Planning the Service
The Church of England uses a form of marriage service that combines a clear, pre-set structure with the freedom to include music and bible readings of your choice. There are a number of ways in which your family and friends can take a direct role in the service.
The priest who will be taking your service will want to meet with you to plan all of this. You will need to bring along the musical arrangements you have agreed with the Organist. This will need to include the entry and exit music, any arrangements for the signing of the registers, and the hymns you have chosen for the day.
You will also need to choose either one or two Bible readings, and to think about who among your family and friends should read these in Church. The bible readings are quite important because they form the basis for the priest's homily.
At the end of the meeting you will leave with a draft Order of Service, which some couples choose to have commercially printed. Alternatively you may prefer to reformat the service sheet to suit your vision for the day, remembering that the sequence and wording (and particularly the license information on the back cover) should be left unchanged.
Please ensure that enough service sheets are printed for each of the guests, leaving a minimum of ten spare for the ministry team and wedding party. If you have booked a Choir, please ensure extra copies are printed for Choir use.
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