Marriages are governed by UK law and Church law. You need to check that neither you nor the person you hope to marry are subject to immigration controls and/or have overstayed your visa. Also, you need to check that one of you is connected to the parish according to the rules of the Church of England.

If one of these criteria seems to be a problem in your case, don’t panic. Read the information below and feel free to contact us if you need to know more. We will require documentary proof of these things and may have to refer you to other agencies or authorities (such as the Registrar or the Home Office) in case of doubt, particularly with regard to immigration status.

You can marry in a Church of England church such as St Laurence’s if one or both of you are resident within the parish OR if you are able to prove a connection. This means that you are able to show that one of you:

• has at any time lived in the parish for a period of at least six months or
• was baptized in the parish or
• was prepared for Confirmation in the parish or
• has at any time attended normal services at St. Laurence’s at least once a month for a period of at least six 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 six months or
• that one of your parents, at any time after you were born, has attended normal services at St. Laurence’s for a period of at least six months or
• that one of your parents or grandparents was married at St Laurence’s

It may be that you can show a number of these connections, but only one is necessary for the purposes of marriage.

The Church of Eng­land is obliged to uphold UK law as to who can marry in its churches and this includes the visa status of non-EU cit­izens and the Immig­ra­tion Act 2004 as amended.  People who enter the UK on a visa and wish to marry an EU cit­izen must have per­mis­sion to do so as part of their visa, and their visa must be cur­rent.  Mar­ry­ing in the Church of Eng­land is not a way of evad­ing the require­ments of the law nor of the con­sequences of hav­ing over­stayed a visa, because all legal require­ments must be sat­is­fied before the mar­riage can take place.

We advise any­one who wishes to seek to get mar­ried at St Laurence’s whose situation falls within this category to ensure that any immig­ra­tion and other visa issues have been fully resolved before approach­ing us.  You may have to be referred to the Super­in­tend­ent Regis­trar or the Home Office to obtain the cor­rect paper­work and permissions.

Yes. If either of you has a divorced partner still living, then you will not be able to be married at St Laurence’s. Should this be the case, you should speak to one of the clergy who will advise you that a Service of Prayer and Dedication following your civil marriage may be appropriate.

Each Church of England church serves an area called a parish. It has fixed boundaries and you can check which parish you live in by visiting www.achurchnearyou.com and searching with your postcode. Because of the variety in size and shape of parishes (largely for historical reasons), the Church of England church nearest to where you live may not be your Parish Church, especially in large cities.

The cost of being married at St Laurence’s is variable and depends on your particular requirements to some extent. First, the cost is made up of what may be called Statutory Fees. These are legally fixed and are usually annually reviewed and they relate to the actual costs of the ceremony (please see the Church of England table of fees). Secondly, and in addition to these Fees, there are Local Charges. These vary from church to church and relate to such things as the cost of the Organist.

Banns of Mar­riage must be read – that is, announced in church – if you are to be mar­ried in a Church of England church.  Banns is an old English word meaning proclamation.  It is the announcement to the community of your intention to marry in church and happens on three successive Sundays.  This has to happen in the church of the parish where you live as well as in the church of the parish where you are being married, if different.  As well as a public notification of your intention, this is an oppor­tun­ity for someone to raise any legal objec­tion to a mar­riage, e.g. because one of the couple is too young or is already married.  If you wish to marry at St Laurence’s (or you live in the par­ish but are get­ting mar­ried at another church), in most cases it will be necessary to have your Banns read at St Laurence’s.  Please con­tact us to arrange an appoint­ment to do the neces­sary paperwork.

Please see one of the clergy for further inform­a­tion on Banns of Mar­riage and for the Banns of Mar­riage applic­a­tion form.

The Church of Eng­land is obliged to uphold UK law as to who can marry in its churches and this includes the visa status of non-EU cit­izens and the Immig­ra­tion Act 2004 as amended.  People who enter the UK on a visa and wish to marry an EU cit­izen must have per­mis­sion to do so as part of their visa, and their visa must be cur­rent.  Mar­ry­ing in the Church of Eng­land is not a way of evad­ing the require­ments of the law nor of the con­sequences of hav­ing over­stayed a visa, because all legal require­ments must be sat­is­fied before the mar­riage can take place.

We advise any­one who wishes to seek to get mar­ried at St. Laurence’s whose situation falls within this category to ensure that any immig­ra­tion and other visa issues have been fully resolved before approach­ing us.  You may have to be referred to the Super­in­tend­ent Regis­trar or the Home Office to obtain the cor­rect paper­work and permissions.

Mar­riage is a won­der­ful and import­ant part of your life.  If you want to be mar­ried at St Laurence’s you will be asked to consider coming to reg­u­lar worship as part of your pre­par­a­tion for Chris­tian Mar­riage which is one of the sacraments of the Church.  As you prepare to celebrate your marriage, you will explore the meaning of the service and you will have a say about certain parts of the service.   There will also be a full rehearsal in the week before your wedding.