Free Church Weddings

In the majority of Free Church denominations the church itself will have been registered as a building in which marriages may be solemnised. Ministers of the United Reformed Church, the Baptist, Methodist and other Protestant churches have also long taken advantage of their ability to become registered as 'authorised' persons; that is, to have applied for and received sanction both to conduct the service and to act as the registrar under the civil law. However, it is obviously important to double check this early on in your planning, as if the building is not authorised, you will need to arrange for a civil ceremony to take place in a register office.

If the minister is not authorised to perform weddings, it will not prevent them from conducting the marriage service, but it will require the attendance of some other person authorised for the area or the registrar or their deputy to oversee the legal side of the proceedings. The minister will usually be able to arrange for an authorised person to attend, but if they cannot, you should inform the superintendent registrar of the need for a registrar's presence at the church.

See also: Re marriage in the Free Church .

Click here to read more from InterWedding.co.uk