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Marriages @ SMB
Frequently Asked Questions
How can we get married in St. Mary's?
You can get married in St. Mary's if:
- you live within the parish. Any address with an MK3 postcode is within our parish.
- you are on the Electoral Roll (our membership list). If you are not resident in the parish, you can become eligible to join our membership list only after worshipping with use regularly for six months.
What form does the service take?
Marriages in St. Mary's are conducted according to the rites of the Church of England only. This means that the form of vows, the declarations and the structure of the service cannot be changed other than to other licensed alternatives (for example, you can’t write your own vows). A Bible reading would always be included, and an address about the Christian understanding of marriage would be given.
When can we get married?
Marriages normally take place on Saturdays, usually between the hours of 1pm and 5pm, though other days and times are possible. There may be more than one wedding on any given Saturday, particularly in the Summer months, but there are always scheduled by us to by at least an hour and a half apart.
We do not take marriage services on Sundays as the day is too busy already with four or five congregations meeting during the day.
What else do we need to do before the day?
The first thing to do is to make an appointment with our Church Office (01908 366531) to fill out the forms and look at available dates and times. We are happy to take bookings well in advance on the payment of a small deposit.
We also offer a Marriage Preparation course three times a year for couples intending to get married or wanting to work at their existing relationship. We strongly recommend this. Couples are often reluctant to come to the course, and then express the desire that the course had been longer! Finding just a single afternoon to invest in your relationship is critically important – you’ll probably spend more time on the flowers than that!
What happens if one of us has been married before?
In exceptional circumstances, we do conduct the further marriages of those who have been divorced. It tends to be restricted to those who can show, through regular church attendance over a long period, that it is an absolute priority to them to have a Christian marriage service in the sight of God. Please contact us and one of our clergy team will be happy to come and chat through this issue with you.
Even if it does not prove possible for a further marriage, we are always happy to offer the alternative of a service of blessing and dedication after a civil marriage service. This service is easy to arrange and is often wonderful.
Wedding Blessings
Increasingly people are recognising that lasting love is something to celebrate, and we are taking a growing number of special services to help people celebrate particular anniversaries. If you’d like to do that, or to renew your vows for any reason, please contact the Church Office (01908 366531). This service is easy to arrange and involves no legal preliminaries.
What does it cost?
For other details relating to marriages, including the costs involved, please contact the Church Office on 01908 366531 or email us at office@st-marys-bletchley.org.
Why do we charge for weddings?
Part of the charge is set nationally, and contributes towards paying
for local clergy across the country. The rest of the charge is set locally,
and contributes towards the upkeep of the building. The community expects
its parish church to be in good condition when it wants to use it, but
the upkeep and repair of a medieval building is very expensive and there
are no grants towards it. All the money required to pay for the building
and essential repairs has to be found locally.