“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church
Marriage is a gift from God, given to show his love to the world through his Son, in the lifelong union of a husband and wife. We would love to help you marry at one of our churches.
As well as being a Christian ceremony, a church wedding is a legal one, so there are some things to establish before a date can be confirmed. Most of them are straightforward.
Can we marry at St John’s?
Yes, if either of you lives in the parish.
Yes, if either of you is on the church electoral roll here.
Yes, if either of you:
- was baptised in the parish, or prepared for confirmation here;
- has lived in the parish for six months or more, at any time;
- has regularly attended worship here for six months or more, at any time;
- has a parent who lived in the parish for six months or more during your lifetime;
- has a parent who regularly attended worship here for six months or more during your lifetime;
- has a parent or grandparent who was married in one of our churches.
None of these has to be recent. They can be true of either of you, and only one of them needs to be true.
And if none of them is — you can still qualify by worshipping with us regularly for six months. Six months is the legal minimum, and it is the attendance itself that qualifies you, not joining any list. In practice we would suggest allowing eight, so that there is time for banns to be read after you qualify.
And if you do not live in the parish or near enough to worship regularly, but have a link that is not a qualifying connection — it may be possible for you to be married by an Archbishop’s Special Licence. You will need to demonstrate a “genuine and long-standing connection with the church”. If the Vicar agrees to your being married this way, you will need to apply for the licence from the Faculty Office, at facultyoffice.org.uk.
If either of you has been married before
If either of you has been married before and then divorced from a partner who is still living, then we cannot marry you at St John’s. We understand that many people will find this hard and upsetting, and we will gladly meet with you to explain why we believe that Jesus’ teaching makes this necessary. Each parish minister makes his or her own policy on this, so you will find parishes differ widely.
If either of you is not a British citizen
Where either of you is not a British citizen and does not hold EU settled or pre-settled status, the law provides a different route to marrying here: you apply to your local register office for a marriage schedule.
You apply together, in person, by appointment. It needs at least 28 days’ notice, and can take considerably longer — up to 70 days — if the Home Office reviews the application. Once the original schedule reaches us, we can go ahead.
Do tell us at the outset and we will talk you through it. We would advise not booking anything that depends on your preferred date until we have confirmed it, to avoid disappointment or additional expense.
Marriage preparation
We ask couples to do a marriage preparation course before their wedding, and we offer one ourselves. If you live too far away, find a course near you and let us have evidence that you have done it.
What happens next
Email the office at office@stjohnsknutsford.org.uk, or ring 01565 755160, and tell us who you are and the date you have in mind. We will send you our enquiry form and come back to you.
