Many people choose to be married at St Faith’s, and we are delighted to help them at such a joyful time in their lives!
A marriage service is a public declaration of love and commitment to your partner. If you choose to get married in church, there is an added dimension – the assurance that God cares about your relationship and that his resources and strength are available to help you.
Including God in your marriage doesn’t mean that you will avoid all the usual ups and downs, but you will know that you can look to God for help and guidance and that his love will sustain you. You will also have the support and encouragement of the Christian Church family.
Can I be married at St Faith’s?
If you live in the Parish of Lee-on-the-Solent, or if you have a connection with St Faith’s you are normally entitled to be married at the church. The legal requirements to be married in a particular Church of England church can be found here.
Couples who are married in a Church of England church are married by Banns.
If you both live in Lee-on-the-Solent your banns will be called here automatically. If one of you lives in another parish you must arrange for banns to be called in that parish church within the three months before your wedding.
Banns are called at St Faith’s on the three Sundays of the month preceding the month of your wedding at the 9.30am and 11am services. We encourage all couples to come and hear their banns being read!
What if one of us is divorced?
There are special guidelines on marriage in the church if you are divorced. There may well be a way forward, but you will need to talk our vicar about your situation to explore the possibilities for you. Find out more here, and please do contact us to discuss.
How can I arrange a wedding at St Faith’s?
The easiest way to arrange a wedding is to contact the Parish Office. The first things to be done are to make sure you are entitled to be married here, and then to fix the date and time of the wedding.
Nearer the date of your wedding, the person taking the service will be in touch, and you can sit down together and plan your wedding service – we work together to arrange the service that is right for you.
Often, we produce an order of service for couples which has all the information that is needed on the day so that by the time of the wedding rehearsal (in the week before the wedding) everyone knows what is going to happen.
Where can I find out more information?
Contact us directly, or visit the Your Church Wedding web site, which contains lots of useful information.
Our own St Faith’s wedding leaflet, which gives details of costs and much more, can be downloaded here.