The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony
Matrimony
St Peter’s is a most beautiful place to consider getting married in and the priest here will try to help you with your preparations. Marriage is a wonderful reflection of the love of God. Everything we seek to do at St Peter’s unfolds the story and narrative of God’s love for us. We would be only too happy to help you celebrate your wedding here.
Preparation
At least six months between the planning and the wedding. The Church demands an information gathering exercise and this will demand searching for new baptismal certificates, letters of freedom, confirmation details as well as a civil declaration of the intention to marry. All this has to be gathered together.
The priest where you live will need to do the paperwork and only he can complete this. There is also a need for a series of preparation sessions. The Church takes marriage seriously and wants those who are seeking to enter into marriage to do the same. You can speak with the priest who is preparing your paperwork about marriage preparation or you can speak with the priest at St Peter’s.
He will want to meet up with you anyway so that he can begin to help you shape the Wedding you want to celebrate in St Peter’s. There are so many options when it comes to marriage preparation and ether the priest at home or the priest here at St Peter’s will help you find the best solution to your needs.
Scheduling
One of the most important things you will need to do is fix a date into the diary. Please come to the Church first before you start booking reception venues and photographers and the like.
What if I don’t live in the Bromsgrove area?
Don’t worry. There are one or two ways of looking after the preparation and you can always talk through the possibilities either with the priest at St Peter’s or with your own priest. You will, of course, need to register your intention to marry civilly and this is done through the Registry Office. This has to be done no more than twelve months before the wedding takes place. It is so important that this is done, and done in good time. You can contact your local Registry Office and they will tell you exactly what you have to do as part of this process.
Does it matter if my Fiancé(e) is not Catholic?
Not at all! The priest who is taking care of your paperwork will just work through with you the dispensations and permissions that are required for the marriage. It is a straightforward process and the priest is there to help you. As a start to the process, it’s always worth finding out where you were baptised just so that your baptismal records can be located when needed. You may well have original certificates from the day you were baptised, but the priest preparing your paperwork will need you to get hold of new certificates.
Beginning the process
It is also important that you find time early on to come and meet the priest at St Peter’s. He can then give you details of who to contact with one or two things for your wedding as well as some things you might have to consider in marrying here.
Please contact Fr Benedict for more information.
Flowers
The flower team at St Peter’s are more than happy to decorate the church with flowers for your wedding, but we only do the church flowers, we do not offer a service for bridal flowers (bouquets etc).
Please inform either Anne Hilson or Ann Rogers (contact numbers available from Fr Benedict) of the date of your wedding. Even if you intend to use your own florist, please let us know of your plans.
One month before your wedding – please contact us again to discuss your flowers and detailssuch as colours etc. At this point we request a payment of 50% of the cost.
Two weeks before your wedding – finalise details with us and pay the final 50%. This will allow the team to order flowers and equipment, and plan their work.
If you are using your own florist, it is essential that we know well in advance of his or her plans fordelivery, setting up and removal. This will allow smooth co ordination for the removal of the church flower team’s own weekly flower arrangements and avoid times when the church is in use.
Best wishes and happy planning!
From the St Peter’s flower team.
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Arrangements |
Prices |
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Rails Outside (bows) |
£25 |
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Small Pedestal |
£65 |
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Large Pedestal |
£105 |
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Candle |
£35 |
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Pew Organza Bows (20) |
£15 for 20 bows |
Please do not complete this form until you have first spoken to Fr Benedict about your proposed marriage.
The purpose of this form is to collect the factual information and documents needed to prepare the Church’s pre-nuptial paperwork.
Completing this form does not confirm a wedding date and does not replace the meetings which you will need to have with Fr Benedict before your marriage.