Shirley Parish welcomes all enquiries about weddings. There are two churches in the parish and weddings take place at St James’s Church.

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Once you have decided that a church wedding is for you, there are some things you need to know:

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1. You can get married at St James’ if you live in Shirley Parish or have what is known as a qualifying connection with the parish. Here are examples of a qualifying connection.

 

One of you has:

a. lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months, at any time, or

b. been baptised (christened) in the parish, or

c. been confirmed and your confirmation was entered in the register of confirmations in the Parish or

d. at any time regularly gone to normal church services in one of the Church of England churches in the parish for a period of at least 6 months

 

or if one of your parents has, since you were born:

e. lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months, or

f. regularly gone to normal church services in one of the Church of England churches in the parish for a period of at least 6 months

 

or if one of your parents or grandparents

g. was married in St James’ Church

 

To find out if you live in the parish, enter your address on the A Church near You website . Your Parish Church will show up with a message “This is the Parish Church”

 

2. A wedding can take place between 8.00 am and 6.00 pm on any day of the week.

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3. You need to be at least 16 years of age to marry; though if you’re under 18, you will need your parent’s written consent.

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4. If you’re divorced and your previous partner is still living, it is usually possible to marry in church, subject to a small number of requirements, and you will need to show us your Decree Absolute (A Decree Nisi is not acceptable for this purpose)

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5. Although civil weddings are now possible between persons of the same sex, the law does not allow such weddings to take place in the Church of England. However, in certain circumstances we would be pleased to offer you prayers of blessing. Please contact the Parish Office in the first instance.

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6. If you were baptised, dedicated, confirmed or otherwise accepted into membership of another Christian Church, this does not affect your entitlement to marry in the Church of England.

 

7. If either of you belongs to a faith tradition other than Christianity, as long as you qualify to marry at St James, then the marriage can go ahead, though the wedding will be a Christian service as understood by the Church of England.

 

8. There a number of fees and charges we have to make.  The fees help us to continue the parish’s work and contribute to the wider Church; the charges vary according to whether you wish for the church bells, the organist, the choir and the verger.

 

There are some other legal requirements:

 

1. You will need to produce proof of your identity. This applies to all couples. Details of what qualifies as proof of identity is available from the parish office.

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2. You would normally have to have Banns of marriage read in both St James Church and in the Parish Church of the Parish in which you live. (Banns are essentially an announcement that you intend to get married). In certain circumstances banns are not appropriate and a Licence will be required – we will advise on this.

 

 

If this looks involved, don’t worry! We are committed to helping everyone who wishes to make this commitment.

 

If you’re sure you want to go ahead, get in touch. If you're not sure, get in touch.  If we can say yes to your wedding taking place at St James’s, we will.

 

Please follow this link for further information from the Church of England website: https://www.churchofengland.org/weddings-baptisms-funerals/weddings.aspx