Weddings at St Cyr's
St. Cyr's Church, Stonehouse “Qualifying Connection” for marriage in St. Cyr’s During the COVID-19 crisis, there are new regulations governing 'Qualifying Connections'. Please contact the Vicar or Churchwardens for details.
We are often asked, “Can we get married in St. Cyr's Church?” and we hope it will be helpful if we set out a summary of the legal rules involved. We are always happy to discuss things further if there are particular questions or problems. The Church of England wants to encourage marriage and claims a particular responsibility for each and every couple in England wanting to take this step of lifelong commitment. We aim to fulfil that responsibility through the “parish” system where every dwelling in England is situated in a particular parish which has a “Parish Church.” So any couple who wish to go through a Church of England ceremony of marriage are entitled to do so in their Parish Church, (subject to legal constraints such as the prohibition of incest, bigamy and child marriage!) If either party has a marriage or civil partnership partner still alive, further questions will need to be asked before that can happen, but marriage cannot be refused because either party has not been baptised. It may happen that a couple not living in the parish of Stonehouse wish to be married at St. Cyr's, the commonest reason for this being the availability of reception venues close by. We would encourage anyone considering this step first to consider their relationship with their own Parish Church. That community will always offer a warm welcome to those planning to get married. If you continue to want your marriage at St. Cyr's, the law requires that you must have a “Qualifying Connection” with the parish of Stonehouse. It may be that you already have such a connection or that you need to establish that connection in the next six months before a marriage can legally take place. So ask yourselves, does either of us already have a qualifying connection? This can include:-
|