Weddings in
The Parish of South Gillingham, Kent
Rochester Diocese


Who can get married at one of the Churches in the Parish?

Under the current rules you can get married at one of the Churches in South Gillingham if:

- One of you lives in the Parish of South Gillingham (Bredhurst, Wigmore, Parkwood, Hempstead)

OR

- One of you is on the electoral roll of our Parish - to be on the electoral roll you must have been Baptised (Christened) and have regularly attended one of our Churches for at least six months.

You will need to consider the following before you decide you wish to book one of our Churches for your Wedding Service.

Depending whether you decide to book a choir or not the cost of a Wedding in Church is likely to be between£400 and £500. Here is a link giving full details of the scale of fees.

You have a choice of churches of different styles within the parish. Click this link for a description and locations of our churches, together with some other useful information.

Having done this you then need to contact the Parish Administrator who will help oyu with making a booking. The parish Who's Who page has contact details.

You may also find the following information useful in planning your wedding.

What if one of us is divorced?

We can marry people who are divorced, but only with the Bishop’s permission. There are strict rules on this, but please ask. Basically, if your present relationship was not the cause of the breakdown of your previous marriage then we can start talking.

We also offer a service of blessing following a civil marriage, which is all but identical to a standard wedding but does not require any special permission. Again, please ask.

The first place for your queries is the Parish Administartor - contact details on the Who's Who Page.

This link will provide you with information about the rules on marrying divorcees in Church.

We are living together. Does that matter?

No.

And we happily marry couples who already have a family – your own children make wonderful bridesmaids and page boys.



What are Banns?

Banns are an ancient tradition and also a legal necessity. They date from the times when you would have lived in a small village and everyone knew you. Given the often complex family links, only your neighbours and family would know if you were too closely related to be married, or if you were already married. So, the Banns were introduced to ensure that only those legally entitled to be so were married.

This piece of law remains in place to this day – despite press reports that it has been abandoned.

When you make contact with the Parish Administrator you will be advised when and where your banns will be read. It will be during a Sunday service, for three Sundays, at one or more of the Churches in the Parish.

When reading the banns the Minister says:

“I publish the banns of marriage between N & N and X & Y, etc. If any of you know cause or just impediment why these persons should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony you are to declare it.This is for the first/second/third time of asking.”

At the reading of Banns the couples do not actually have to do anything but simply remain in their seats.

What happens in a Marriage Service?

Well, we marry you. The Marriage service is a Christian ceremony, so there will also be hymns or words of praise, a bible reading and prayers.

Look here for more general resources, summaries of the services, readings, etc.

Have a look at the Links Page for some useful links etc.

We do have some rules to keep everything in order and to preserve the sanctity of the ceremony.  You can find all these in the resources link as well.