowed in certain places. They could potentially come along to your rehearsal to figure out the best angles to capture.

If you have any more questions or would like to chat through gown ideas that would be appropriate for your church ceremony pop us an email to hello@yapbridal.co.uk and we would be more than happy to help.

Happy planning xoxo