Churches & Places for Worship
Looking for a church or place for worship to come together and exchange your beautiful vows on your wedding day? Find our brilliant selection of churches and places for worship here to have your perfect church wedding or other religious ceremonies.
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Elaine Rough
Elaine has worked at Guides for Brides for 13 years with extensive expertise in identifying idyllic church locations and other places for worship. If you are struggling to get in touch with your chosen venue, Elaine recommends visiting the church as they will have their most up-to-date contact information.
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Ask Our Expert
Elaine Rough
Elaine has worked at Guides for Brides for 13 years with extensive expertise in identifying idyllic church locations and other places for worship. If you are struggling to get in touch with your chosen venue, Elaine recommends visiting the church as they will have their most up-to-date contact information.
Read More
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Young girls dream of getting married in a pretty village church, walking up the aisle to the altar to say their wedding vows, the guests joining them to sing their choice of wedding hymns, and walking back out of church to a shower of confetti with the church bells ringing to celebrate their marriage. The reality is that nearly two thirds of couples now marry in a licensed wedding venue rather than choosing a church for their legal ceremony.
Those that do marry in church comment that saying their wedding vows in front of the Vicar, Minister, Priest and God adds an extra importance to the words of the vows, and that they want religious hymns and a full choice of religious readings and prayers at their wedding, none of which can be included in a civil wedding.
Fees for church weddings now include everything for the average wedding, at less than £500 which is the typical fee for hire of a room in a civil venue for the wedding ceremony, so you could consider it the budget option, second only to register offices. You may need to pay extra if you want an organist to play organ music during the wedding hymns and signing of the register, and contribute towards the bell ringers' expenses, and it is correct to leave at least some of the flowers in the church after the wedding ceremony for the regular church congregation to enjoy the next day.
Can you choose which church to marry in?
The laws and regulations on church weddings, and in particular which church you can get married in and whether you have a choice of churches other than your local parish church has changed in recent years. In the past there were strict laws insisting that either the bride or the groom must permanently live in the parish in which they plan to get married. Now you can choose the church where you grew up, where you were christened, where you live or work, in fact anywhere you can demonstrate a strong connection to that particular church. How far this regulation can be taken depends on how popular the church you choose is. For a picturesque village church in a stunning country setting that has recently featured as the back-drop to a soap opera wedding, your connections will need to be incredibly strong to convince the Vicar that you have a genuine connection with his or her church.
Special rules relate to getting married in Westminster Abbey; only members of the royal family, members or children of the Order of the Bath and those living in Westminster Abbey's precinct can hold their wedding there, and let's face it, you would need a very large wedding to justify the inconvenience of a venue such as that. More popular is St Margaret's Church in the grounds of Westminster Abbey, and this tends to be the church of choice for those living and working close to Westminster Abbey including Members of Parliament.
Legalities of getting married in church
Weddings in register offices or civil venues require by law two officiants to carry out the legal wedding ceremony, whereas for church weddings it only requires the minister. A church of England wedding is legally binding and can only be held between 8am and 6pm, nominally the hours of daylight. Some ministers are reluctant to marry couples during lent, and while December is a popular month for church weddings - apparently due to the large number of couples wanting to sing carols in place of hymns at the wedding - do remember that it is also a very busy time for the minister and they may be a little reluctant. A minister can refuse to marry a couple, in which case the Bishop may get involved.
Banns are read in the church you are marrying in on 4 consecutive weeks before the wedding, with the bride and groom both expected to be present for as many readings of the banns as possible. Most ministers ask couples to attend a marriage preparation course, or at the very least will spend time with the couple discussing their relationship with each other.
If this is the second marriage for either of the couple you will probably need to look for a non religious alternative, although some churches, including Methodist, will marry divorced couples. The Church of England will generally offer a wedding blessing to couples where either have been married before, however this rule only applies to divorce; widows and widowers can legally re-marry in church.
Churches and Places of Worship FAQs
You have to be Catholic to marry in a Catholic church, but you don't have to be baptised or christened to have a Church of England ceremony. Although some churches, including Methodist, will marry divorced couples, the Church of England will generally offer a wedding blessing, instead of a legal ceremony, to couples where either have been married before. However, this rule only applies to divorce; widows and widowers can legally remarry in church.
There used to be strict laws that either the bride or the groom must permanently live in the parish in which they plan to get married. Now you can choose the church where you grew up, were christened, live or work, in fact any church you can demonstrate a strong connection to.
The Church of England gives all British citizens the right to be married at their local parish church. There is no obligation to have attended church regularly, or for both parties to have been baptised. You should arrange to meet your parish minister as they will be pleased to advise you of their procedures.
Banns are read on 4 consecutive weeks before the wedding. The bride and groom both expected to be present for as many readings of the banns as possible.
Marriage in church must take place between 8am and 6pm, and may do so on any day of the week although ministers are less likely to be able to marry you on a Sunday, and during religious holidays such as Lent.
Many churches offer wedding rehearsals – this allows you, your partner and your bridal party to run through the service ahead of the big day so you know what to expect and when. Most ministers will also ask couples to attend a marriage preparation course, or at the very least will spend time with the couple discussing their relationship with each other leading up to the wedding day.
Fees for church weddings now include everything for the average wedding at less than £500. You may need to pay extra if you want an organist to play organ music during the wedding hymns and signing of the register, and contribute towards the bell ringers' expenses.
Churches will get booked up months in advance. Talk to your vicar or the church office as soon as possible, particularly if you're hoping to marry during peak wedding season, at least 9-12 months before your big day. It is also recommended to book the church at the same time as your reception venue, to ensure matching dates.
If you or your partner are not Jewish then your wedding cannot take place in a synagogue or under the auspices of a synagogue. So, such couples need to either go to a registry office before the wedding or get a registrar to come to their licensed venue. However, some rabbis who are independent of any synagogue can help mixed and interfaith couples who want to include Jewish traditions in their wedding. This can include all of the symbols of a Jewish wedding such as the chuppah, exchanging rings, ketubah, the Sheva Brachot, and breaking the glass.
A Muslim wedding can take place anywhere and not just in a Mosque (though this is the preferred choice). So, you have a lot of scope for your venue.
The Sikh Wedding rituals themselves often take place in a temple, such as a gurudwara. The marriage hall is called the pandal; it is where family and friends gather to watch the bride and groom officially join together as a married couple. The ceremony is often held in a gurudwara, or a Sikh temple.
Sikhism does not permit for priests. Rather, a custodian of the Guru Granth Sahib will read the relevant passages of the book and marry the couple.
The Hindu wedding ceremony is not recognised by British law, so you need to marry in a civil register office before the Hindu ceremony.