I've just heard about the Ceremony Planner and I'd like to know more
Thank you for finding us online and for your care of all the couples who marry in your church.
The Archbishops' Council's Weddings Project runs for two years and has been designed around the launch of the new Marriage Measure which came into effect on October 1st 2008.
The first year of the Project focused on consultation with both couples and clergy. Part of that explored how we might do church weddings even better, but also, how we could engage more deeply with couples about the planning of their wedding.
We discovered from clergy that they were already referring couples to online resources to help them plan for their wedding. We discovered that couples value being involved in making choices about their wedding but were unsure of where to start and this added to their tensions when meeting the Vicar for the first time.
So we have developed the CofE Ceremony Planner, based on the Common Worship Marriage Service, to help show couples the elements of a typical CofE wedding. It shows them where there is flexibility, where they can have an input, and offers some choices for hymns and readings, while emphasising that the Vicar is best placed to advise them on their unique ceremony.
The hymns and readings are traditional, popular choices. We highlight to couples in the final 'print-out' of the service that there are many more choices they could make that are not yet offered through the Planner and that the Vicar can guide them on this.
Our hope is that it will help couples feel more comfortable when discussing the wedding ceremony with you and will provide you with useful information about their preferences. It is not intended to be prescriptive, but simply intended to facilitate more discussion.
The Ceremony Planner is very much a pilot to see if both couples and clergy find it helpful. We would be very keen to hear what you think, so please email us at weddings.project@c-of-e.org.uk.
Thank you for your support and comments.
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