GETTING MARRIED IN

FAWKHAM AND HARTLEY

Are you thinking about being married in one of our churches, St Marys, Fawkham or All Saints, Hartley? We have set out some notes, thoughts and considerations below which will help you start to plan your special day.

Who can marry in our Churches?

Under the new regulations that became law in October 2008, there are four ways you can marry in any Anglican Church;

1. One or both partners living in parish
2. By one or both partners being on the Church Electoral Roll
3. By Archbishop's license
4. By having a 'Qualifying Connection' with our parish

Marriage and the Law - Banns of Marriage

Before you can be married, certain legal formalities have to take place to make sure that you are both free to marry. Usually this is done by the reading of Banns in the parish churches where each of you is resident. There is a fee payable for each the banns reading, currently it is £22.

If at least one of you lives in the Parish of Fawkham and Hartley, your Banns will be read in the parish on the first three Sundays of the month preceding your wedding. Most couples like to be present to hear their banns read, and we look forward to welcoming you to the services when your banns are to be read. We also hope that you will enjoy coming to church on a regular basis in the months leading up to your wedding. To discover more of God's love for you and his purpose for your lives will be a strong foundation for your marriage.

If one of you lives in another parish, your Banns of Marriage will also have to be read in that parish church. It is your responsibility to contact the Rector / Vicar there and make the arrangements for your Banns to be read. He or she will arrange to have the Banns read and then issue you with a Banns Certificate for which there is a fee payable. You must give this certificate to the Rector as soon as you are issued with it because your marriage cannot legally go ahead unless he has seen it.

• We suggest you contact your local minister about four months before your wedding.

If neither of you lives in the Parish of Fawkham and Hartley you will have to have a qualifying connection. You will have the required connection if

one of you;

• was baptised in the parish. (This does not apply where the baptism formed part of a combined service of baptism or confirmation); or
• had his or her confirmation entered in a church register book of a church or chapel in the parish; or
• has at any time had his or her usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months; or
• has at any time habitually attended public worship in the parish for at least 6 months;

or a Parent of that person has at any time during that person’s lifetime:

• had his or her usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months; or
• habitually attended public worship in the parish for at least 6 months;

or a Parent or Grandparent of that person was married in the parish.

If you are going to attend services for the 6 months, we recommend that you attend our Family Service on the third Sunday of the month at 10.30 a.m. at All Saints Hall. You will also need to have been baptised. Please join us at our Sunday services as soon as possible so that the Rector can confirm the arrangements for your wedding, otherwise the booking will lapse after the six month period. We hope that you will find a real welcome in the parish, and that because you have joined in worship here, your wedding will be even more meaningful.

• You will also need to arrange for Banns of Marriage to be read in the Anglican Parish Churches where you both live, as well as in our parish.

To answer any questions you may have at this stage, then we suggest that you have a look at the wedding section on the Church of England website. It has a ver good FAQ section which will answer most common questions. Click here

Which building should you choose

The Parish of Fawkham and Hartley is one parish formed a number of years ago from two individual parishes. This means that we are blessed with two lovely Churches within the parish. Should you decide to go ahead and get married in Fawkham and Hartley, you can choose which church to get married in. There are a number of considerations; maybe you have family links with one particular building, the churches have different capacities and also different car park arrangements, you also may prefer the look of one building over another. If you would like some background historical information on the churches select History on the menu and you will find a page on each.