Weddings at St Michael

Your wedding day should be a moment that is full of joy and laughter, but also profound meaning, as you commit yourself to someone else for the rest of your life. At weddings in the Benefice of Mere and West Knoyle, we hope that your wedding will be all of these things. All churches are beautiful in their own ways, and great locations to be married. There are also clergy to officiate, who are experienced but also passionate about making a marriage service both personal and meaningful.

What is a typical timetable of events for a wedding?

Between two years and six months before getting married

  1. Look at churches that fit your wishes, e.g. will you have lots of guests and will the church have sufficient seating; are there bells that can be rung….
  2. Check to see if you qualify to get married in one of our churches: see steps above
  3. Make a call or send an email to the wedding administrator: administrator@stmichaelsmere.org.uk or 07942 291266
  4. Work out the date you would like to get married
  5. Decide whether you want to be married in this Benefice
  6. Meet with the wedding administrator . You and your partner fill out an ‘Application for Banns’ form with the vicar or curate. You will be given more information about costs and options for the service
  7. Decide whether you want an organist and/or flowers

Three to six months beforehand

  1. Contact the organist to discuss music and hymn options
  2. Decide on which Bible reading you will want to have read during the service. Using yourchurchwedding.org can help.

Two months beforehand

  1. Confirm your colour scheme with the person who is looking after your flowers

A month or two beforehand

  1. Agree order of service with minister.
  2. Get that order of service printed.

In the week beforehand

  1. Attend a rehearsal, typically one or two days before the wedding ceremony. If relevant, this is also when you show the ‘banns form’ from the other church. The sort of people we would like to attend that rehearsal are: bride, groom, at least one bride’s maid, father of the bride (if you’d like him leading you in), best man, ushers. We can also welcome anyone else, but these are the key people.

Practical Questions

Can I get married at the churches in this Benefice?

A church wedding is also a legally binding service and there are certain qualifications that mean your marriage will be legally valid. You may be married in this benefice:

when either the bride or bridegroom (or both) live in the parish: go to achurchnearyou.com and type in your postcode and you will find out if you are indeed in the parish.

You may also be married this Benefice if you satisfy any of the following “qualifying connections”:

  • if this is the parish where you were baptised and/or confirmed
  • if you have lived in this parish for 6 months or more, at any time during your lives
  • if you have attended worship regularly at our churches for at least 6 months (meaning at least twice a month)
  • if this is the parish where your parents have lived or worshipped (during your lifetime)
  • if your parents or grandparents were married in this parish.

What if one of us has been married or divorced?

If either (or both) of you have been married before and divorced this is not a barrier to being married in the Anglican Church but it is something that needs to be discussed with the priest who is going to marry you. You would also need to show a decree absolute to prove your previous marriage has been dissolved.

What if I live in the Parish, but I want to use a different church?

Couples who live in the Benefice do decide to get married at a church somewhere else but to which they have a connection (e.g. their parents live there). What you probably need from us is what is known as ‘having your banns read’. This happens on three successive Sundays, and is the public announcement that you are due to get married: people have the right then to make an objection

You don’t have to attend the church to hear this, but it’s quite fun to do so.

At the end of these announcements, you receive a form from us to say your banns have been read, and you will need to show this to the vicar at the other church.

There is a fee for this.