Highbury Congregational Church
a very special place for a Cheltenham wedding
a very special place for a Cheltenham wedding
The Wedding
The great thing about getting married at Highbury is that we are free to shape the service so that it is as personal as possible.
It is always a great joy to be able to share in planning the service. Some people like a very traditional service: other people prefer to make it very different. Most are somewhere in between!
To help you choose the right hymn and find the right reading for you in the Bible take a look at Hymns and Readings for Weddings.
Tradition has it that the groom arrives first and the bride is escorted into the church by her father who later ‘gives her away’. Some people love those traditions and many of our weddings follow them.
It is always a great joy to be able to share in planning the service. Some people like a very traditional service: other people prefer to make it very different. Most are somewhere in between!
To help you choose the right hymn and find the right reading for you in the Bible take a look at Hymns and Readings for Weddings.
Tradition has it that the groom arrives first and the bride is escorted into the church by her father who later ‘gives her away’. Some people love those traditions and many of our weddings follow them.
Other people like to think differently. Sometimes the couple have arrived together; sometimes both the groom and the bride have worked in escorted by their parents, or maybe by their mothers.
Our Minister, Richard Cleaves, usually takes the Wedding service - but usually relatives and friends take part doing readings, or contributing to the music.
Our Minister, Richard Cleaves, usually takes the Wedding service -
Welcome
The service opens with a welcome and maybe some words of praise from the Bible, marking just how special the day is.
It’s great to begin with one of the great hymns of praise that everyone can join in with. We have a team of organists who will help to make the music come alive. We also have sound equipment for a worship group to lead worship songs during the wedding. We have special licenses that permit us to copy and print copyright hymns, songs and play recorded music.
Prayer
An opening prayer seeks God’s blessing on the Wedding service and everything that’s going to happen in it.
The Christian Teaching on Marriage
A short statement about Christian marriage explains some of the basic principles underlying the Christian marriage that the couple are about to enter into. We shall think through these words before the service and they will have been the basis of some of the sessions that we shall have shared together.
There is often a second hymn at this point celebrating the love that the couple have for each other and are about to commit to in their marriage vows.
The Marriage Vows
These fall into six parts:
First, there are the legal preliminaries during which the couple declare that they are legally able to get married.
Second, the couple are invited to make promises to each other about the life they will share together.
Third, their families, friends and all in the church congregation are invited to promise their encouragement and support. [Many people like to include a response from the Bride’s father, mother or other family representative who is ‘giving them away’; some like to invite such a response from a representative of both families; others prefer to omit this response as a hangover from the days when women were quite wrongly supposed to be almost the property of their father until they were handed over to their husband - an awful and rightly out-dated thought!]
Fourth, they take each other by the right hand as a sign of mutual belonging and then the actual marriage vows are exchanged - each of the couple uses the same words to pledge their commitment to the other.
Fifth, they give and receive rings or a ring as a symbol of their love for each other.
Finally, there is a declaration declaring that they are now married ... and the bride may kiss the groom and/or vice versa!
First, there are the legal preliminaries during which the couple declare that they are legally able to get married.
Second, the couple are invited to make promises to each other about the life they will share together.
Third, their families, friends and all in the church congregation are invited to promise their encouragement and support. [Many people like to include a response from the Bride’s father, mother or other family representative who is ‘giving them away’; some like to invite such a response from a representative of both families; others prefer to omit this response as a hangover from the days when women were quite wrongly supposed to be almost the property of their father until they were handed over to their husband -
Fourth, they take each other by the right hand as a sign of mutual belonging and then the actual marriage vows are exchanged -
Fifth, they give and receive rings or a ring as a symbol of their love for each other.
Finally, there is a declaration declaring that they are now married ... and the bride may kiss the groom and/or vice versa!
The Address
Richard Cleaves, the Minister, usually gives a short address sharing the joys and hopes of the couple for their marriage together. They may want someone else close to give the address.
A Bible reading is usually built into the Address and often read by a friend of the couple’s.
Prayers for the Couple’s Future
These are the main prayers of the service and look to the future the Couple are going to share with each other.
The final hymn looks to the future that lies ahead of the couple and may express their commitment to each other and to to God.
The Register is Signed
... On the Table at the front of the church in full view of everyone present. The couple each sign the register; each of them has a witness to sign on their behalf. It may be their fathers or their mothers, or the Best Man and the leading Bridesmaid. After the Minister and the Authorised Person responsible for registering the marriage have signed, the marriage certificate is prepared and handed over to the couple. At this point the photographer has an opportunity to pose a photo.
The Blessing
The couple return to their position at the front of the church. After the blessing they process out of the church to the accompaniment of the organ, the worship group or the CD track they have chosen
Photography
Excellent photographs of the wedding service itself can be taken from the gallery. After the service the forecourt provides a lovely setting for photographs.
Facilities for little children
Little children are more than welcome at all our services - we have toys and games for them to play with in the porch if they need to go out during the service. Parents who accompany can see and hear everything going on.
Facilities for people with disabilities
Access to the church is by a gentle ramp and there are no steps in the interior of the building. We have toilet facilities for wheelchair users and a loop system for those who use a hearing aid.
You can find us at the top of Oxford St, off the London Road, GL52 6DT Phone: 01242 522050
Weddings are conducted by our Minister, the Rev Dr Richard Cleaves
richard.cleaves@highburychurch.co.uk
websites: www.highgburychurch.co.uk www.Jesusfortoday.co.uk
Weddings are conducted by our Minister, the Rev Dr Richard Cleaves
richard.cleaves@highburychurch.co.uk
websites: www.highgburychurch.co.uk www.Jesusfortoday.co.uk
