To Have and To Hold

‘To Have and To Hold’

The Knaresborough Team Ministry conducts more weddings than any other Team or Parish in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds and we are amongst the ‘top ten’ in the country. Why are we so popular and how do we help couples prepare for their weddings?

I think our popularity is based upon a number of factors: we have beautiful, well maintained churches that provide the ideal setting for a traditional wedding; through our Administrator, Claire Renshaw, who is the first point of contact for couples, and our clergy and congregations, we offer a warm welcome to all couples; we benefit from the wedding receptions offered at Goldsborough Hall and from the many local people who want to return to their family home for their wedding. So far we have 41 weddings booked. 10 of those weddings are for couples who live in Knaresborough. The remainder are almost exactly split - 16 are couples with a family connection to the parish - they may have grown up here or they or their parents may have been married here. The remaining 15 couples will ‘Qualify by Worship’. We invite them to worship regularly for a period of at least 6 months. This creates a ‘Qualifying Connection’ and we are able to conduct the marriage. All this is governed by English Law so the Clergy have to ensure we get it right! Some people like the idea of getting married in a church but think they are being hypocritical because they do not usually attend Sunday services. Please do not let this become a barrier for you, what is important to us is that you have a good experience of God through the services we conduct.

Once a wedding is booked, we invite each couple to attend one of our ‘Marriage Preparation’ mornings. These are held on 3 Saturdays spread through February to May. As well as meeting the couples, we give them a great deal of information about the service itself including advice on choosing music, readings, hymns and prayers. We cover the legalities from Bans to Witnesses and offer the benefit of our experience on everything from bells to photographers, flowers to parking. On the day, the service may involve Verger, Organist, Choir and Bell-ringers so there is lots for us to coordinate!

Each couple will then have at least one meeting with the member of the Clergy who will conduct their wedding. It’s a chance to get to know them better and to help them tailor their wedding to their needs and to the church where it will happen. Then, usually in the final 48 hours before the service, we will meet with the Bridal party and others involved in the service and have a full rehearsal in church.

In all this, our aim is to offer God’s loving welcome and assure the couples and their extended families of our continuing care for them. It’s great when they come back with babies to be baptised! Darryl Hall recently suggested that part of our ministry to wedding couples and their guests is to create what the Celtic tradition calls ‘thin places’: places where the boundary between heaven and earth becomes thin and people can feel God’s presence in a special way. I think that is a good description and certainly is one reason why all the Clergy enjoy sharing in the great celebration that every wedding can be.

If you are intending to get married then you may find the following links useful.

For a marriage at St. John the Baptist, Knaresborough, click on this link

/st-john-the-baptist-knaresborough-web-site/weddings/

For a marriage at Holy Trinity, Knaresborough, click on this link

/holy-trinitys-web-site/holy-trinity-weddings/

For a marriage at St. Mary the Virgin, Goldsborough, click on this link

/st-mary-the-virgin-goldsborough-web-site/goldsborough-weddings/

For a marriage at St. John the Baptist, Brearton, click on this link

/st-john-the-baptist-brearton-web-site/brearton-weddings/