weddings
First of all, congratulations on becoming engaged!
We are delighted to welcome couples who wish to be married in one of our churches. We take pride in making your day special. We’ll help you plan the service so that you and your guests will enjoy the experience. We’ll do everything we can to help you prepare for your marriage as thoroughly and as completely as we can. We will help to make it a deeply spiritual and happy celebration.
The first step is to confirm you have the right to be married in one of our churches. If one of you lives within the parish boundary, or if you are a regular worshipper and on our membership list you may be married in that church. In addition, if you or your family fulfils one of the following criteria, then you can be married in one of our parish churches:
-
One of you was baptized or prepared for confirmation in the parish
-
One of you has ever lived in the parish for six months or more
-
One of you has at any time regularly attended public worship in the parish for six months or more
-
One of your parents has lived in the parish for six months or more in your lifetime
-
One of your parents has regularly attended public worship in the parish for six months or more in your lifetime
-
Your parents or grandparents were married in the parish
For more information, the legal stuff, and more help in organizing a church wedding, please visit the Church of England’s Website Your Church Wedding .
Once you have checked you are eligible to be married in one of our churches, the next step is to contact the Church Administrator by email: office@pinhope.co.uk , or phone 07596224094. Our Church Administrator will to make an appointment for you to meet with one of our clergy to talk through the date you have in mind and to start to plan your ceremony.
Please do not make any firm bookings with reception venues, or other suppliers, until you have met with one of our clergy. Once your meeting has taken place and a date and time have been agreed, a deposit of £100 will be requested to hold the date for you. We do not hold more than one wedding per day.
To ensure the marriage complies with both UK Civil and Church law, there are certain aspects of a church wedding that must be fulfilled.
You must be old enough
If you are under 18 years old you will need your parents’ consent to marry and by law you cannot be married in the UK until you are 16.
Time of wedding
To be legal the wedding must take place between 8am and 6pm on any day. We do not hold Wedding ceremonies on a Sunday and whilst a ceremony can be on a weekday (depending on clergy/church availability) the presence of a choir and bell-ringers, as applicable, cannot be guaranteed.
Guidelines for divorcees
There are special guidelines on marriage in the church if you are divorced. Please contact the Church Office to arrange to talk to one of our clergy about your situation.
Reading of Banns
Banns are an announcement in church of your intention to marry and a chance for anyone to put forward a reason why the marriage may not lawfully take place. Banns need to be read in the parish where each of you lives as well as the parish church in which you are to be married, if that is somewhere else.
It is not possible to have Banns read in Church in all instances. You current home address and your Nationality may mean that other types of wedding licence are required in place of Banns. Please check the Legal Requirements section of the Church of England Weddings Website for information.
Fees
For the latest fees for a Church Wedding please look at our 2023 Wedding Price List.
Marriage Preparation
A necessary part of the process is that we require you to attend one of our Marriage Preparation Workshops. Taking place from 10am to 3pm on a selection of Saturdays through the year, these are a great opportunity for engaged couples to explore and deepen their relationship, and to think through issues which lie ahead of you as you prepare to set out on your married life together. They are not “preachy” events, and nearly all who have been through them have said how helpful they’ve been. These workshops are appropriate for couples of any age and at any stage in their relationship and will be attended by other couples getting married.
Feedback from attendees:
‘We had a lovely day at the Marriage prep two weeks ago. It was very informative and met our needs as a couple, so I would like to say a massive thank you to the church for organising this for us.’ – Rachel and Dane, Pinhoe Wedding Couple
‘We really got a lot out of the marriage preparation day! It was different than what we expected and has helped us a lot.’ – Broadclyst Wedding Couple
‘just wanted to say thank you to you and the team for organising the Marriage Preparation course, we felt it was really valuable.’ – Marina and Nick, Clyst Honiton Wedding Couple
Blessing of Marriage
We can also offer a Blessing of a Civil Marriage service which may follow a Civil Marriage held locally or abroad and is planned individually with you. Please contact the Church Office for further information.
Confetti
The throwing of biodegradable confetti is permitted, but this should be at the church lych gate and not within the churchyard.