If you are considering getting married at St. John’s, we can help you to organise your big day. We can help you with all the practical and legal arrangements, as well as the spiritual side of a church wedding. We can also provide you with literature to help you think about a church wedding and what it means.
Can I get married at St. John’s?
You are entitled to be married
in the church of the Church of England Parish where one or other or you
lives. You can find out if you live in St. John’s Parish by checking
the London
Diocesan Church Finder website or by contacting the Parish Office. You can
view a map of the parish boundaries here.
If St. John’s is not the local Parish church of either of you, you
may marry at St. John’s if either of you are on our Electoral Roll.
To qualify to be on the Roll, you will need to attend Sunday worship regularly
for six months before applying.
If you are unable to fulfil these requirements, you should contact your
own Parish Church. However, in certain exceptional circumstances you may
still marry at St. John’s under a Special Licence - see the Church
of England website for more details.
Banns
of Marriage
Before you can be married at St. John’s you must have your Banns
read out in church for three consecutive Sundays during the three months
before your wedding. Banns are an announcement 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 at St. John’s and (if either of you live in
another Parish) your own Church of England Parish Church. We will arrange
for the Banns to be read at St. John’s, but it is your responsibility
to make the arrangement for the Banns to be read elsewhere, and for Banns
Certificates to be issued. In some exceptional cases there may be an alternative
to Banns - see the Church
of England website for details.
There are also other requirements (age, nationality, and current marital
status) that you must fulfil before you may legally marry in a Church
of England church. These are outlined on the Church
of England website and the Vicar will discuss these with you when
you arrange to meet him.
Arranging your wedding
Your first step in arranging your wedding at St. John's, is to contact our Vicar, Peter Mackenzie.
If you are getting married somewhere else, and you live in St. John's Parish (see a map of the parish boundaries here or check the London Diocesan Church Finder website) you will need to have your Banns of Marriage read at St. John's. To arrange this, you can download a Banns Form (PDF) here to print out and complete. You can also click here to read the notes that accompany this form.
You will need to fill in the details for both of you and return the form with a cheque for £34 made out to "St. John with St. James’ PCC". Your banns will need to be read out at St. John’s on three consecutive Sundays during the three months before your wedding. When you return your form, please can you suggest the dates you would like your Banns read. Please also supply full contact details, including a telephone number and email. We shall then forward a Banns Certificate to you once the reading of the Banns is complete.
We invite you to be at St. John’s for a reading of your Banns, which are always at our 10am Morning Service.
Are you looking to have your child baptised at St. John’s? Do you want to be baptised yourself? We are delighted to welcome you and your child into God’s family. All baptisms take place in our Sunday Morning Service (10am) where we use water, and light to symbolise new life and a clean start.
Contact the Parish Office to organise a meeting with someone to discuss details. If you are not a Christian you may be invited to go on an Alpha Course or similar introduction to Christianity first.
If you have any questions, we would love to speak to you.