Choices for your wedding ceremony

You have choices in how your wedding ceremony shapes up, making it uniquely yours.
Painting of a cross on canvas in a modern abstract style

With the help of your vicar, you can make choices for your ceremony, such as:

  • Which hymns you’d like
  • What music you’d like to have playing as you walk in and leave the church
  • Whether you’d like other music, like a CD played at certain points
  • Which Bible reading(s) you’d like
  • If there are any other readings or poems you’d like
  • If you have any special requests for prayers
  • If you have a special request for the ‘giving away’ part of the service. Read more on this.
  • You have choices about who does the readings and prayers, which can involve your family and friends.

There are more optional things which you may like to add to the basic service. These things will cost extra on top of the legal fee, and are charged at the church’s local rate. They include:

  • Whether you have the organist to support the singing of hymns
  • Whether or not you have a verger to support your guests and help with handing things out, or tidying things away
  • Having the church bells rung at the end of the service
  • Having flowers and flower displays provided by the church
  • Heating –heating requirements can vary from one church to another depending on how large it is, or the time of year. Not all churches have modern heating systems, so whether or not you have heating, and how much you have, is your choice.
  • Your vicar is trained and experienced to advise you on all of these things, and knows your church very well, so with their help, you’ll be able to make choices that you’re all happy with.

To help with choosing hymns and readings, try the Ceremony Planning tool.