Holy Trinity Church, Eccleshall & St Chad's Church, Slindon (Updated Nov. 2011)

It will be very helpful if both of you together were to consider everything listed here very carefully. Some of it involves the legal position. Other points will form a check-list for some important practical details. (NB Please note straight away that if either of you has been married before, or one of you is a foreign national, then some special procedures apply.)

This section is a simple quide on who may get married in Holy Trinity or St Chad's, not a complete summary of the law.

1.1 Age.

If you are of marrying age but one or both of you are under 18 on the wedding day, parental (or guardian's) consent to the marriage needs to be to be given.

1.2 Living within the parish.

If one of you lives within the church Parish of Eccleshall, you can be married in Holy Trinity or St Chad's (but please see paragraph 1.6). The parish includes Aspley, Brockton, Copmere End, Garmelow, Little Sugnall, Mill Meece, Offley Hay, Offley Rock, Pershall, Slindon, Sturbridge, Sugnall, Walton and Wootton.

The church keeps a roll of those who can vote representatives onto the church council. The roll can include regular worshippers who don't actually live in the parish. If neither of you is not resident in Eccleshall Parish, but one of you has your name on this church electoral roll, then you may be married in Holy Trinity or St Chad's (but, again see paragraph 1.6).

If either of you has a strong link (a 'qualifying connection' as defined in the Church of England Marriage Measure 2008) with the Parish of Eccleshall, you may (subject to paragraph 1.6) be married in Holy Trinity or St Chad's. Examples of such a link include parents' residence in the parish; one of you having lived here for six months or more; one of you having been baptised in Holy Trinity or St Chad's. Worshipping for six months at Holy Trinity or St Chad's would be another such connection. Please see more accurate details here on the 'Qualifying Connection' form.

There may be other connections that you have with Holy Trinity or St Chad's which are not defined as 'qualifying connections'. It will be possible to discuss these, because if the vicar agrees that they are substantial there may be another way (by Special Licence - see paragraph 3.4 below) to permit your marriage in Eccleshall Parish.

If either of you has had to face the pain of a divorce or of separation then you are asked, before you make any other arrangements, to ’phone the vicar and arrange to come to see him to discuss the situation. Please note that if we go ahead with a wedding in church then you will be asked to ensure that it is made public by way of the Marriage Registrar’s Certificate (see paragraph 3.2 below).

This section explains that you will need to send in an application form and also (if necessary, a 'qualifying connection' form).

Should you wish to apply to be married in this parish, please would you both complete and sign the enclosed application form and send it back to the vicar (or to the parish administrator). The form includes information that we'll need for the marriage registers. The date and time of the wedding you enter on the form will be subject to confirmation by the vicar – please don't regard your choice of date and time as fixed or accepted until this confirmation.

Please refer to paragraph 1.4 above. If neither of you lives in Eccleshall church parish, but one or both of you would like to establish that you do indeed have a 'qualifying connection' with the parish, then please would you also complete the enclosed 'Qualifying Connection' form. You will see there the various options. The vicar has a legal duty to ensure that the connection you claim is a valid one. Please note that supporting documents and evidence are important. The vicar may need to ask you to provide further information or evidence.

This is an important section because the law requires certain things to be done prior to your marriage. You will need to play your part in ensuring that these preliminaries are done correctly.

Your marriage may be by way of Common Licence. This route is useful in certain circumstances, for example, if one of you is often based abroad. In addition, if either of you is a foreign national (i.e.holding a non-UK passport) your marriage will need to be by way of Common Licence. This is to ensure that no marriage of convenience is involved. If you are a foreign national, you will also need to check with the appropriate embassy or embassies that your marriage, if celebrated in Eccleshall Parish, would be recognised in your home country or country of origin.

If either of you has been married before, and if after discussions with you it has been decided that your marriage can take place in Holy Trinity or St Chad's (see paragraph 1.6), then you are asked to take responsibility for ensuring that your marriage is publicised by way of Marriage Registrar's Certificate. The Registrar may ask for a letter from the vicar confirming that your marriage is booked in Eccleshall Parish.

Publishing ‘banns’ (reading out the names of the engaged couple in church in a special announcement on three consecutive Sundays) is the usual way of publicising a marriage. Banns are a strict legal requirement and therefore a very important responsibility of yours. You will need to ensure that your banns are read out at the right times (1) in the parish or parishes where you live (and if you live in two different parishes, this will mean having the banns read in two different Church of England parish churches), and (2) also in any parish where either of you is on the electoral roll of the church. Also you will need to get a ‘banns certificate’ from any parish where they are read out (except in the case of the parish where you are getting married) to give to the person who will take the marriage service. These certificates are proof that the banns have been published.

In those situations where neither of you lives in Eccleshall Parish, and neither of you has a 'qualifying connection', then, if the vicar agrees to support your application, it may be possible to apply for and obtain the Archbishop of Canterbury's Special Licence, which is a discretionary licence. Please note that this route is not available for those who have been married before. Please discuss this option with the vicar. Any such application will need the vicar's support – and you will also need to consult the clergy in the parish(es) where you live.

This section gives you certain information and helps you with some planning.

It is hoped that this paper has answered most of your questions. But please don't hesitate to ask about anything else, or if you need clarification on anything written here. Contact either by phone, or else by making a note of what you want to ask and then bring it up at the wedding preparation day, at which you will be most welcome.