Getting married in the Church of England is now easier than ever before. The Church is keen to point out that you will be welcome to marry in church whatever your beliefs, whether or not you are baptised and whether or not you go to church. With a recent change in the law, there are now more churches than ever to choose from as you are not restricted to your parish. If you want to find a church, visit www.achurchnearyou.com to find a church in your area, or, see the Church of England’s ‘where to find us’ section.
Traditionally you could only marry in a church if you were on that church's electoral roll but this is no longer the case; if you want to get married in a particular church the rules now stipulate that, even though you are not on the electoral roll for that church and it is not in your local parish, if you meet one of the following, the vicar would be more than happy to help out:
That one of you:
- was baptised in the parish concerned or
- was prepared for confirmation in the parish or
- has at any time lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or
- has at any time regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months or
That one of your parents, at any time after you were born:
- has lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or
- has regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months or
That one of your parents or grandparents:
- was married in the parish
