Weddings/Blessings
With the rescinding of Covid protocols, weddings have resumed at St James’s without restrictions. Read on, and we’d love to hear from you!
Your blessed day at St James’s
As the parish church for Enfield Highway and Brimsdown, St James’s is a place for all of life’s great events, including celebrating two people making a life together.
We love weddings at St James’s! We do our utmost to make very special and personal wedding services for couples. The service can be as simple or as involved as you want it. You have the option of adding music (whether recorded or live on our pipe organ), flowers, personalised orders of service, having photos and texts projected on LED screens in church before and during the wedding service, and more.
If you want to mark your special occasion simply—with merely priest, a couple of witnesses, and the church building—we can make that possible, too. Plus anything in between.
Banns
As a church wedding is a legal ceremony with the minister acting as registrar, the ancient practice of Banns still exists in law. This is the announcement of the couple and their coming wedding over three successive Sundays at St James’s, as well as in any parish in which the groom and/or bride may reside. Banns must be read before the wedding can take place, so this involves prior planning. The administrator and clergy at St James’s are happy to guide you through this process so that it is as painless as possible.
For couples getting married in another Church of England parish church, and when either the bride, the groom, or both live in the Parish of St James (that is, residing in Brimsdown or Enfield Highway), we will have to publish (read Banns) for you as a couple over three Sundays in advance of your wedding date; after the third of these Sundays, we would furnish you a certificate for you to give the vicar who will be performing your wedding ceremony.
Blessing of a Marriage after a Civil Ceremony
It is also possible to have a church service to bless a couple in their marriage after having had wed at a local registry office. This dispenses with the necessity for banns to be read, and lots of church administration, so this might be a viable option for you. Just like a full church wedding, you have options for music, flowers, orders of service, and more.
Renewal of Marriage Vows
We are also happy to mark couples’ special anniversaries with a service of Renewal of Vows. Again, this can be as simple or as opulent as you wish.
Fees and charges
Fees and charges apply for each of these services; some are statutory fees set by the Church Commissioners for England and ratified by parliament each November for the following year; others are charges set by St James’s church council at its December meeting for the following calendar year.
For a current list of fees and charges for weddings, blessings and renewals of vows, please contact the vicar, the Revd Ian Gallagher, on 07944 25 25 23, or via email at ian.gallagher@stjameschurch.cc.
Want to know more?
For enquiries about weddings (including banns), blessings and renewals of vows, be in touch with the vicar, the Revd Ian Gallagher, on 07944 25 25 23, or via email at ian.gallagher@stjameschurch.cc, and we can get the ball rolling.
For more information about weddings in the Church of England complete with a list of Frequently Asked Questions, please click on this link, or click on the grey ‘Your Church Wedding’ graphic above.