Weddings

Congratulations and a warm welcome to you if you are thinking about being married at All Saints. We will do our best to make your wedding day memorable for you, your family and your friends. This will be a very exciting time for both of you with many things to think about and plan. However, it is sensible to start with location and date so your first question is likely to be :

Can we get married at All Saints?

The vicar has a legal duty to be satisfied that you can lawfully marry in the parish before any arrangements can be fixed. To make this process as quick and simple as possible, it is best to telephone the Tiger Church Office (01444 482405). There are four questions about you as a couple that will need to be clarified:

Whether you are so closely related to each other that the law does not permit you to marry. You will need to certify that this is not the case.
Whether either of you is not a UK National. Special issues arise in this situation and these need to be considered before further progress can be made.
Whether either of you is qualified to be married at All Saints. Qualification comes by virtue either of being a resident in the parish; or of being on the church electoral roll; or of having close family links with the parish.
Whether either of you has been married before and your former husband or wife is still alive. In this case an interview with the Vicar will be necessary before any arrangements can be made.

Once these issues have been clarified we will send you a booklet and ask you to arrange an appointment with the Parish Manager. At this meeting all the arrangements for the wedding service can be discussed and any questions that you have can be raised.

Which dates and times are available?

Around 30 weddings a year take place at All Saints Lindfield; most of them on Saturdays in the Spring and Summer months. The earlier you make your arrangements, the more likely it is that a particular date will be available. Obviously, it would be unwise to book other items like the reception without first checking on availability of the church. Please contact the Tiger Church Office for an initial idea of available dates - this can then be firmed up at your meeting with the Parish Manager.

Why get married at All Saints?

A Registry Office notice will tell you how the law of the land describes marriage: It is a freely-entered union of a man and a woman. It is permanent for as long as both partners are alive – that means it has to have stickability through good times and bad. It is a unique relationship which those who are married may not have with anyone else.
Having decided to get married, your first choice may be to look for a church wedding because it is more traditional and offers a picturesque location. However there are other important distinctions between a church wedding and a registry office wedding. A Christian perspective on marriage will emphasize three further aspects of marriage:

It is God’s way of caring for people, especially children, through family life.
It is God’s way of building a good and stable society in which to live.
It is a partnership in which Jesus Christ must be involved with both partners – the whole family.

All marriage—whether in church or in a Registry Office— is ‘holy’ because it is one of the ways God the Creator cares for us and for his world. But marriage in church between Christian believers is special because in it you make your promises before God and we pray to Him for you and your new life together.

Will we be required to go on a Marriage Preparation Course?

Attending a course of marriage preparation is a pre-requisite of marriage at All Saints. The course is called “Marriage in Mind” and it takes place over a weekend in early March each year. The weekend starts on a Friday evening with a meal (7.45pm for 8.00pm) and continues through Saturday from 10.00am to 3.30pm. A simple buffet lunch is provided on the Saturday.

What will it cost?

A great deal less than the reception! The fee for a wedding in 2009 is £369.50. There are additional charges for having the church bells, for special flowers and for providing an organist or a choir.