Congratulations on your engagement! We know that you’ll have lots to think about and many questions. We are here to help. We have included some information below to get you started, if you have any other questions or want to book a date please get in touch.

The Service

We want to work with you to help make your wedding day as special possible. Once you have booked a date a member of the clergy will be in touch to discuss your wedding. They will be very happy to help with planning and will also be able to advise about music, hymns, readings etc. We will send you a copy of the wedding service so that you can see what the service looks like. They will also book a rehearsal so that you can walk through exactly what will happen on the day.

Legal Issues

Before you can marry in a particular church the law requires that one or both of you must have a legal ‘qualifying connection’. A qualifying connection means that at least one of the below is true:

• you are living in the Ministry Area
• you are a regular worshipper
• you were baptised or confirmed in the parish
• you or a parent formally lived for at least six months in the parish
• you or a parent formerly habitually attended worship in the parish for at least six months
• a parent or grandparent had been married in the parish

There are 19 churches in the Netherwent Ministry Area and, if you are legally entitled to be married within the Ministry Area, you can be married in any of our churches.

Banns

Before your marriage can take place, the “Banns” will need to be called in the Ministry Area church. These are announcements made 3 Sundays in a row that you intend to marry to provide an opportunity to provide a legal reason why you cannot marry (don’t worry, we haven’t had an objection yet).

Banns are called in the 10.45 service at St Mary’s Magor usually on the first three Sundays of the month before your wedding day. E.g. if you’re getting married in August we’d call banns the first 3 Sundays of July. You don’t have to be present to hear your Banns read but you may enjoy joining us and hearing your news shared at the service.

If one of you lives in another parish you will need to arrange for Banns to be called there too. It will be your responsibility to speak to the local vicar to arrange the “Banns” to be called there. If you’re not sure where your local Anglican Church is you can check by searching your postcode at the link below.

Not everyone is legally entitled to be married by “Banns”. Under such circumstances a common licence or registrar’s certificate will be required. Further advice on this will be given at the time of booking your wedding.

One or both of us is Divorced

The Church in Wales allows for those who have been divorced to marry in church under certain circumstances. A member of the clergy team will be very happy to advise you, confidentially.

Fees

The cost of getting married in one of our churches is on average £600, it may be a little less if you don’t require a church organist/pianist and will be more if you want bells. If you get in touch we will be happy to advise further.

Blessing of Marriage / Renewal of Wedding Vows

It may be that you have been/are getting married elsewhere in a Civil Ceremony but want your marriage blessed.

Or perhaps you’ve been married for a while and want to renew your vows.

We are very happy to do this in a slightly different service which can either take place as part of a normal Sunday Service or on a separate occasion, please contact us to see what is possible.

Setting the Date

Please make sure that the church is available for your marriage and you have a legal right to be married within the Ministry Area before you make other arrangements to avoid disappointment.

If you are interested in arranging a wedding in any of our churches or if you have any questions please contact us.