More churches should offer wedding and reception, say bishops

Leominster Priory offers a reception venue as well as a church and the Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Rev Anthony Priddis, says more churches should offer this.

Commending the idea in the latest Church of England Podcast, he said: "Churches are the right place to celebrate weddings and they’re the right place to continue the celebration. We love to see our church buildings used for more and more things and that includes wedding receptions."

Bishop Priddis added: “Church buildings historically have always been used for the whole community. They’ve been used for celebrations of all kinds … and we’re returning to that more fully today than we have for a long time. That’s greatly to be welcomed and encouraged.”

The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, Chair of the Archbishops’ Council’s Cathedral and Church Buildings Division, is also very supportive of moves to use church buildings for community celebrations more often.

Janet Gough, Director of Cathedral and Church Buildings, said: “Eighty per cent of our wonderful churches are listed as being of architectural or historical interest, and many have a specially created space or a separate room that’s ideal for a wedding reception.

"These spaces, and whole churches, are already often used for concerts, parents and toddlers groups, and all sorts of other activities, as churches continue to strengthen their rightful place at the centre of communities, so why not a wedding reception?”

The support for churches hosting receptions comes as the Church of England’s wedding website launches a new Real Weddings section featuring couples’ own stories of choosing church for a reception.

This and other wedding ideas will be available on the Church of England’s stand as vicars meet couples and offer helpful wedding ideas at the forthcoming National Wedding Shows in London and Birmingham.

Having a wedding-with-reception in church saves money and time. Newly-wed Andy Flanaghan, who had a bring-your-own-picnic reception for 400 people inside St Mary's Church Bryanston Square in London last June, said: "It means you can invite so many more people and involve the community, and have a bigger, happier celebration, leaving no one out."

The Church of England acknowledged that not all churches could accommodate a reception but said that more and more had modern facilities that lended themselves to hosting the full package.

The Church of England has 16,000 churches, with many well-equipped creatively and practically to host the whole big day. In the 2005 annual Parish Returns, nearly 50 per cent of churches now have modern facilities such as kitchens and lavatories.