St Neots Parish Church

The first answer is, of course, is to find someone who will say “Yes”.

After that, you have to decide where you want to be married. The Church has its own ideas as to what marriage is. “Marriage is a gift of God in creation”. People have been coupling since there have been people. The Church is the traditional place to get married. It is also the most glorious place to get married. When Jesus went to a wedding his concern was that the celebrations should keep going. So when the wine ran out, he turned jars of water into wine. Our concern is that your marriage may, like good wine, last and improve with the years “until it is drunk anew in the kingdom of heaven.”

If you want to be married in Church, simply ring the vicar. He will be pleased to hear from you. Good news is always welcome.

The vicar will ask you two questions:

• Where do you live?

  You are entitled to be married in St Neots Parish if you live in the parish, whatever your religious upbringing. The parish boundaries are the river Ouse and the Henbrook, to the west and south; and the Gallowbrook (north of Priory Park) to the north. If you live elsewhere, in Eynesbury or Eaton Socon, you need to see the vicar there. (The only exception is if you are a worshipper here, in which case it doesn’t matter where you live.)

• Have you been married before?

  The Church does sometimes marry couples where one or both of them are divorced, but the process is much more complicated. The Church is in the forgiveness business ­ on the instructions of our founder ­ but, on the same grounds, it holds marriage to be a sacred and permanent institution. We always seek advice from the Bishop before saying Yes or No. Alternatively, couples may have a service of prayer and dedication after a civil marriage. (This is one of the most difficult areas of ministry within the Church.)

The vicar will agree a date and time with you. After that, the detailed arrangements: fees, flowers, orders of service, music will be sorted out. He will also want to talk to you about Christian marriage and, since you have decided to have Christ at your marriage, you may want to think about whether you want to find out more about the Church, the teachings of Jesus and his gospel. (You may not know that gospel means Good News. Now you know why we like to hear good news. We also like to give it). Look into our +Plus course to find out more.