Welcoming vicars will be answering questions such as “can I have a church wedding?” and “which version of the wedding service did I see on TV?”, and will offer advice on all topics from hymns to fees, at the Church of England weddings stand, which is touring the country’s main wedding shows in September and October .
They will be explaining how more people are able to have a church wedding thanks to a change in the law giving couples in England more churches to choose from for their wedding.
The Revd Corinne Brixton, who will be on the stand in London, said: “Often people are quite nervous to come and see a vicar but they are really pleased when they do pluck up the courage to do so. Doing it in the context of a wedding show makes complete sense. There’s no such thing as a silly question – so that’s why we’re here.”
The team will, in addition, be Tweeting answers to frequently asked questions using the hash tags #ukweddingshow and #nationalweddingshow from the Twitter username @CofEWeddingTeam.
Past questions answered by the team include:
Can I get married in the church where I grew up?
I wasn’t christened/am not baptised/don’t go to church – can I still marry in church?
Is it ok for me to wear an off-the-shoulder gown in church?
Can my son give me away?
I want a candle-lit wedding – what’s the latest possible time I can have the wedding?
Can I get married on a Bank Holiday?
Can we get married in the place where we met and lived at university?
I’d love to have my wedding done by the vicar who baptised/confirmed me – can I do this and how do I trace them?
The Church of England stand will be at the following wedding shows:
17-18 Sept: UK Wedding Show, St George’s Hall, Liverpool
24-25 Sept: UK Wedding Show, Harrogate International Centre
30 Sep-2 Oct: National Wedding Show, Earls Court, London 1-2 Oct:
UK Wedding Show, Newcastle Racecourse 7-9 Oct: National Wedding Show,
NEC Birmingham 29-30 Oct: UK Wedding Show, Manchester Central (G-Mex)
The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt Revd John Packer, will be on Stand 61 at the UK Wedding Show at the Harrogate International Centre on Saturday, 24th September at 12.30pm. He believes the presence of the Church at such events is essential. He said: “It’s important that we welcome couples and their families into church at this important moment in their lives and Ripon and Leeds Diocese has recently led efforts to make it easier for couples to get married in the church of their choice. Many couples would like a church wedding but think it is either too expensive or that they would not be welcomed. Here is a golden opportunity to dispel these and other misconceptions couples may have, as well as answering questions and offering positive help and advice.”