Getting Married in St Kentigern’s Episcopal Church, Ballater
If you’d like to get married in church, but aren’t quite sure whether you can, or how you arrange it, this page will hopefully answer some of your questions.
1.Who can get married at St Kentigern’s?
Anyone who is legally allowed to marry in the United Kingdom.
The exceptions to this are a) if you have been divorced, you will need to seek permission from the Bishop beforehand, (after you’ve contacted us, and we’ve had a chat) and b) we are not registered for same-sex marriages under the laws of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
2.Do we need to have been baptised (christened) to get married in church?
No. The main thing we ask is that a church wedding with a minister presiding and necessary references to God has meaning for you.
If you’re not sure about things, or if only one of you believes in God, or is of a different faith, have a chat with the Rector (details below). There are alternatives – for example, you might want to think about having a wedding blessing after a civil ceremony instead, as a way of honouring your partner’s beliefs.
3.Is it expensive to get married here?
We currently ask for the following wedding fees: £500 – use of church for wedding (including rehearsal the evening or week before, and reasonable set up on day of wedding) – we ask for a non-refundable deposit of 50% when the wedding is officially booked
£ 85 – organist fees (you may have your own musicians, but we can provide an organist if required – just let us know in plenty of time and we will put you in touch with her).
£150 – clergy fees
4. Can we have a look around the building before we make any decisions?
Of course. Just contact the Rector, Vittoria Hancock .
5.Who do we speak to?
If you are considering getting married at St Kentigern’s’, please contact the Rector, the Rev’d Canon Vittoria Hancock. She will arrange to meet you and have a chat. You can phone her using the contact details on the main page, or you can email her.
6.What do we need to arrange?
Once you have booked your wedding date in, you will need to arrange for your marriage license through the Aboyne registrar, our nearest office, within their designated time frame. The priest needs a copy of the marriage schedule, which is available through the local council office, in this case at Aboyne. You can find out more, and begin the process online at aberdeenshire.gov.uk (scroll to marriages).
You will need to talk about the details of the service with the minister – hymns, music, readings etc. You arrange your own order of service, flowers (we ask that you leave one arrangement of flowers in the church after the wedding), photographer, and transport to and from the church. You will also need to arrange the reception.
