Who can get married at St Mary's?
This section contains the legal details and is very important.
From 2008 less restrictive new regulations came into force regarding who can legally qualify to get married in Church of England churches. Couples need to establish a "qualifying connection" by virtue of one or more of the following:
- by being baptised (christened) in St Mary's and having an entry in the baptism register;
- by being confirmed in the Church of England and having an entry in St Mary's confirmation register;
- by having a parent or grandparent who was married at St Mary's;
- by having your usual place of residence in the Parish for at least six months;
- by having a parent whose usual place of residence has been in the Parish for at least six months during your lifetime;
- by habitually attending public worship at St Mary's for at least six months;
- by one parent habitually attending public worship at St Mary's for at least six months.
Also from 2015 new regulations came into force requiring all clergy, by law, to ask couples for evidence of nationality before marriage. We will need to see photo identification (eg passport, drivers licence) which we will photocopy.
In addition, if either party has had a previous marriage dissolved then this must be discussed with the clergy in accordance with the Church of England guidelines.
The "Legal Preliminaries" seem quite strict, but are designed to avoid legal difficulties in the future. The clergy will be willing to talk through these options in more detail with couples so that date setting and planning the wedding can proceed without problems