WEDDINGS

By arrangement with the Parish Office -

Telephone 023 9249 2129

Before doing anything else the date and time of your wedding must be arranged.

You can make enquiries in church after Sunday worship (at 9.30am or 6.30pm) or contact the Parish Office - Clare Kennar (023 9249 2129).

Fill in the application and make sure you give your telephone number. You will receive a confirming letter after you have made the booking.

The Banns must be read in any Church of England Parish Church involved (even if you have a Roman Catholic or Free Church background).

Banns cannot be read until three months before your wedding, and must be read in each Parish Church where the parties live.

This may mean going to the other Vicar(s) involved and hearing the banns read on at least one of three successive Sundays. They do not have to be read out on the same day in each church.

Your wedding cannot take place unless the Vicar who is marrying you has your Banns certificate beforehand.

There is a charge of £12 for the certificate.

You must have a wedding interview, one or two months before the wedding takes place when we arrange the practical details.

There will be a rehearsal (lasting thirty minutes) in the church to get the footwork right, before the wedding.

The bride and the groom are essential for this, but the best man, bridesmaids and parents are much appreciated.

Banns certificates from other churches and fees will be received at the end of the rehearsal.

Church Commissioners raise the fee each year.  For 2009 the costs are:

Publication of banns (£22), marriage service (£254) and marriage certificate (£3.50):  Total £279.50 plus additional costs for Organist:  £65     Choir:  £110     Bells:  £100 and Flowers: see below.

There is an additional charge for video recording inside the church and a charge for heating during the winter months.

Please make cheques payable to St. Faith Church, Havant; cash is also acceptable.

Church members expertly arrange flowers in the church each week. If you wish for additional arrangements, we are happy for you to arrange for this with your florist. Please inform Mrs Rosemary Thomas (023 9248 3836) who is in charge of arrangements at church.

Photographs may be taken coming in and going out of church and during the signing of the register. They are not permitted during the service and you are asked to make this clear to enthusiastic relatives! Video recording is permitted, provided operators strictly obey the guidelines about where to stand.

Start by exploring the meaning of Christian marriage using the service book, before you think about hymns, etc.

The assumptions about the meaning of marriage in the service, and in the Bible, may be quite different from the views expressed in popular music, magazines or TV ‘soaps’.

With the pressure of today’s world, if your marriage is to be a strong one, then you must let God into your plans, your hopes, and your fears too.

Only Jesus Christ, by His Spirit living in us, can give us the strength to love and go on loving.

It is usual to have a hymn of praise at the beginning, a hymn of dedication in the middle, after the sermon, and a hymn of looking forward to the future at the end. The exact arrangement and number of hymns is negotiable – two or three hymns is normal. Choose hymns that your families and friends will know.

Familiar, cheerful hymns will set the tone of the whole wedding day. We have a hymnbook covering most styles of music. You are free to borrow hymn and service books to decide.

The organist will play suitable voluntaries before and after the service, and during the signing of the register. You may need to provide your own sheet music if we do not have it. If you wish to provide your own musicians of any kind, full organist’s fees are still payable to the church and permission must first be sought.

You are strongly encouraged to make your own Order of Service – it is your day, so make every effort to contribute to the ceremony. Rough proofs of the order of service should be agreed with the Vicar presiding over the ceremony. Make sure that they are available in the church at least half an hour before the service begins.

We offer our best wishes for your wedding and your future happiness.