The Anglican Parish
of
Coromandel Valley
All
Hallows
Church
St John’s Church
Blackwood
Coromandel Valley
Fr Stephen Clark: Parish Priest
45 Coromandel Parade
Blackwood, SA 5051
Tel: 08 8278 2548
coro35@tpg.com.au
Getting Married in the Parish of Coromandel Valley and Blackwood
1. Congratulations on your decision to get married in this parish. The
preparation for a wedding is quite complex and these notes are designed to
help you. If they do not fully address all your questions then please contact the
parish priest Fr Stephen Clark for more information
2. Weddings take place either at St John’s Church, 337 Main Road,
Coromandel Valley or at All Hallows’ Church, 37 Coromandel Parade,
Blackwood.
Arrangements can be made for outdoor weddings or weddings at other venues.
Please discuss this with Fr Stephen.
3. Initial contact: Arrangements for your wedding need to be made directly with
the parish priest even if another priest is conducting the wedding.
Bookings are usually made on a “first come first served” basis, though we try
to accommodate your wishes if we can
4. Appointments, interviews and preparation
The parish priest will arrange to meet with you to discuss the process. It is
normally expected that after this initial interview the couple will undergo
some form of Marriage Preparation Course. These are available through
Anglicare or Relationships Australia and information will be given about them
at the time of your initial interview.
5. After you have completed the Marriage Preparation Course you will meet with
the priest conducting your wedding approximately 6-8 weeks before the
wedding to go through the service (see below) and to complete any forms.
A Wedding rehearsal may be held in the week or so preceding the wedding.
6. Legalities.
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In order to be married a person must be of legal age (18) unless special
rulings of the court have been made.
A person may not be married if they are married to another person and
have not been divorced from that person.
According to church rules, a divorced person can only be married if
permission has been given by the local Bishop, so the priest has to
seek specific permission. It should not be presumed that this
permission will be automatic.
A person may not be married to a person to whom they are related in
the first or second degree (Parents, Grandparents & Children or
Brothers and Sisters). This applies also to relations created by
adoption. It is possible to marry a person to whom you are more
distantly related, for example, a cousin .
7. Notice of Intention A notice of intention to marry (blue form) is to be in the
hands of the celebrant 1-6 months before the wedding. This form has to be
formally witnessed and is normally filled in at one of the interviews, and the
priest celebrant can witness it. In situations where the celebrant may not see
the couple beforehand (eg. where they are interstate or overseas) it is sufficient
for the form to be completed and witnessed by a police officer, another
celebrant, a doctor, or various types of legal officer.
8. Other documents:
 Evidence of birth (birth certificate, passport, citizenship ) needs to be
provided in an original form (ie. NOT a photocopy)
 Where a person has been married before, evidence of death or divorce from
the previous spouse has to be sighted by the celebrant (absolute decree, death
certificate)
9. Baptism (or Christening) The church requires that at least one of the persons
should have been baptised either as an infant or as an adult, in an Anglican or
some other church. A certificate to that effect should be produced. If you do
not have one then it should be possible to get some confirmation from the
church where the sacrament took place.
THE WEDDING CEREMONY
10. An Anglican wedding uses a fixed form of service which is usually the
second order from A Prayer Book for Australia. A copy of this service will be
given to you at the first interview.
Although much of the text of the service is set, there is also a great deal of
choice and it is possible to personalise the service completely.
The choice of music, readings from the Bible, and appropriate prayers is an
important way of putting your personal stamp on the service.
It is also possible to include material such as poetry, recorded or live music.
Other additions are also possible as long as they are in keeping with the
dignity of the occasion and the teaching of the Christian Church. Please
discuss this with the celebrant.
The Bride and Groom are also encouraged to learn their words rather than
repeat them after the priest
11. Ministers of other Christian churches may be permitted to participate in an
Anglican wedding, but the principal celebrant will usually be a priest of the
Anglican Church.
12. Seating. It should be noted that St John’s Church only seats a maximum of 80
people comfortably, and All Hallows’ Church 120-130
13. Music An organist will be provided by the Church if desired. The organist
will help you to choose the most suitable music for your wedding, and will
endeavour to accommodate your desires.
It is not necessary or even desirable to have hymns, particularly if participants
in the wedding are not church people (as they will not sing them)
All additional arrangements for music, live or recorded, must be discussed
with Fr Stephen and the parish reserves the right to approve music or not.
14. Confetti It is normal practice these days not to use paper confetti. It is
permitted to use rose petals, rice or other environmentally friendly material.
15. Photos & Video During the service only one official photographer is
permitted to use a flash and only one official video operator is requested.
General Members of the congregation will be asked to not take photois during
the ceremony (the designated photographer may)
16. Flowers As flowers are provided for church services on Sundays we normally
prepare these for a wedding also and provision is made for these in the general
fee. These are nice basic flower arrangements and they will remain in the
Church for services following. Should any specific flowers be required or any
particular colour these will need to be at your expense and payment of them
will be required so that the volunteers who arrange them are not personally out
of pocket.
It is to be remembered that the Church uses volunteers and not professionals
and people’s kindness and desire to do a good job should not be exploited.
17. Decorations The Church has a limited number of pew decorations which may
be used for your wedding. If you wish to provide your own then they need to
be constructed in such a way that they can be tied or slipped on to the pew and
not pinned or fixed with sticky material
18. Cost The church is not ‘hired’ in the sense that other venues are but as certain
costs are involved these should be reimbursed.
19. A total fee covers the organist, basic flowers, the fee for the registration of the
marriage (payable to the celebrant), availability of the Church. This fee will be
discussed with you on application.
Any out of pocket expenditure (for example: for flowers, or for the purchase
of special music ) is additional to this basic charge and should be paid to the
person concerned at the earliest convenience.
20. Additional Services
A female solo singer may be available to sing at weddings
A small choral group may be available
A number of other groups are available in the area
21. Contact information
Parish Priest: Fr Stephen Clark 35 Coromandel Parade, Blackwood, 5051
email: coro35@bigpond.net.au
Tel: 8278 2548
Parish Office (Mon-Fri: 9-12) 45 Coromandel Parade, Blackwood 5051
Tel:8278 8626
Organist: When your marriage is arranged the parish will put you in touch
with an organist for the occasion should you wish
Flowers: The parish provides flowers for church on Sundays which will be
augmented for weddings. The cost of these is included in the
basic fee. Should anything more elaborate be required then this
can be arranged at additional cost
Anglicare Marriage and Relationship Education:
Tel: 08 8305 9674