The Anglican Wedding Ceremony

Arriving at the Church

The ushers should be the first to arrive at the church, about 30-40 minutes before the ceremony is due to begin, where they should check on any final seating arrangements and make sure they have enough orders of service (where appropriate), and prayer and hymn books for everyone.

Guests will begin to arrive 15-20 minutes before the service and ushers show them to their seats; bride's family to the left and groom's to the right.

The best man and groom should arrive at least 20 minutes before the service is due to start.

The bridesmaids and the bride's mother will be the next to arrive. They will probably wait at the church entrance until the bride's car arrives, but the bride's mother should be escorted to her seat by the head usher before the bride actually enters the church.

At this point, the best man will lead the bridegroom along the nave to the chancel steps - the best man on the bridegroom's right.

The organist will be alerted to the bride's arrival and change from the introductory music to the processional music. With his daughter on his right arm, her father will lead the bride forward into the body of the church, in slow time. The bridegroom and his best man should turn to welcome the bride as she approaches and her father should lead her to the bridegroom's left.

Once they are in position, the chief bridesmaid should step forward to take the bouquet and set the bride's veil clear of her face, back over her head.

The wedding ring is placed on the third finger of the left hand because this was thought to be linked with the heart, the seat of emotion.

The Service and Ceremony

Once the bridal party is in place in front of the minister, a hymn is often sung, which gives the couple an opportunity to relax a little. The minister begins the ceremony with a short address, reminding the congregation of the solemnity of the occasion and that it is a happy event for the families and for the couple who are bringing them together through matrimony. This is followed by a demand to know if them is any impediment to the marriage, first from the congregation, and then from the couple.

If he is satisfied that there is no legal objection to the union, the minister will then begin the 'declarations' part of the ceremony. The wording of this will depend on the kind of service the bride and groom have asked for: traditional (with the wording dating from 1662, subject to modifications in 1928) or modern (introduced in 2000 as part of the Book of Common Worship).

The Traditional Wording

The minister asks the bridegroom:

"Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together according to God's law in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour and keep her, in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?"

The bridegroom answers:

"I will."

The minister then asks the bride similar words, to which she also replies:

"I will."

The minister will then ask:

"Who gives this woman to be marred to this man?"

The bride's father passes his daughter's right hand to the minister, palm downwards. The minister passes it into the right hand of the bridegroom.

The bride's father takes no further part in the service and he may now, if he so wishes, drop back and take his place in the front pew beside his wife.

The Modern Wording

The minister asks the bridegroom:

"(Name), will you take (name) to be your wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honour and protect her, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"

The bridegroom answers:

"I will."

The minister then asks the bride similar words, to which she also replies:

"I will."

The Collect

The minister invites the people to pray, silence is kept and the minister says the Collect: At least one reading from the Bible is used here, followed by the sermon. A hymn may also be sung.

The Vows

The bridegroom will now say after the minister, repeating phrase by phrase:

"I, (name), take thee, (name), to my wedded wife,
to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better for worse, for richer for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death us do part;
according to God's holy law,
and thereto I give thee my troth."

The pair will free their hands and then the bride will take the right hand of the bridegroom in her own right hand and say after the minister, repeating phrase by phrase:

"I, (name), take thee, (name), to my wedded husband,
to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better for worse, for richer for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death us do part,
according to God's holy law,
and thereto I give thee my troth."

The bride may choose whether or not she wishes to use the word 'obey' in her vows.

The Rings

As they free their hands, the best man places the rings on the minister's prayer book under the minister's guidance. After a prayer for the blessing of the ring, the minister will offer the ring to the bridegroom who will take it and place it on the third finger of the bride's left hand. (She should have transferred her engagement ring to her right hand before leaving for the church.)

While the bridegroom holds the ring in place on the bride's finger, he will repeat after the minister:

"With this ring I thee wed;
with my body I thee honour;
and all my worldly goods with thee I share
in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen."

Under the modern service, he would say:

"(Name), I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage.
With my body I honour you,
all that I am I give to you,
and all that I have I share with you,
within the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

The bride will then repeat this with the groom's ring.

Prayers and the Signing of the Register

After the giving of the rings, the minister may give a short address. This is followed by the nuptial blessing, prayers and a psalm or hymn. The prayers may be written or chosen by the couple in consultation with the minister.

The newly married couple, their parents (bride's mother first, escorted by the groom's father, then the groom's mother escorted by the bride's father), the chief bridesmaid or matron-of-honour and the best man now go into the vestry, with the minister, to sign the register.

In the vestry the bride signs the register - in her maiden name - followed by her husband, the minister and two witnesses, often the best man and the chief bridesmaid. The bride retrieves her flowers from the chief bridesmaid or matron-of-honour and the party leaves the vestry to re-enter the body of the church.

Leaving the Church

The procession forms behind the couple as they walk down the aisle. The flower girl (if there is one) walks ahead of the bride and groom scattering flower petals as she goes. After the bride and groom, the pageboy and ring bearer follow together, both now carrying the train (if applicable), followed by the best man and chief bridesmaid or matron-of-honour, then ushers paired with bridesmaids. The bride's mother walks with the groom's father, and the groom's mother walks with the bride's father as they follow the attendants, with family and friends following on in turn, from the front pews first, as the procession passes.

During the recessional there is no reason why the bridal couple should not smile and nod to their friends as they walk slowly down the nave but them must be no pause or conversation inside the church.

It is usually possible to have the church bells pealed for up to half an hour after the ceremony where a church has them (and for twenty minutes immediately prior to the ceremony, if so desired). There will, of course, be an extra charge for this.

After the Service

Outside, after the ceremony the photographer arranges guests for group pictures, with the help of the ushers, and takes individual and paired shots of the bride and groom, their bridesmaids, the official party - and, indeed, the church and the rest of the congregation.

Just before the bridal couple get into their car for the journey to the reception, confetti or rice is normally thrown over them. However, if the minister requested at the beginning of the service that confetti should not be used, the guests should, of course, refrain from using it. Sometimes flower petals can be used instead.

The best man must make sure that the bride and her husband leave for the reception first, followed in succession by their parents, bridesmaids, family and guests.