The bishop is featured as the main podcast on the Church of England’s national website, talking about wedding receptions in churches.

The Church is promoting the idea of having both wedding ceremony and reception in Church buildings, with space to do it.

"Churches are the right place to celebrate weddings and they’re the right place to continue the celebration," Bishop Anthony Priddis is heard saying in the recording.

"We love to see our church buildings used for more and more things and that includes wedding receptions.

“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,” he added.

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, at www.yourchurchwedding.org/real-weddings.

Bishop Anthony mentions Leominster Priory in Herefordshire as one example of a church where service and reception can take place in the building.

“Not all churches can accommodate a reception but more and more have modern facilities that lend themselves to hosting the full package. And that is certainly true in this area,” added the bishop.

The Church of England has 16,000 churches, which are better equipped than ever - 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.

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