If St Mary, Chiddingstone is your local parish church or if you have another legally-recognised connection with it, we'd love to hear from you to discuss your plans for marriage. To find out more about connections that enable you to marry in a particular church, see the Church of England's weddings web site for more details. Couples choose a church wedding for all sorts of reasons. Find out more about how you can too.
Special Day, Special Place
Getting married is one of the biggest decisions you'll take in life. There are some things about marrying in church that make that big moment extra special:
- A church wedding will add a spiritual dimension to your marriage. God's blessing is the main attraction for many couples, whatever their beliefs.
- You can make amazing vows, or promises, in a church. These vows, made in public, will help you to stay together and grow together.
- The Vicar has a very particular role to play in your wedding. They can blend ancient tradition and modern experience to reflect your story. Because of the relationship with the Vicar, your wedding can be made personal, memorable, meaningful and beautiful.
- Church buildings offer outstanding beauty. Old or new, intimate or grand, our 16,000 churches are some of the nation's most stunning wedding venues, with two-thirds being listed buildings.
- Church buildings offer centuries of history. You can feel you're becoming part of history itself by marrying in the same place as your relatives.
- You can be involved in making choices about your ceremony. You can even use an online ceremony planner to get you started. For some people, a church simply seems like the proper place to get married. Churches can be described as 'peaceful', 'serene', or having an atmosphere that makes marrying there a particularly special experience.
You do not need to have been christened and you do not need to be attending regularly to choose a church wedding. A complication might arise if one of you has been married before, or, if one of you is a foreign national, but there may still be a way forward. The Church of England's weddings web site tells you more about this.