We love weddings at St Paul’s – it is our delight to celebrate your love and invite God’s abundant love to bless you in your relationship and all that is to come!
We are able to really get to know you and work with you – we like to do all we can to make your day special, and honouring to who God has created you to be and the love that you share. We will meet with you at least 3 times before your wedding and offer marriage preparation.
For more information: https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/your-church-wedding/just-engaged/why-marry-church
Once you’ve read our FAQs below, to submit an enquiry, fill out this form. https://stpauls-woodfordbridge.myiknowchurch.co.uk/led/enquiryForm/wedding
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can we hire your Church building and bring our own pastor?
Only Church of England Priests can legally marry couples in Church of England buildings. This means that St Paul’s is not available for hire just as a venue for you to bring your pastor. However we are open to conversations about how we can work together with your pastor in the legal service carried out by a Church of England Priest.
In addition, only those authorised by the Church of England can lead any celebration of marriage or service in Church of England buildings so you are unable to hire our Church as a venue for a celebration/blessing of marriage.
Who can get married in St Paul’s?
Everybody who lives in the Parish has a legal right to marry someone of the opposite gender in a Church of England Church. In addition, there are ‘qualifying connections’ that also give you the right to be married at St Paul’s. These are:
To find out if you live in the parish of St Paul’s: go to AChurchNearYou.com
You can marry in a Church of England church if you can show that one of you:
- has at any time lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months, or
- was baptised (christened) in the parish concerned, or
- is confirmed and your confirmation was entered in the register of confirmations for a church or chapel in the parish (this will usually be the case if you were prepared for confirmation in the parish), or
- has at any time regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months
or That one of your parents, at any time after you were born:
- has lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months, or
- has regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months
or That one of your parents or grandparents:
- was married in the parish
Please note: If you cannot demonstrate any of the above connections, you could create one, simply by attending your chosen church’s usual services at least once a month for six consecutive months. If you decide to do this, leave enough time after your attendance for the banns to be read before your wedding too – about another two months should be enough.
Please note: To build up a qualifying connection you have to attend Church within 15 minutes of the start time (10am) and stay for the whole service.
Please note: In all cases involving church services – i.e. going to normal church services, baptism, confirmation or marriage – this applies only to Church of England services.
When can we get married? You can get married on any day of the week, between 8am and 6pm. However, there are other things we have in the church diary, such as regular services, our Thursday coffee morning or previously booked weddings that take precedence. We also won’t be able to celebrate your wedding on the following days:
Ash Wednesday
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
Holy Saturday (day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday)
Easter Sunday
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
What will it cost?
Our costs are a combination of the nationally set cost for a wedding, which in 2026 is £566, and locally set costs.
- Necessary:
- Wedding fee – £566
- Verger – £70
- Banns – £39 + certificate £20 (These are legal proclamations that allow you to be married. They must be read in the parish/es in which you live, and the parish in which you are getting married. In 2026, Banns of Marriage are £39, with a certificate £20. You only need a certificate from the Parish/es you are not getting married in.)
- Optional:
- Organist – £115 (if videographer present, increased total fee of £230)
- Extra licence fee for videographer – usually around the £10 mark.
- Heating fee, applicable between October and April – £20
How long does a service last? The average wedding service is 45 minutes long. Because a service is completely personalised to you, with your music, your hymns and songs, your readings, it could be longer or shorter.
Please be aware that if you are more than half an hour late for your wedding, we will need to increase the costs charged to honour our verger and organist’s time. At the time of booking, we take a deposit which is given to the verger and organist to compensate for their time, if you are more than half an hour late.
Will you prepare us for marriage? Nobody can be fully prepared for the adventure that is marriage, but we will help you to consider the big questions of life and marriage alongside other couples who are getting married and we will pray for you as you prepare.
Can we bring flowers or other decorations? Our building is beautiful, but it’s even more beautiful with flowers! We are happy for any decorations which do not make a permanent impact on the fabric of the building – this might be flowers, windowsill decorations, ribbons on the pews. Please be aware that there may be another wedding in the day before or day after which might affect the time you have to set up and pack down. We are unable to tidy away for you, but will do anything we can to give you flexibility about when you (or family/friends) come to pack away. Please speak to the Vicar before paying for any decorations you would like in church.
What music can I have? We love music and will enable you to have whatever you would like, as long as it’s in keeping with the celebratory nature of your day. We have a piano and an organ, and if you’d like to bring your own musicians, that’s great. We also have a sound system that has Bluetooth.
What if I’m a foreign national? See here:https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/your-church-wedding/just-engaged/information-foreign-nationals
Can I have my own Church of England priest do the service? Yes, after the required checks.