Arranging a Wedding at St Nicholas'

Thank you for your enquiry about getting married at St Nicholas’ Church, Halewood. Here are answers to some questions you may have.

HOW DO WE ARRANGE A WEDDING AT ST NICHOLAS’ CHURCH?

Our usual time to meet couples who want to get married at St Nicholas’ is between 7:00 PM and 7:45 PM on Thursday evenings at the St Nicholas’ Centre (70 Church Road, next door to the church). You don’t need to make an appointment, just call in. It’s helpful if both of you can be there together so that you can discuss the arrangements that you hope to make. You will need to fill in and sign a couple of forms. We will also ask you for a deposit (Ł50) to confirm the booking. We might be able to let you know about availability over the ‘phone, but you must come in person to book a wedding. If Thursday evenings are difficult, please contact us to make alternative arrangements.

WHO CAN GET MARRIED AT ST NICHOLAS’?

You must both be at least 16 years old. (If either of you is under 18 you will need consent from a parent or a magistrate.) If one of you lives in the Parish of Halewood, or you have your name on the Church’s Electoral Roll, you are entitled to get married at St Nicholas’ (providing there is no 'legal impediment' to you getting married). In order to have your name on the church’s Electoral Roll, if you live outside the parish, you must be a regular worshipper at St Nicholas’. If one of you lives in another parish, you will need to arrange to have your Banns read in that parish too. Please make sure this is done in good time: we suggest you approach the other church as soon as possible, and at least three months before the date of the wedding. (Even if you are a member of another church or denomination, you still need to have your Banns read in the Church of England church in the parish where you live.) If neither of you lives in the parish, and neither of you has your name on the Electoral Roll, but you particularly want to get married at St Nicholas’, it may still be possible, providing you have a good reason to get married here - for example, you used to live in Halewood or your family lives here. If you are not sure, please ask!.
In some cases, a Licence or Certificate may have to be issued. (A fee is payable for this, and there are conditions which you must meet. Please ask for further information.)

WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE DIVORCED?

If either of you has previously been married, and has a partner who is still living, you will need to speak to one of the Clergy. We have a policy that we follow in all cases, and we are happy to discuss this with you.
As an alternative to a church wedding, we can also offer a Service of Blessing, following marriage in a register office.

WHEN CAN WE GET MARRIED?

PLEASE DON’T CONFIRM ANY ARRANGEMENTS FOR A RECEPTION OR ANYTHING ELSE UNTIL YOU HAVE SPOKEN WITH US!

We will do our best to find a date and time to suit you, but please bear in mind that some dates may get booked up well in advance, and certain dates are not available for other reasons. Weddings are usually on a Saturday, but Fridays are also quite common and other days may also be available. (Bear in mind that during the week, it may be more difficult for us to find singers and bell-ringers as these people are all volunteers and may have other commitments.)

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

When you book your wedding we will ask you for a small deposit—around Ł50. You can pay the remainder in instalments if this is helpful. We will give you a receipt for each payment you make, and a running total so that you know how much is outstanding. The total cost will depend on what choices you make — about music and bells, for example. Our basic charges start at around Ł500 and increase to around Ł800. (Our normal charges include a voluntary contribution towards the church’s running costs.) Please remember that if you are booking well in advance, the costs may have gone up by the time the service takes place — they usually increase on the 1st of January each year. You will need to pay the fees that will be in force on your wedding day. Fees must be paid in full before the service takes place: Thursday evenings at the St Nicholas’ Centre, from 7:00 PM to 7:45 PM are usually a good time for us to deal with this. (We prefer not to take payment on the day, or at the rehearsal, so please try not to leave it until then!) If the cost of a wedding in church is likely to be a real problem for you, or you find you are struggling to meet the payments, please speak to us — we will do our best to help.

WHAT ABOUT THE SERVICE?

We normally use a contemporary form of service and can let you have an example to look at. Some couples have a sheet printed with the order of service and hymns on. You don’t have to do this, but if you want to, please let us know so that we can help you plan it. We can let you have a sample sheet to work from. You can leave it up to the Minister taking the service to choose prayers and Bible readings, but if you have any suggestions, feel free to make them. You can leave some of this until the interview, but there are some things to think about before then. It helps to familiarise yourself with the church building well before the day of the wedding. You should have a look at the layout and decide where you want people to sit. You can appoint ushers whose job it will be to welcome people, hand out books or service sheets, and show people to their seats. We will need to know if you are going to exchange rings, or if only the Bride is to have a ring. You will also need to decide if the Bride is going to promise to ‘obey’ as well as ‘love and cherish’ her husband.

MUSIC

We usually have a pianist or organist to play for weddings, and there is a fee payable for this. If you decide to ask someone else to play the organ at your wedding, we recommend that they arrange to come in to church before the day to familiarise themselves with the instrument. It may be helpful for you to meet the pianist or organist before the day. The easiest way to arrange this is usually after a Sunday morning service. St Nicholas’ has a group of singers available for weddings. We do charge for this, but we recommend that you book them, unless your families have a number of regular church-goers who are used to singing hymns. (Without the singing group, the hymns can fall flat!) Couples usually choose two or three hymns. There is usually music as the Bride arrives, during the signing of the register, and as the Couple leaves at the end of the Service. We are open to suggestions for music to be used at the service, but please be aware that the responsibility for music at your wedding lies with the member of the Clergy taking the service: it is up to the Minister to decide if your choices are appropriate for the occasion. If you are using recorded music, it is your responsibility to ensure that copyright and performance requirements are met.

PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS

We are happy for you to arrange to have the service photographed and / or videoed. When a video camera is used to record a service you should be aware that there may be copyright issues, and that we charge a fee for the use of video recording equipment. Most professional photographers and video firms are familiar with shooting church weddings, but it is still helpful if they can have a word with the Minister taking the service, either at the rehearsal or on the day. We can advise where they may stand to take the best pictures without getting in the way of the service or distracting from the occasion. We ask the congregation not to take pictures or use video cameras during the service.

FLOWERS

The church is usually decorated with flowers. If you want to do something special for your wedding we can put you in touch with the person responsible for church flowers. Some couples make a donation towards the cost of the flowers in church. Others arrange to have a florist come in. If there are other weddings on the same day as yours you will have to liaise with the other couple(s) as it may not be possible to change the flowers between weddings. If you choose to have the pew-ends decorated, you must make sure that no damage is done to the pews (drawing pins are not allowed). If you wish, you can take away your pew-end flowers after the service, but we ask that other flowers in church remain where they are.

ON THE DAY

We ask the Groom and the Best Man to be in church 30 minutes before the start of the service. The Bride should arrive 10-15 minutes before the service, to allow for photographs etc, and for the service to start on time. Please be aware that if a wedding is late starting, it may be necessary to shorten the service (e.g. by leaving out one or more hymns) so that we end on time — particularly if there are other services on the same day. A late start is discourteous to your guests, as well as to those who are involved in the service.

CONFETTI

We don’t allow confetti to be thrown inside the church, in the porch, or in the churchyard. (Once it has been rained on and gets blown back into church it is very messy.) Please find another location for throwing confetti — e.g. at the Reception! Biodegradable confetti is to be preferred and the use of metallic confetti is discouraged!

MOBILE PHONES

We ask that phones are switched off when you are in church — for obvious reasons. (Phones on 'silent' may interfere with the sound system.)

CAR PARKING

We have some car parking space at the church, but not a lot! Please let your guests know what the options are, and suggest that they leave enough time to find a space elsewhere and walk to church, if necessary. We ask all church users to park safely and not to block the pavements or access. Please show consideration to our neighbours in Church Road and Rectory Drive.

WHAT PREPARATION WILL WE HAVE?

BANNS

Your Banns will be read on three Sundays at the 11:00 AM Service at St Nicholas’. We will let you know the dates of the readings when you book your wedding. We ask you to make sure that you come to church on at least one occasion when your Banns are being read, so that you have the pleasure of hearing them and the sure knowledge that they have been done correctly! When you come to church, please make yourself known to one of the Wardens or Clergy. We will then arrange for an interview to talk about the service, and a rehearsal. If you want to discuss your service at any time before this date, please get in touch.

THE INTERVIEW

This can take place any time between booking the wedding and the rehearsal. It will usually be shortly after the Banns have been read for the first time — unless you want it to happen sooner. The interview can take place in your own home or you can come to us, if you prefer. We will talk about the service, including music and hymns. Don’t worry if you don’t have it all sorted out before the interview—we can always offer advice!

THE REHEARSAL

This will usually happen on one evening in the week or two before the wedding. Only the Bride and Groom have to be there, but you may want to invite the Best Man, Chief Bridesmaid, the person who is bringing the Bride to be married (usually her father or another relative — it used to be called ‘giving the Bride away’!), and anyone doing a reading. Other attendants and family and friends may also come, if you wish, but beware of inviting too many people. (The more people who come to the rehearsal, the more opinions there are about how things 'should' go...) Sometimes it is helpful for the people doing the flowers or photographs to come to church at this point too, especially if they are not familiar with St Nicholas’. If you have had Banns read in another parish, please bring the Certificate to the rehearsal. If you have had your own Order of Service printed, please bring this too. (And any hymnbooks you may have borrowed!)

WHO WILL TAKE THE SERVICE?

We have a team of Clergy (male and female) who take weddings at St Nicholas’. If you have particular contact with one of the team, it may be possible to arrange for that person to take the service, but we can’t always guarantee your first choice! Sometimes it may be possible for you to make arrangements for another Minister to take or share the service. (We are legally required to make sure that the Marriage itself is conducted by a Church of England minister and that the service reflects the Church's teaching on marriage.)

WHAT IF WE NEED TO POSTPONE, CHANGE OR CANCEL THE WEDDING?

PLEASE GET IN TOUCH AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

We will do all we can to help. If, for any reason, you change your plans, please let us know. If possible, we like to see you in person, but you may prefer to write. We cannot change wedding arrangements over the ‘phone — for obvious reasons. In the event of a cancellation, any fees you have paid will be refunded (apart from the deposit, if your Banns have been read). If your address or telephone numbers change, please let us know. If we are not able to contact you we may assume that the wedding is cancelled!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Ring one of the numbers below, or call in at the St Nicholas’ Centre on a Thursday evening (7:00 PM—7:45 PM), or come to church on a Sunday morning (our main service starts at 11:00 AM). If you are not familiar with St Nicholas’, the best way to get a feel for the church is to attend a service — you will be very welcome!

We hope that all your plans go well, and that your wedding day will be the special and important occasion that you hope and are planning for.

Parish Office	(0151) 487 9965
The Revd Alan Jewell (Team Rector)	(0151) 487 5610
The Revd Sarah Errington (Team Vicar)	(0151) 486 1159

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