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Information To Help Plan Your WeddingCongratulations.We like weddings at St Giles' and are very glad when couples want to get married here. A wedding is one of life’s great moments, a time of solemn commitment as well as good wishes, feasting and joy. The church takes your marriage seriously, and this information is designed to help you make your preparations for your wedding. Whether the ceremony you want is quiet and simple, or elaborate with glorious flowers and music and the bells ringing out, at the heart of the service the bride and bridegroom face each other, make their promises and receive God’s blessing.
There has been a relaxation in the rules governing who can be
married in a church. These changes came into effect on 1 October
2008 and made it possible for people who have previously had a link,
or been part of this community, eligible to marry in this church.
One of you will need to fulfil one of these criteria:
Or
that link may have been via a family connection, if:
If you wish to get married at St Giles under this
legislation please read through this document, 'Qualifying
Connection',
for further
information on
Church
of England policy
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We are here to help you with the planning of your wedding, the Rector will meet with you on several occasions to prepare with you for your marriage and the Administrator will help you with the practical details of the service.
The most important part of your wedding will be the service held in church. Planning for this should be one of the happiest times in your life together. We hope that this information will make it a little easier.
Your wedding matters to us, your celebration takes place in the life of this church. You and your family and friends become part of the ancient tradition of prayer and worship that has taken place in St Giles’ over hundreds of years day by day and week by week. As you prepare for your wedding day we will be holding you in our prayers.
We like to get to know you before your wedding, and we invite you to come to the main Sunday service at 10.00 a.m. There is coffee after the service and this gives us the opportunity to meet and for you to speak to the Director of Music and to hear the choir.
With all good wishes as you prepare to be married,
Yours sincerely,
KATHARINE RUMENS
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13. 4-7
| A TIMETABLE OF EVENTS | |
| As soon as possible | Book the date and time as soon as you can. We are happy to take provisional bookings up to 2 years ahead. Please notify us if you need to change your plans. |
| 6 months ahead | Confirm your booking of the chosen date and make an appointment meet the Rector to discuss wedding preparation. |
| 3 months ahead | Finalise details of the wedding service. |
| Ensure all information for the calling of the banns has been supplied to both churches. Make an appointment with the Director of Music. Arrange an appointment for your rehearsal. | |
| 2 months ahead | Payment for the wedding is due. |
| 1 week ahead | Rehearsal in church for everybody directly involved in the service. This usually takes place in the early evening and lasts for half an hour. |
A wedding is one of life’s great moments, a time of solemn commitment as well as good wishes, feasting and joy.
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The history of the Church. The first church on the site was built in 1090. This collapsed in 1390, and only the foundations remain. Replaced in the next three years, the 1390 building can still be seen in various parts of the present building. In 1545 the church caught fire and was badly damaged. It was refurbished in 1548 and that is the building that you now see. It suffered a direct hit from fire bombs in 1940 and lost its roof, furniture and glass. Refurbished again in 1962, it is now one of the most beautiful buildings in the City of London. The church is famous for being the place where Oliver Cromwell was married, Shakespeare was the Godfather to his brother's children, and John Milton is buried. Many famous people have been associated with St. Giles. John Speed the map maker, Frobisher the Armada admiral, and John Foxe are all buried in the church. Edward Alleyn, who founded Dulwich School and Ben Jonson the playwright worshipped here, the parents of Sir Thomas More were married in St Giles. The present building has recently been modernised and is fully accessible to wheelchair users, (including toilets). The pews seat 120 people. In addition, we have stacking chairs for a further 130 people, which we place in the side aisles. Fuller information about St Giles can be found in the Historical Tour. |
WHERE DO WE START?
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Church of England marriages in the Diocese of We like weddings at St Giles' and are very glad when couples want to get married here. There is to be a relaxation in the rules governing who can be married in a church. These changes come into effect on 1 October 2008 and make it possible for people who have previously had a link, or been part of this community, eligible to marry in this church. |
Preparation
You will meet with the Rector at monthly intervals in the
six months leading up to your wedding. You may meet her by yourselves or with
other couples getting married at the same time of the year. You are busy people
and much depends upon work schedules and availability. We think it is important
that we have spent time together looking at the implications of the wedding vows
and what your commitment to each other means to you. It is one thing to
understand your compatibility, another to know your areas of incompatibility and
how you resolve conflict.
The Parish Administrator will give you a
breakdown of church fees and additional costs and advise you when payment needs
to be made.
Calling of banns
Your banns
of marriage – the public statement of your intention to marry - will be called
at St Giles in the first three Sundays in the month preceding your wedding. If
one of you lives outside the parish or is on the Electoral Roll of another
church, in that church too. (These are called Away Banns). Please come to
church to hear your banns being read. As far as Away Banns are concerned,
it is your responsibility to make contact with the incumbent of that Church of
England church, and to arrange to have your banns read there. (You can find out
which your parish church is by going on to the diocesan website and putting in
your postcode.) There is a fee payable for this. When they have been read,
collect the banns certificate and give it to the Parish Administrator at St
Giles’. Unless the banns are in order, the marriage cannot legally take
place.
Remarriage
in church
If one or
both partners has been previously married, pastoral provision is made for
remarriage in church, and the question is currently being debated in the Church
of England. The couple need to arrange to meet the Rector. This can
be done through the Administrator.
Your Wedding Day
How long does the service last?
We allow about forty five minutes a service; this does not include time for the taking of photographs outside afterwards, or inside the church if it is raining. Please allow sufficient time for your journey to the church. Please do not be late. We ask that there is mobile phone connection with one of the ushers if the bride is arriving by car, so we can be advised if there are any traffic hold ups and warn the organist and bell ringers accordingly.
Orders of service
You do not have to have orders of service; we can provide your guests with hymn books. However most couples do produce their own orders of service, you will be helped by the Rector and Director of Music in compiling this. They need to approve your final choice of readings, music and hymns. The text can be downloaded from the Church of England website.
The rehearsal
This is held in the church for the couple the week before the marriage. You should try to have the best man, bridesmaids and an usher present. This is a time for those with important roles in the service to come in to the building, learn where the loos are and which door the guests come in by etc so you can help others on the day. We go through the spoken parts of the service and hope to put you all at ease. Some families use this as a chance to show the church to those who have not visited it before, and many then go on to an informal family dinner.
Ushers and Seating
You need to provide ushers who
will welcome your guests and assist people as they arrive. One usher per 25 – 30
guests is a good ratio, so for a congregation of 100 we suggest you have four.
This is a job for confident adults, not for younger members of the family and
friends. They need to be present 30 minutes before the wedding and distribute
orders of service and buttonholes and take people to their seats. We ask that
they help with the taking of the collection in the final hymn.
It is traditional for the family of the groom to sit on the right side of church as you walk in, behind the groom. The family of the bride sit on the left, with a space saved for those taking part in the bridal procession. You may not wish to split the congregation in this way, it is your decision.
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Photographers and video
We do allow photographers in
church. Professional photos may be taken during the singing of hymns, the
signing of the register and as the couple process down the church at the end of
the service. Guests are asked to put all cameras and video recorders away for
the duration of the service, but may join the professional photographer during
the signing of the register. It is essential that guests participate fully in
the service and not merely observe what is happening from the other side of a
lens. A video may be taken of the
ceremony, the person taking it is to remain in one place and not come forward
from the nave aisles into the chancel area as this is very distracting. The
organ loft may be used by photographers with the permission of the Director of
Music. |
Witnesses
You need two witnesses who are over 18 years of age.
Hire of premises for wedding parties
The church itself has no facilities for catering, although we are able to provide tables if you want to serve champagne and cake to a wider number of friends before the reception.
Honeymoon and passports
Brides and grooms may have their passport in their new name prior to the wedding. This is also advisable if travelling to some countries! Collect a form PD2 from the post office and bring it to the Rector to sign.
What music should I choose?
The Church
Director of Music is Anne Marsden Thomas, B.Mus., FRCO,
Tel: 020 7638 3052 Fax: 020 7638 8285 Email: amt@organschool.com
Hymns are for you to choose yourself: two or possibly three would be suitable. St Giles' is well known for the quality of its organ music but please advise the Administrator as soon as you know if you want the organ or the organ and choir so that she can book them for you. Choosing hymns can be difficult. Choose well known hymns your guests will know and enjoy singing.
Part of the fee that you pay to our Director of Music
includes her professional advice about what to choose. To aid your choice
you can, if you want, purchase from us ”A Wedding Album” as described below,
tape (£7) or CD (£11). The recording is packed with favourites such as Widor's
Toccata, Vierne's 1st symphony Final, Pachelbel's Canon, Faure's Après un Rêve
plus all the traditional wedding choices. Recorded at
The St Giles Singers
St Giles’ employs a professional quartet of Bass, Tenor, Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano. As our Director and Choir have a contract with us for all our music, they are entitled to receive 50% of their usual fees should you decide to arrange your own musicians. We agree to this provided any organist you wish to use has sufficient professional competence.
What do I do about flowers?
St Giles is a big space and one or two large flower arrangements work best. Some couples arrange their own, others ask family or friends to help, or employ a florist. Access to the church to arrange the flowers needs to be arranged with the Administrator.
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ConfettiNo confetti in and around the church. Even ‘bio-degradable’ confetti litters the church and surrounding area for days after the wedding and is a nuisance to sweep up. Parking
It is easy to park in the City on Saturdays. Please
check City of
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FinallyIt is your
wedding day. We will do everything to help to make it a day to remember.
If there are any queries you have, anything you think we have left out, please
ask. We all enjoy weddings here and we want you to enjoy yours. And we look
forward to seeing you again Many couples do stay in touch and worship with us on Sunday mornings on a regular basis. We are especially thrilled when, in time, parents ask to have their babies baptised. Each year we hold a service in the spring when we give thanks for faithful relationships and marriage. We sing many of the hymns that are chosen for weddings and the organ music at the end is one of the famous recessional pieces. The service is becoming very popular, and there is the chance to show your photos over a glass of wine afterwards. |