Weddings
If you are on this page because you are thinking of a wedding at St. Mark's, thank you for considering us in your search for the perfect or suitable site for your wedding. We appreciate the honor of being considered in your plans.
For everyone's safety, weddings would not be held at St. Mark's when New Britain is red on the Connecticut COVID-19 Data Tracker map. For the CT data map, first click: Here, and then, scroll down the Web page.
In any case, please know that the Episcopal Church allows for a Blessing of a Civil Marriage. The first step would be to be married in a civil setting, such as with a Justice of the Peace. Then at a later time, the qualifying couples could have the blessing of the marriage in a church setting as circumstances allow.
Please contact the parish office if you have further questions, or to begin a conversation about a potential wedding, including premarital requirements. The normal expectation is that a couple would start regularly attending Sunday services well in advance of the wedding date, and then, afterwards they would continue to participate in the regular life of the parish.
Although a temptation might be to secure the reception location before contacting the parish, it is a good idea to see if the parish and clergy are available for the day that you have in mind and that you meet their criteria, before contacting the reception location.
Some people may have been planning for their wedding day since they were five years old, and they know what they want. That may be fine, within limits.
Additional considerations:
1) The service needs to conform with the Book of Common Prayer (current edition), other rites authorized by the Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, the canons of the Episcopal Church, and the laws of Connecticut.
While you might have seen Episcopal wedding videos on the Internet from other states or described in etiquette materials, those practices may not conform to what is permitted in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut at the present moment.
2) If you have questions on what can and can not be done, please contact the parish clergy (via the parish office), before setting a date.
If you have questions about the State of Connecticut's marriage requirements, your questions might be answered: Here. For a New Britain wedding, talk with the local vital records department (the Town and City clerk at 27 West Main Street, in New Britain) in person.
Please read the diocesan general information regarding marriages: Here. Both parties will need to sign The Episcopal Church's Declaration of Intention form, available at St. Mark's; the wording appears in a special section to the left of this page, as well as in the national canons to the left of this page.
If a marriage judgment application is involved because one or both of the couple have been married at least once before, please read the diocesan memo: Here.
The Marriage Judgment application form and instructions can be found: HERE.
Scriptures for the marriage service may be found: Here.
Take care.
"Open to God's love, serving our neighbor"
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