Weddings are conducted at St Mary's, South Stoneham and St Alban's, Burgess Road.

They are usually on Saturdays, but other days are sometimes possible by arrangement.

The law concerning marriages in Church was changed recently.

Those who already are allowed to marry in a particular church (i.e., when either partner lives in the Parish (or both, of course), or if either is on the Church Electoral Roll of a Parish) are not affected, and neither is the law concerning the re-marriage of divorcees in Church.

But, there is a whole new group of people who can marry in a particular Parish Church - those who have a Qualifying Connection with the Parish.

These are defined in law as follows;

A person has a Qualifying Connection with a parish if:

that person:

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 have any questions about Qualifying Connection, please speak to one of the Clergy, or to the Parish office.

Fees

To give you an idea of the cost of a wedding, the fees for 2009 are:

Certificate of Marriage (Issued later than the date of Registration)

We would like your wedding to reflect your own thoughts and hopes as much as possible.

Each couple is unique, and the words used in the Service should reflect that.

A copy of the marriage service text is given here to help you.

Please choose one or two readings - and think about who might read them for you. There are 40 suggestions, but there are also lots of other readings you might like to think about.

Some Prayers

See the suggestions in the prayer section

Two or Three Hymns

Again, suggestions are given here to help you, but there are lots of other hymns as well.