*New* Guests
A warm welcome to wedding guests
Around half the population go to a church or a chapel for a wedding in any given year. We love to welcome them and put them at their ease.
Guests have an important role in the ceremony, promising to support the couple who are getting married. The promise is made just after the couple make their vows, when the Vicar says:
Will you, the families and friends of (bride's name) and (groom's name) support and uphold them in their marriage now and in the years to come?
The response of those present is: 'We will'.
There is evidence that this promise and the vows that the couple make help to keep them together.
To keep your promise and to support the couple, the Church of England believes that one of the most powerful things you can do is to pray for them.
This is a prayer used in wedding ceremonies which you might like to use as part of your own prayers for the couple in the years to come:-
Dear God,
Pour out the abundance of your blessing upon (bride's name) and (groom's name) in their new life together.
Let their love for for each other be a seal upon their hearts and a crown upon their heads.
Bless them in their work and in their companionship;
awake and asleep, in joy and in sorrow, in life and in death.
Amen
If a wedding you have been to recently has struck a chord with you and you would like to learn more about the Christian faith, visit www.achurchnearyou.com and follow the search instructions to find a church in your community.
Did You Know ?
New stats just out show biggest annual increase in church weddings in a decade. Read more
We'd love to see you at Wedding Fairs across the UK this year. Read more
One third of all UK weddings are church weddings
You don't have to marry on a Saturday. Read more
Marriage is good for your sex life
You are welcome to marry in a CofE church whatever your beliefs
The Church offers family-friendly weddings for couples with children. Read more