Weddings and Services of Blessing at Great Budworth and Arley Chapel, 2022

Weddings and Services of Blessing at Great Budworth
and Arley Chapel, 2022.

Congratulations in advance on your forthcoming marriage.
Please read these notes carefully – they are here to help you – and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. At some stage we will need to meet to discuss your service – I am generally available to see couples after the main morning service on a Sunday, which usually finishes at 11.30am, but other times can of course be arranged. Please contact me by telephone (01606 891324) or e-mail (thevicar@greatbudworthchurch.co.uk) to arrange an appointment. Occasionally there may be more than one wedding in a day.

1. Marriage in the Church of England.
   Since 2002 the marriage in church of divorced persons has been permitted, and persons for whom this is applicable should make contact with the Vicar at the earliest opportunity to discuss this, and to arrange a meeting. Please note that the marriage of divorced persons is not however possible at St Mary’s Chapel, Arley Hall. Services of Prayer and Dedication following a Civil Marriage (Services of Blessing) are also offered, at both Great Budworth and Arley Chapel – it must be noted however that these are not marriage services and differ in certain significant respects from a marriage service eg. husband and wife would usually enter the church together and no rings are exchanged (though there is a blessing of the rings).
   Since May, 2021 new registration procedures have been in place for weddings – essentially this means that mothers’ details are now included in the documentation, and marriage certificates have now to be applied for by couples from the Register Office in Chester following the wedding (regardless of place of residence of the couple). The marriage certificate will only be available to order online 7 days after the Marriage Document (signed in Church) has been received at the Register Office. To order your Marriage Certificate you will need to visit www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/registration and then select “order a copy certificate”.
   Preliminaries to marriage in the Church of England.
   a) marriage by banns, one or both of the parties being resident in the parish in question;
   b) marriage by banns, neither of the parties being resident in the parish in question but one or both of the parties being a regular worshipper at the parish church in question;
   c) marriage by banns, neither of the parties being resident in the parish but where one or both have a “qualifying connection” with the parish or church (this may involve an application for a common licence) which may include a period of regular worship at the church, previous residence in the parish etc.;
   d) marriage by special licence, at the discretion of the Registrar of the Archbishop of Canterbury, both parties being non-residents of the parish in question but with one or both parties having a real connection with the parish or church in question.
   If your marriage falls under (b) or (c) you will need to arrange to have your banns called in your home parish ie. where you are actually living, within three months of the date of the wedding, and to bring the Banns Certificate to the rehearsal. It must be noted that it is YOUR responsibility to contact your local Parish Church and arrange to have your banns called.
2. Orders of Service.
   Draft Orders of Service, for weddings and Services of Blessing, are available from the Vicar, with whom consultation is advised before any decisions are made with regard to printing. The actual printing of the Orders of Service is the responsibility of yourselves, and not the Church. A decision about the rite to be used for weddings – traditional Book of Common Prayer or modern Common Worship – also needs to be made.
3. Music.
   It is very important that you make contact with the Organist as early as possible in your planning. Requests for the use of pre-recorded music will need the agreement of both the Vicar and the Organist, who will ultimately be responsible for judgements as to the suitability of such music within the church. In the same way requests for external choirs, music groups and so on will need the agreement of both Organist and Vicar.
4. Flowers.
   A leaflet describing general guidelines with regard to flowers is available from the Vicar. If there are two or more services on the same day, parties are advised to liaise with each other with regard to floral arrangements.
5. Parking.
   Parking is often difficult in Great Budworth but there is parking at the Parish Field which is at the bottom of Smithy Lane, past the tennis court, bowling green and parish hall. On the day of the wedding this will be signposted, and couples are asked to advise their guests to follow these signs and not to park on the High Street, leading up to the church from the A559, in the centre of the village, or on Westage Lane. In recent years serious congestion has occurred, with real difficulties to local residents and emergency services vehicles. Parking at the local Pub, opposite the church, is also discouraged as this can adversely affect the business. Parking at Arley Hall will be signposted.
6. Rehearsals.
   These are usually held in the week before the service but can be arranged at any convenient time to suit all parties.
7. Photography.
   Video or audio recording of the service is subject to copyright, and an additional fee is payable to the organist if the service is recorded whether by an amateur or professional videographer or sound recordist (50% for audio recording and 100% for video recording). Official photography must be discrete and unobtrusive – photographers must consult with the Vicar as to what is, and what is not, permitted.
8. Fees.
   Church fees must be paid by cheque or bank transfer (to Great Budworth PCC) at least two weeks in advance of the service, whilst fees for organist, bells, choir and verger must be paid at the rehearsal. For 2022 the Church fee for a wedding is £512.00 and £480.00 for a Service of Blessing. The church fee is made up of an amount payable to the Chester Diocesan Board of Finance, or the officiant, and an amount payable to the Parochial Church Council. The fees for organist and verger, choir and bells, if required, are in addition to this and for 2022 amount to £355.00 (excluding the additional fee of £80.00 for the organist if the service is recorded by video). Fees are increased each year in January so the fee for your service may not be the same as that quoted above.
9. Arley Chapel.
   Weddings and Services of Blessing at Arley Chapel are always by permission of Viscount Ashbrook, and weddings always require a Special Marriage Licence. The fee for a wedding is slightly less than the figure quoted above, as no banns are read, while the fee for a Service of Blessing in the Chapel is currently £378.00 (excluding any charges applied by Arley Estate). Please speak to the Vicar for further details.

The Revd Alec Brown.
January, 2022.