St James' Church
Briercliffe
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
WEDDINGS
Before you Apply
Click here which will take you to the Church of England Wedding Site, click on 'learn more' and then 'finding a church' to see if you meet with these qualifying connections.
I Qualify
Once you qualify to be married at St. James' Church, please contact Sharon, Our Vicar or Alec, The Parish Administrator to discuss the next steps to progress your application.
I Don't Qualify
If you are unable to qualify, don't worry! It is possible that you might be able to be married at St. James' Church. There are numerous ways of ensuring that you can be married here:
-
Attending our church for a period of six months and at the beginning of this period apply to join the church's electoral roll;
-
Apply for a 'Common Licence'.
Please do not hesitate to ask the Vicar about either of these options. Once you qualify for a marriage at St. James' Church, read the section called "I Qualify".
​
Preparing for your Wedding
We fully understand that preparing for a wedding can be quite stressful, therefore, the Vicar has prepared a letter to help you understand what the service will include and answer any possible questions that you may have. If you still have any questions to be answered, please do not hesitate to contact the Vicar.
Additional Extras for your Wedding
​It would be helpful if you could let us know as soon as possible whether or not you wish to have an organist or choir for your wedding service. Concerning photography the Vicar is very relaxed about photographers during the service - please contact the Vicar first though. We can now play music from CDs, SD cards and USB memory sticks although the most reliable forms of music are always an organist or other live musical player and secondly original recordings i.e. not “burnt” copies. All matters to do with music need to be organised with the church well in advance of the wedding and not left to the week before please!.
​
Previous Marriages
​Proposed weddings where one or both of the two people have already been married and their former partner is still alive, will only be married at St. James' Church with the agreement of the Vicar after an interview and discussion. We seek to be generous in these situations but agreement to a second wedding is at the discretion of the officiating priest and the right of refusal is reserved.
​
Orders of Service
​There are different types of orders of service available in the Church of England. Please do read through both of the orders of service beforehand so that when you meet with the Vicar he can work with you to create the best order of service. For example, if you are a regular Church goer who receives Holy Communion each week, whether or not at our Church, you may wish to have a Eucharist within the context of your wedding. There may also be certain prayers, readings or words that you wish to be added (or omitted - particularly with reference to children).
​
Fees and Charges
Here at St. James' we are happy to accept either cash or direct credit transfer to our bank account. However, if you are paying by cheque please let the Church have it at least two weeks before the service, allow 10 working days for the cheque to clear. Wedding fees are set nationally by the Church of England and are revised on 1 January of each year. The fee you pay will be the same in any church in England and belongs to the Diocese of Blackburn on whose behalf we must collect and pass on the sum involved.