Weddings

We are delighted that you are considering getting married in Church and thank you for considering St John’s as the place where you would like your wedding to take place. By coming into the House of God and inviting God to witness and bless your marriage, you are starting your married life on a very firm footing and you will discover that if you begin by opening yourselves to God then you open yourselves to His blessing and guidance throughout your lives together. We at St Johns, will do all that we can to encourage you along this path.

If you don’t meet the necessary requirements, then please don’t worry – speak to the Vicar and together we should be able to overcome any obstacles.

Legal Requirements:
Presently, it is a minimum legal requirement that:-

You are both over 18 years of age

One of you must have been baptized

At least one of you must be resident in the Parish;
OR
is worshipping at St John’s and on the Electoral Roll

(The Electoral Roll is the register of Church members. If you do not live in the Parish, you may apply for membership if you have been a regular worshipper for at least 6 months); OR in exceptional circumstances, Common/Special Licence is issued.

If you live outside the Parish and have been worshipping regularly at St John’s, but you are not on the electoral roll, then you need to speak to the Vicar about getting your name added.

If you're not sure what Parish you live in, click here for a handy search website.

THE BANNS Banns are called at the start of the main Sunday service at 10am. Banns are generally called on the first three Sundays of the month, immediately prior to the month of your wedding. We encourage couples to come to St John’s to hear their banns read. There are refreshments after the service, so if you are able to spare a few minutes, stay and get to meet some of the people who will have been praying for you as you prepare for your Big Day. If either of you live outside the Parish of St John’s, you need to get the banns called in that parish also. You need to contact the parish priest of that parish well in advance (at least 3 months prior to your wedding) to arrange the calling of banns. When the banns have been read and completed, you will need to collect the certificate and bring it to the Vicar of St John’s, at least a fortnight before the wedding.
	COST OF BANNS When banns are called in two parishes, there are 2 sets of fees. These currently stand at: £22 in the church where your wedding is to take place and £34 for the “away banns”.
DEPOSIT If you decide to book your wedding at St John’s, you will need to complete an Application Form and we ask you to pay a non-refundable deposit of £100. The deposit will be deducted from the final invoice prior to your wedding.

MEETINGS AND REHEARSAL
In order to make the wedding personal and relevant to couples, the Vicar likes to arrange a couple of preliminary meetings with you. This gives you all an opportunity to get to know each other and to talk about your wedding. At your first meeting, you will need to bring: i) Birth Certificate ii) Baptism Certificate iii) Proof of residency (eg driving licence, utility bill, etc)

MARRIAGE PREPARATION
St John’s takes your marriage seriously and therefore asks all couples to attend a Marriage Preparation Course. Presently, this is a 7 part course. This informal teaching is open to any couple seeking to strengthen their relationship, so you may find yourselves on the course with others who have been married for several years.

Course dates for 2009: Please contact the vicar

FLOWERS
St John’s operates a policy that only our own flower arrangers decorate the Church. If couples would like flowers in church, they need to speak to our flower arranger.

If you would like the church arrangement to incorporate your wedding colours or a particular type of flower, then this must be agreed with the Flower Co-ordinator (Mrs Margaret Cunningham 0208 244 6231) and will incur additional cost.

MUSIC
Getting the right music for YOUR wedding, is very important. The Vicar is only too happy to help you select appropriate music and hymns to tailor-fit your wedding. The Master of Music, Adrian Adams, is normally available after the 10am Sunday Mass, to discuss your choice of music and any special requests and give you an opportunity to hear what it sounds like in the church. To help you with your choice of music and readings, please click here for Music & Readings for your Wedding.

PHOTOGRAPHS IN CHURCH
St John’s is a very beautiful setting for your wedding, and people with cameras can get very ‘carried away’ with their clicking and flashing! So that we are able to concentrate on the service without distraction, we restrict the taking of photographs to the entrance, the signing of the Registers and the final procession as you leave the Church. We have a gallery which overlooks the wedding service, which official photographers may have access to on the provision there is no flash photography.

Video cameras are permitted to be used inside St John’s. We regret that due to copyright law, there is an additional fee for the use of video cameras. (Note: This does not apply to flash photography.)


WHAT IT WILL COST There is a basic statutory fee for the Service and the Marriage Certificate, and the other charges depending on what you require, e.g. organist, choir, video etc. Wedding Fees are subject to an annual increment. If you have any questions concerning these fees, please direct them to the Vicar. Wedding fees should be paid by cheque or in cash, at least 4 weeks prior to your wedding. Cheques should be made payable to Upper Norwood St John's PCC
Total Basic Fees* £520	Additional Fees Organist £100 Choir £120

* Service charge includes cost of church, lighting, heating, candles, verger, printed orders of service, extraordinary items, and contribution towards a standard pedestal display of flowers.

For any other information about your wedding, please do not hesitate to contact the Vicar. In the meantime, may God bless you and guide you as you prepare for this next chapter in your lives.

The views expressed on this web site are those of the webmaster and not necessarily those of the vicar or the PCC. Every effort is made to acknowledge ownership and/or copyright of materials used. You are free to copy anything on this site provided it’s not copyrighted by someone else. If you’ve got any comments or want further information please contact either the Webmaster or the Vicar. If you like what you see please tell your friends. Finally, come and visit us—there's no substitute for the real thing!!

St John the Evangelist, Auckland Road, Upper Norwood, LONDON, SE19 2RX. 020 8653 0378

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