Welcome!
We are delighted that you are interested in making St. Paul’s a part of your wedding celebration! We want to do everything possible to make sure that your wedding is a wonderful and memorable occasion for you and your loved ones. Even more importantly, as you begin your new life together, we also want to do all we can to help you build the strongest possible marriage. Most importantly, we hope this will be a time in which you come to know Jesus Christ in a deeper way. With all this in mind, we have developed the following wedding guidelines to help in your thinking and planning. Please read carefully what we have to say, then feel free to share any questions or comments you may have.
1. An Overview
The Bible teaches us to hold marriage in very high regard. The Book of Alternative Services summarizes Scriptural teaching this way:
“Marriage is a gift of God and a means of His grace. It is a way of life that all should reverence, and none should lightly undertake.” At St. Paul’s we try to “reverence” marriage by taking each aspect of planning and preparation seriously.
Marriage is God’s good gift to humankind—both Christian and non-Christian. It was instituted by God himself and was intended from the beginning to reflect God’s love and faithfulness to the whole human race. Recognizing this, St. Paul’s marriage preparation is open to people at all stages of Christian development—from the honest seeker to the committed disciple.
While Christians have no monopoly on marriage, it is Christ’s living presence in a couple’s life together and mutual submission to His authority, which sets Christian marriages apart. Therefore, we are convinced that the most effective thing we can do to support marriages is to point to Jesus Christ and to help couples grow in their relationship with him. If you are already married and are seeking a Christian blessing for your marriage, we would be pleased to support you in this endeavour.
2. Who gets married at St. Paul’s?
At St. Paul’s we are committed to ensuring the highest quality of care for the couples married here. We are prepared to invest time and energy into every wedding we do. Of course, our resources are not unlimited. For this reason, we only perform weddings for members of the parish, couples who indicate a desire to become members of the parish, or in the case of a couple who live in another city who are active members of another local church.
A member of St. Paul’s is defined as someone who seeks to follow Jesus as Lord, regularly attends services here and who supports the ongoing ministry of this church. If you are not a member currently, but are interested, we would love to help you. Marriage is an exciting time, and it can become a great deal more exciting and meaningful through understanding more about Jesus. We warmly invite you to find out more.
3. Initial Application
If you are interested in being married at St. Paul’s, complete the Marriage Registration Form and submit it to the church office. If possible, we will tentatively reserve space in the church pending a review of your application. As soon as you can, please contact one of the clergy to set up an appointment to discuss your wedding, to answer any questions you may have and to confirm reservation of church facilities.
4. Officiating Ministers
Ordinarily St. Paul’s clergy perform all weddings in the church or chapel. If you want a specific clergy person to officiate at your wedding, be sure to speak to him/her before you set a date and time.
Please call the church office to arrange a meeting with the officiating minister. Please discuss any other arrangements with the Rector.
5. Date and Time of Your Wedding
Choosing the right day and time for your wedding is an important detail. Weddings at St. Paul’s are usually performed on Saturdays; other days are sometimes available, but not on Sundays. To allow for photographs, clean-up and set-up, at least three hours must be allowed between weddings and there will be a maximum of two weddings on any given day. Weddings are not performed during the week before Easter or the week before Christmas. We need at least 3 months’ notice to schedule a wedding. Date and time slots are filled on a first come, first served basis.
6. Marriage Preparation
“Your wedding is one day—your marriage is a lifetime.” At St. Paul’s we want all couples married here to have the strongest possible marriage. To help you achieve this goal, we ask that you participate in a Marriage Preparation Programme supported by St. Paul’s.
· The Catholic Engaged Encounter program
This is an excellent marriage preparation weekend course during which you, as a couple, will have the opportunity to discuss everything from communication to spiritual concerns over the period of a weekend.
Information can be found at http://www.ceewest.com/edmonton.htm or phone Edmonton Catholic Engaged Encounter at 780-466-0090.
· The Marriage Preparation course offered at:
Beulah Alliance Church
17504-98A Ave
Edmonton, AB
Phone: 780 486-4010
e-mail: bac@beulah.ca
· Another place that offers Marriage preparation is:
Cornerstone Counselling Centre
11111 Jasper Ave. Edmonton
Phone: (780) 482-6215
7. Christian Instruction
You have decided to get married in the church. We are thrilled that you want to include God in your life and ask for His blessing on your marriage. With this in mind, we want to assist you both in strengthening your faith further and we ask you to complete a basic course in the Christian faith, if you haven’t already done so. Please ask the church office for more details.
8. Legal Requirements
Prior to marriage you must obtain a license to marry from a private agency. If you are to be married in St. Paul’s, this license must be in the St. Paul’s church office at least two weeks before the wedding service. Alberta marriage licenses are valid for three months. We will put an announcement for your wedding in the bulletin on the Sunday before the wedding date and ask the congregation to pray for you. (Please notify the office.)
9. Divorce/Remarriage
If either of you has been divorced, attention will be given to your special pastoral needs. A form is available from the officiating minister for you to complete, reflecting on the issues of divorce. Permission for remarriage in the Anglican Church must be obtained from the Bishop. The officiating minister applies to the Bishop for this permission to be granted. This procedure takes a minimum of six weeks.
10. Official Marriage Certificate
As a memento of your wedding, a Certificate of Marriage will be given you by the officiating minister. Please note, however, that this is not an official legal certificate. Application for the official certificate should be obtained as you file for your marriage license. The marriage certificate is issued by private agencies, but usually the place where you apply for your marriage license
will carry these forms. We understand it now takes 4-6 weeks to process this application.
11. Facilities and Service Details
Church Facilities – the main church seats up to 275 people and the chapel seats up to 20. The organ or piano can be used for church weddings. Or we have a sound system and facilities for a group of musicians. In this case, you will need a sound technician to operate the system. Please indicate on your form whether you need a sound technician. This is an optional service we provide – see fee schedule.
Parking – is available in both the lot east of the church and the one west of the church. People attending weddings are asked not to obstruct driveways or lanes in the area.
The Order of Service – Normally the order of service will follow either The Book of Common Prayer or The Book of Alternative Services. Participation by non-parish clergy or musicians within the service is limited to only a number of specific roles, subject to direction by the officiating minister. St. Paul’s reserves the right to choose what participation is appropriate. Readings will be from the Bible—a suggested list is attached. Ask the officiating minister for additional direction.
Church Decorations – Please discuss church decorations with the Altar Guild at least four weeks before your wedding. Plans for unusual or elaborate flower arrangements or other decorations must be reviewed and approved in advance by the Altar Guild. Please fill out the form for the Altar Guild and leave at the church office.
No confetti, please – in consideration of the church property, you are asked to ensure that no confetti, rice, flower petals or birdseed is thrown either in or about the church facilities.
Photographs and Video – Photographs and video are a welcome way to preserve the special memories of your wedding. As the wedding service is a church service, it is requested that no flash lighting be used during the wedding ceremony by guests, or by professional photographers, videographers, or others. Pictures may be taken at the signing of the Register, and as the bride and groom walk down the aisle before and after the service. All photographers and videographers are asked to be discreet and not to obstruct the view of the congregation, and they should be informed in advance to take direction from the officiating minister.
Service Bulletins – some couples want to provide a service bulletin for those who attend their wedding. If you give us enough notice (at least two weeks), we are happy to help with planning and producing a bulletin for you. This is an optional service we provide – see fee schedule.
12. Rehearsal
It is very important for all wedding participants to feel as confident and well-prepared as possible during the service, so, for all formal weddings (with processional, recessional, etc.) a rehearsal is required. Please arrange this with the officiating minister. The rehearsal is usually about 60 minutes in length, and all members of the wedding party are asked to be present if possible. The evening before the wedding is the appropriate time for a wedding rehearsal. Rehearsals are not held on Wednesday or Thursday evenings. Changing rehearsal dates and times is very difficult because of the extensive use of the church facilities for other purposes. If you wish to change your rehearsal time or date, please consult with the officiating minister first.
13. Invitations
Please do not have your invitations printed until the date and time of your wedding have been finally confirmed by St. Paul’s, and, in the case of those who have been divorced, permission to be married has been granted by the Bishop. The suggested form for the address of the church is:
St. Paul’s Anglican Church
10127 – 145 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5N 2X6
14. Wedding Music
If you choose to use the organ or piano, please make arrangements for your wedding music at least 4 weeks in advance of the wedding. You can get names of organist or pianist from the church office. They are available to discuss with you hymns and other music you would like to have included. They are also available to make suggestions, and if you have no requests for particular music, will be happy to make appropriate selections for you. All music must be suitable for a service of worship in the church. Please note, the organist should be consulted before making arrangements for soloists or other instruments.
15. Costs
Separate envelopes are suggested:
| Minister: Suggested honorarium | $150 |
| Altar Guild: Suggested donation | $75 |
| Church: Suggested donation | $300 |
| Organist: please make your own arrangements. | |
| Usual fee depending on rehearsals, etc. | $125 |
| Janitor: | $75 |
| Sound Engineer (if needed): |
$75 |
| OPTIONAL SERVICES: | |
| Service Bulletin | $75 |
| Hall Rental | $300 |
For information about candles or flowers, please contact Altar Guild.
(Names and phone numbers available from the church office, office@stpauls-anglican.ca)
Readings and Psalms Suitable for Marriage Liturgies
Old Testament and New Testament Readings
Psalms and Suitable Refrains
Gospel Readings
