Registry Office vs Church Marriage

margaretclare

Hi

We didn't have to have a registrar at our Methodist church wedding. And also, I was a member and the Methodist church doesn't charge anything to marry church members.

Re the mention of God, Jesus etc. DH's first cousin, a practising Jew, was happy to act as his best man. We all said The Lord's Prayer. I asked cousin about this later, and he said it is one of those 'perfect' prayers which encompass everything and can be said by anyone of any faith or none.

OTOH his bro would not have come to our wedding because it was in a church, and he doesn't believe in God - he's what he calls a 'committed secular Jew' and he hasn't explained to me properly just what he means by that. DH is now a practising Christian - he was baptised in 2004 in his 70th year. Even in the decades when he wasn't practising any formal religion, he has always had a deep and abiding faith in God.

Margaret

LeanneF

inkie wrote:

The flip side of this would be that as a Christian, by having 'chistian content' in your wedding you are sharing your faith....

I agree and all our family and friends shared our wedding with our regardless of their (varied) denominations. Everyone prayed together. But they were Christian prayers and not everyone was a Christian. I wanted those who weren't Christian to be able to participate fully in some part of the ceremony without feeling conflicted about what they were saying; not everyone there believed the Lord was their Shepard. So, the hymns we chose were 'Make me a channel of your peace' and 'Give my Joy in my Heart' both of which, I feel anyhow, pray for things any person would want in their lives and remain true regardless of whether you're a Christian, a Jew, an atheist, a Muslim or even a Scientologist.

I guess I didn't want anyone to feel left out.

hardpressed

inkie wrote:

The flip side of this would be that as a Christian, by having 'chistian content' in your wedding you are sharing your faith....

If you go for a non C of E wedding, the cahnces are you will have to have a registrar there, which will bump up the cost. However, I do not charge for weddings at my church as it's all part of what church is about.

You may not need the registrar, in most non-conformist churches the minister is an Authorised Person which means they can register a marriage the same as a registrar.

seven-day-weekend

inkie wrote:

The flip side of this would be that as a Christian, by having 'chistian content' in your wedding you are sharing your faith....

If you go for a non C of E wedding, the cahnces are you will have to have a registrar there, which will bump up the cost. However, I do not charge for weddings at my church as it's all part of what church is about.

Lots of non-conformist/independent churches use an 'authorised person'; this is a person, usually a church member, appointed to act as registrar (and approved by the Council to do so). This person may or may not be the minister/pastor.

In our church, the Pastor conducts the ceremony and the authorised person issues the certificate and officiates at the signing of the regisers. Our Pastor is an authorised person himself as well. He does not charge for weddings and the authorised person is also there on a voluntary basis.

I was the authorised person at our church for about five years until I went to Spain.

inkie

Lots of non-conformist/independent churches use an 'authorised person'; this is a person, usually a church member, appointed to act as registrar (and approved by the Council to do so). This person may or may not be the minister/pastor.

Absolutely true, and again this tends to depend on the area that you live - of my colleague ministers, it only the C of E on our town who don't require a registrar - hence the reason I have to tell couples that I marry that they will need to book a registrar.
I suppose the MSE consideration is that a registrar may need to be booked if there is no authorised person, therefore this will hike up the cost.

myangelannie

Congratulations on your 35th anniversary and many, many more seven-day-weekend!

Black-Saturn, your gown sounds wonderful and I'm sure you will make a gorgeous bride! Whatever venue you do chose, I hope your day is everything you wish for and more!

hardpressed

inkie wrote:

Absolutely true, and again this tends to depend on the area that you live - of my colleague ministers, it only the C of E on our town who don't require a registrar - hence the reason I have to tell couples that I marry that they will need to book a registrar.
I suppose the MSE consideration is that a registrar may need to be booked if there is no authorised person, therefore this will hike up the cost.

Just wondering why your church and the other non-co's don't apply to have an authorised person?

Bobbyssqueeze

Becles wrote:

I'm Christian, but my husband isn't. He said it would have felt wrong getting married in church as he doesn't believe in any religion.

!

What's his Christian name?

black-saturn

The main reason I want a church wedding is it lasts longer. For once attention will be on me. I never get attention given to me as I'm always too busy giving it to someone else. It will be nice to get a few minutes of ME time before they all go back to thinking about themselves again.

wigginsmum

black-saturn wrote:

I never get attention given to me

Try starting a weekly menu thread, hun