Booking a church

There are a few things to discuss with the vicar before your wedding date can be confirmed at a church, so make contact sooner rather than later to ensure you can synchronise the date with your reception venue.

simple flowers in jam jars on the ends of pews

Once you know which church you’d like to marry in, give the vicar a call to tell them your good news and when you’d ideally like to get married.

If you’re not sure which is your local church, try searching on AChurchNearYou.com to find it. Enter your road name and area into the search box, wait for the address to drop-down and then select it. Click on the search arrow and your local church should be shown within its parish boundary. You can also search using a postcode. If you want to search for a church in a different place, type in the place name instead and churches in that area will be listed in the search results.

It’s best to make this contact around the same time as you contact or visit your reception venue, so you can synchronise the dates. There are a couple of important reasons to have this conversation in good time.

It will ensure the vicar has time to advise you about the legal requirements for marrying at the church – some circumstances require legal preliminaries that take time to process.
Churches can become booked up for weddings several months in advance, or there could be other things happening like community events at the church on or around your preferred date.

When you first make contact with a church, as well as discussing practical things like dates, it will be the start of a special relationship, particularly with the vicar if you don’t already know them.

Their personal attention, advice and support will help you create the wedding of your dreams and offer you everything that being connected to a church can mean, not just for your wedding, but also well beyond the big day.

The vicar will be delighted to hear from you and will want to meet you both. They may ask a couple of questions about the basic legal requirements. It may even be possible to set the date then if all seems well and the church is free on your preferred date.
The first meeting with the vicar will help them confirm the basic requirements and give you a chance to ask questions.
Keep in touch with the church by going along to services from time to time if you can, just as you might go along to your reception venue for a meal. You will always be welcome and will be able to get to know the people there. Don’t worry if you don’t hear from your church until closer to your wedding day – they will be in touch, and you can contact them at any time if you have questions.