Church Weddings: Banns, Fees and What to Ask the Vicar

A lot of couples rule out a church wedding before they have asked a single question. They assume you need to be regular churchgoers, or that the paperwork is complicated, or that it will cost a fortune. Usually none of that is true.

What is true is that a church wedding runs on a slightly different set of rules from a register office or a licensed venue. The legal preliminaries are handled by the church rather than the council, the timings are fixed in a particular way, and the fees are set nationally. This guide covers the Church of England. Other churches, and the Church in Wales, have their own arrangements, so check with them directly.

Can you marry in that church

You have a right to marry in your parish church if one of you lives in the parish, or if one of you is on the church's electoral roll. You do not have to be baptised or a regular member of the congregation.

You can also marry in a church outside your parish if one of you has a qualifying connection to it. The common ones are:

• One of you was baptised or confirmed there.
• One of you has lived in the parish for at least six months at any point.
• One of you has gone to regular services there for at least six months at any point.
• A parent or grandparent of either of you was married there, or lived in the parish or worshipped there for six months.

That last one covers a lot of couples who want to marry in the village church where a grandparent grew up. If you think you might have a connection, the vicar will tell you quickly whether it counts.

How banns work

For most couples the legal preliminary for a church wedding is the banns. The vicar reads out your intention to marry during a Sunday service, on three Sundays, giving anyone the chance to object. They do not have to be consecutive Sundays.

A few things catch people out:

• Banns are read where you live as well as where you marry. If one of you lives in a different parish from the wedding church, banns are read there too, and you will need a banns certificate from that church to bring to the wedding.
• They are valid for three months. The wedding has to take place within three months of the last reading. So banns are a job for the final three months, not something to tick off a year ahead.
• Not everyone can marry by banns. If either of you is not a British or Irish citizen, banns are usually not an option and you will need to give notice at the register office instead. Tell the vicar about this at your first meeting, because it changes the timeline. Our guide to giving notice explains how the civil route works.

Going to hear your banns read is optional, but a lot of couples like to, and it is a nice excuse to get to know the church before the day.

What a church wedding costs in 2026

The basic fees are set nationally each year. For 2026 the Church of England fees are:

• Marriage service: £566
• Publication of banns: £39 in each church where they are read
• Banns certificate: £20, if you need one from another parish

The service fee covers the vicar, the use of the church, lighting and the administration. Anything beyond that is set locally by the parish, so the extras vary a lot from one church to the next. The usual ones are:

• An organist, and sometimes a separate fee if they have to learn something new.
• Bell ringers.
• A choir.
• A verger.
• Heating, which matters for a winter wedding in a big stone building.
• A fee for a videographer to film the service.

Ask for the full list in writing early, alongside the basic fees, so the total goes into your budget rather than turning up as a surprise.

Questions to ask at your first meeting

When can you hold weddings, and are there any dates you cannot do? Some churches do not hold weddings during Lent, and most will not be free on Sunday mornings or around Christmas and Easter services.

How long is the service, and how much can we personalise it? Most services run around 40 minutes. Ask whether you can choose readings, whether a friend can do one, and whether non-religious readings are allowed. Our guide to choosing wedding readings has ideas.

What are the rules on photography and video? Many vicars are happy with photographs during the service but not during the vows or the signing. Some ask for no flash at all. Your photographer will want to know before the day, not on it.

Confetti, flowers and decorations. Ask whether confetti is allowed in the churchyard and what kind, whether there is another wedding the same day, and whether flowers can be left for Sunday's service. Our confetti guide covers what most churches will accept.

Music. Who chooses the hymns, whether recorded music is allowed, and whether the organist needs your list by a certain date. Our guide to ceremony music covers walking in, the signing and walking out.

Is there a rehearsal? Most churches hold one in the week before. It is the best way to make sure the ushers, readers and whoever is walking you down the aisle all know where to stand.

Parking and access. Village churches are lovely and often have nowhere for 80 cars. Ask where guests can park, whether there is step-free access, and whether there are toilets on site, because many older churches do not have them.

Getting from the church to the reception

If the reception is somewhere else, plan the gap between the two properly. Guests need to know how far it is, where to park at the other end and roughly when to leave. A twenty minute drive on paper can be forty in convoy down a country lane on a Saturday afternoon.

Put the church address, the reception address, the parking and the timings on your wedding website, so you only have to explain it once. Our guide to wedding transport has more on getting everyone between the two.

When to book

Popular churches book up in the same way as venues, especially for summer Saturdays. If you are planning a 2027 wedding, contact the vicar as soon as you have a rough date in mind. You can hold the date without the banns, then come back to those in the three months before.

A good order of work is:

1. Check your connection to the church and whether you can marry there.
2. Meet the vicar and agree a date and time.
3. Book the reception venue around the ceremony time.
4. Ask for the fees and extras in writing and put them in the budget.
5. Arrange the banns in the three months before, in every parish that needs them.

Keep it all in one place

A church wedding adds a few more dates and contacts to the list: the vicar, the organist, the banns Sundays, the rehearsal and the deadline for your hymns. Build The Day keeps your timeline, your suppliers and your guest list together, and your wedding website tells guests where to go and when. It is free to start.

Then book that first meeting with the vicar. It is usually a much more relaxed conversation than people expect.