St. Paul’s United Methodist Church Wedding Policy
In order to help couples prepare to celebrate their marriage covenant with Christ and one another, the following procedures are followed:
1. Requests made just for the use of our facilities for a wedding will not be accepted except for the following:
a. A request is made by a pastor indicating their facilities are inadequate for the wedding of their member. If such request is made, it will be treated as a rental and should be forwarded to our Administrative Assistant who will work out the dates, costs, etc.
b. If a request is made from a member of one of our United Methodist Churches in the area because of the inadequacy of their own facility, the couple should request their pastor to contact us. Their pastor would be responsible for pre-marriage counseling and the wedding if the use of the facility is granted. Our Administrative Assistant will contact our pastor to discuss rental fees. Rental fees will be charged unless otherwise specified.
If a rental is agreed upon, the Altar Guild will be contacted to work with the couple to assure hospitality and care of our facility.
Requests for Pastor to Officiate at the Holy Covenant of Marriage:
Requests made for our pastor to officiate the Holy Covenant of Marriage will go to the Administrative Assistant who will gather information about a couple’s relationship to the church, what church the couple is active in if they are not currently active in the St. Paul’s congregation, and other data on her intake form.
Inquiries could be made by family members but any official requests should be made by the groom or bride and not the family member. This is to assure the interest and commitment of the bride and groom.
After initial screening, the Administrative Assistant will forward requests to the Pastor working with the following criteria for prioritizing whether it is appropriate for her to officiate.
- Persons active in the church
- Family members of persons active in the church
- Persons living in the area and interested in pursuing their faith journey indicated through attendance and participation in the church before, during, and after marriage preparation
- Persons are not related to the church or planning to live in the area. If such persons are truly serious about their faith commitment, this ministry is an appropriate outreach and encouragement for their involvement in the community where they will reside. We would make every effort to contact a local pastor in that community to apprise them of the couple’s intent.
We recognize marriage preparation is often a time to build a relationship with both the pastor and our congregation and that it provides an entry into the church community. Therefore, we asks that each couple actively participates in the life of the Church as they prepare for their spiritual life together. This includes worship and small groups. Unwillingness to participate in the life of the congregation may significantly impact our assessment that the couple is indeed prepared to make their Marriage Covenant. Couples will be asked to sign a covenant of participation before a wedding date can be confirmed on the Church Calendar.
Wedding Brochures are distributed only after persons have been screened initially by the Administrative Assistant. She will provide any information from that form appropriate during that screening process.