We're in the process of planning our wedding, which was originally going to be a civil ceremony as I'm not particularly religious and my parents have supported my decision to not get married in a church. However, we've been to see a few venues that offer civil ceremony weddings, and we've seen one that we both like a lot, but as time passes by H2B is increasingly thinking that a civil ceremony doesn't feel right for him. He isn't a regular church-goer but he was brought up in the church - he went to church school and was baptised, and he always assumed he would marry in church. I was also brought up as CofE - christened, going to church occassionally with my parents as a child, and church weddings are traditional in my family.
So we're now on a hunt for a church - probably CoE, although H2B is technically Catholic, but we've been living together for over a year which I know isn't Catholic practice. But the problem is we've done our venue-finding a bit backwards now by already finding our reception venue before deciding on our church! I thought our reception venue was in the perfect location - halfway between our childhood homes, where our families still live, so on mutual territory if you like. However, from a church point of view, we have no connection with the parish that the nearest church is in, nor any of the nearby parishes. But we both REALLY like this reception venue, it ticks all the boxes for us (apart from being a church!) so we want to stick with it for the reception.
So I'm wondering what connection all of you church brides had to your church? Is there any way we could having a church wedding at a nearby church to our reception in May/June next year, which is what we were planning, despite currently having no connection to the church?
I rang a vicar for the first time earlier today - his church is a lovely one in a park nearby my first family home. We used to go walking in the park each day with the dog when we lived there, and mum always imagined me getting married there because it's so pretty and was a landmark in our daily lives. It's about 20mins by car from the reception venue - both are just off the M4, about 20 miles apart. Unfortunately we lived just outside the parish of this church, so apparently we can't get married in this church, as we don't have any of the other connections with the parish. The vicar didn't mention us going to regular services to form a connection with the church, and I'd forgotten about this while I was on the phone. would this mean this church doesn't offer this option?
All the churches we do have connections with are at least half an hour away from the wedding venue - is this too much? Lots of our guests aren't local, so realistically this will mean at least an hour of travelling for them on the day - 30 mins from their accommodation near the reception venue to the church, and then 30 mins back to the reception venue for the 'do'. Is this too much? Thinking about it, this is exactly what we're doing for an old colleague's wedding in July - travelling down to Cornwall on Friday to our hotel near the reception venue, then travelling 30 mins to the church on the saturday, before doing the reverse trip back to the reception, and then driving back to near London the next day. I don't mind at all - I have fond memories of Cornwall, it's a lovely area and I'm happy to be going back to the area to share in her special day. But can I guarantee my guests would also find a 30min trip fine?!
Sorry for this brain explosion - I just don't know what the answer is! Any insight most gratefully received ?