Weddings

Congratulations if you are engaged and are now thinking about where you would like to be married! A traditional church wedding is still a popular choice and we hope you will choose to be married in church. 

There are a few things that need to be established before a church wedding can go ahead. This parish is the parish of Great Clacton. A map of the boundary of that parish can be found below. If you live within our church parish boundary you are entitled to be married in either St John’s or St Mark’s church, as both churches are in that parish. The majority of weddings take place at    St John’s church. If you do not live within the parish then there are several ways that you may be able to establish a connection with the parish. If you attend either church regularly you can be married here. If your parents or grandparents were married here that also is a connection. You may have lived in the parish when you were growing up, that also provides a connection. If your parents live in the parish currently, that is another connection. Only one of you needs to have a connection with the parish.

There is a cost to a church wedding. Exactly how much that is depends on what sort of service you choose, whether you have somebody play the organ, whether the church bells are rung and other ‘extras’ you may wish to include. The Church of England sets the baseline cost of a wedding in January each year, so the cost does change year on year. You will need to contact the church office by phone or email to get an idea of the minimum cost for the current year (see ‘Contact Us’ on the Home page).

You will need to provide personal ID in order to arrange a wedding. A current valid passport is all that is required. Other documents are suitable too. You will be advised of what we will need to see if you do not have a passport. St John’s church is a traditional Anglican church. We are happy to marry people who have not been married before and not been in a civil partnership before. We do not marry divorcees but we are very happy to provide a wedding blessing service (following a civil ceremony elsewhere) which is very similar to a full wedding service. If you have been married before but are widowed, you can marry again here.

Anita Newbery is our weddings co-ordinator. She will be very pleased to meet with you and take you through the whole process of arranging a wedding, the costs involved and all the legal things that must be covered for the marriage to be recognised. Anita is in the church office every Tuesday and Wednesday between 10am and 1pm, and most Saturdays between 9am and 11am. You can phone her or email her via the office details on ‘Contact Us’ to arrange an appointment to come in to the church office and meet her. 

We hope to see you soon!