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The Legal Preliminaries

There are various legal preliminaries to any wedding.

• The usual route is to have your banns published
• Some people are married by a common licence
• Some people need to be married by a special licence

If, after having read the information here, you are not sure which applies to you, then please speak to the vicar of the church you wish to get married in as soon as possible for advice.

• If you change arrangements for your wedding, please contact the parish office in writing as soon as possible.
• If you move house, or change your contact details, or wish to move your booking, please contact the parish office in writing as soon as possible.
• If you need to cancel or postpone your wedding
  Please notify the parish office in writing immediately. If you do need to cancel, then your deposit, less any expenses incurred by us (for example, in contacting you by a registered letter), will be refunded.

Banns

Banns are the public announcement of your intention to marry. They must be read for three Sundays before the wedding in the parish (or parishes) where you live and the service is to take place. In Droitwich, we normally read the banns on the first three Sundays of the month, two months before your wedding. (for example, if you are getting married in August, the banns will be read on the first three Sundays of June).

If you both live in Droitwich then once you have fully filled in the Wedding Application form you do not have make any further arrangements.

If one of you lives outside Droitwich, you are responsible for arranging to have the banns read in that parish as well. After they have been read there, you need to collect a certificate from the vicar of that parish and deliver it to the priest who is taking your wedding. The wedding cannot legally happen without that certificate. There is a separate fee payable to the other parish for the calling of your banns and the certificate.

If both of you live outside the parish of Droitwich but one, or both, of you has a specific connection with the parish, which is contained in the Marriage Measure 2008, it may be possible for you to marry in Droitwich after Banns have been called. The connection might be that you were baptised in the parish, or have lived in the parish for more than 6 months (there are others which are specifically mentioned). A member of the parish clergy will have been in contact with you and once the connection has been verified then the legal preliminaries are the same as for the above.

Common Licence

A common licence (also called a Bishop’s licence) is always required for the marriage of non-EU passport holders. It also allows you to arrange a wedding at short notice, and is an alternative to a wedding by banns. You may be married in Droitwich by common licence if one of you is baptised, and one of you lives in the parish of Droitwich Spa.

 

Special Licence

A special licence (also called an Archbishop’s licence) applies only in some circumstances. For example if both of you live outside Droitwich but have good and on-going connections with Droitwich which are not covered by the Marriage Measure 2008. If you think this applies, you will need to arrange to see a member of the parish clergy well before booking your wedding.