Weddings

The decision to get married is a life-changing one and perhaps one of the biggest decisions you will make in life.

A church wedding recognises the significance of what you are doing and adds both solemnity and joy to the occasion and it uniquely allows those gathered for the wedding to pray for you and invites God’s blessing on your new relationship.

If you are thinking of getting married at St Mary’s, we would love to talk to you.

Can we get married in St Mary’s Church?

You are entitled to get married in this church if:

a) You live within the boundary of the Horncastle group of Churches:

St Mary’s, Horncastle

St Andrew’s, Ashby Puerorum

All Saint’s, Greetham

St John’s, High Toynton

St Peter, Low Toynton

St Michael’s, Martin

St Margaret’s, Thimbleby

St Wilfrid’s, Thornton

b) You don’t live in the parish, but you have worshipped with us on a regular basis for at least 6 months

c) If you have what is termed a Qualifying Connection which could be any of the following:

Either of you has lived in the parish for at least 6 months at any point in your life.

Either of you was baptised or confirmed in the parish.

Any of your parents or grandparents were married in St Mary’s.

Any of your parents lived in the parish after you were born or themselves worshiped in St Mary’s for a period of 6 months.

What if one or both of us are divorced?

On occasion, people who have been married before are able to be married again with the Church of England but this depends on circumstances. Please contact us to discuss this in further detail.

How much will it cost?

In 2019 a straight-forward wedding with an organist for the music and with the bells rung both before and after the service will cost £585. If you also want the choir, bells rung, or if the church requires heating, then it will be more than this.

How do we book a date?

Please telephone our Group Administrator – Debbie Knight on 01507 525600 or email enquiries@stmaryshorncastle.org.uk.

We have between 6 and 12 weddings a year – so we have plenty of Saturdays free and can do 2 or 3 weddings on one day if necessary, so you do not have to book two years in advance unless you want to! We can, if necessary, organise a wedding in less than 2 months, or even more quickly if we do it by Common Licence. We can also do weddings on other days of the week if the church is not being used for anything else.

What happens next?

When you book a wedding, you will be required to complete a Banns Application Form and proof of your ID and your address – so please bring your driving licence or passport. If you have been divorced, then we will also need to see your decree absolute. Once this information has been received, a meeting with the Rector will be arranged for you to ensure that you are legally entitled to be married at St Mary’s and will give you some basic information and answer any questions you may have.

Three months before the date of your wedding, you will be sent a letter to confirm that dates that your banns will be read together with an invoice for the full costs of the wedding. We are happy to take payment for your wedding through the bank or by cash/cheque when you come along for your wedding rehearsal which is usually in the week before the wedding.

This means that you will have met the minister on a few occasions before the wedding and by then you should know each other quite well which helps us make every wedding personal to the couple concerned.

Please follow the link to the Church of England website https://www.yourchurchwedding.org for further information and some real-life wedding stories.