Congratulations! We are delighted you’re considering getting married at St John’s.
Thousands of couples have pledged their lives to each other in our church and we hope you will too. When we marry a couple, we want to ensure we do all we can to give your marriage the best chance to thrive. Please read the information below but if you have any questions or would like to make a booking, please contact our office.
If you’re interested in getting married at St John’s, please follow these steps
- Read through the Frequently Asked Questions below
- Contact our wedding coordinator to see if your proposed date and time are available. If so, your wedding will be pencilled into our calendar.
- Our wedding coordinator will send you all necessary documents for you to fill in and return.
- If the minister and you agree to move forward, then pay the $500 deposit. Once you’ve paid the deposit and lodged your booking form, your wedding is locked in.
- After this, our wedding coordinator will contact you about our next marriage preparation course. This runs over two consecutive Sunday afternoons at multiple times throughout the year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pre-Marriage Course:
We invite every couple to join in our pre-marriage course. It’s not mandatory, but strongly recommended as it will raise issues that perhaps you haven’t thought through or discussed. Consider it a valuable investment in your marriage.
The service:
We run a classic wedding according to the Prayer Book of the Anglican Church of Australia. Please contact us for a copy of the service.
No, you need to create and have them printed yourself. You have freedom to be creative, but please send through the final draft before printing as a courtesy. If you would like a template, please contact our office.
We can arrange for marriages to happen on any day of the week subject to availability.
Yes, no problem.
Yes. If the bride is more than 10 minutes late, this adds further pressure on our staff who may have other weddings to officiate.
Around 45 minutes. If you expect your service to go longer, you will need to book additional time.
You will have 2 hours and 45 minutes from bump in to bump out. We will open the church one hour prior to the service commencing and close one hour after the service has ended.
Possibly. If this is the case, we will let you know.
When we are hosting more than one wedding on a day, we ensure there’s a minimum time of 2 hours between each wedding. Being on-time will help everyone.
The Buildings:
150 easily, 200 is getting tight.
The church is opened one hour prior to your ceremony and is kept open for an hour after the ceremony.
We provide end of pew decorations. Please speak to our wedding coordinator about choosing the right decoration for you.
All decorations must be agreed to by the minister and you must arrange to have them removed after the ceremony. The Church must be left as it was found.
No. We request that your guests do not throw confetti or rice, either on church property or on the street. This is a safety and littering issue and we appreciate your co-operation. Genuine flower petals can be thrown outside the church as they are biodegradable and will not harm the birds.
If you would like to scatter flower petals down the aisle of the church, this will incur an extra $75 fee for cleaning.
Yes, but please ask your photographer to be respectful during the wedding, keeping in mind it is a Christian Service. Videographers will need to supply their own microphone, which the minister is happy to wear.
We have 30 car spaces around the church building and another 50 in the paddock – adjacent to the church. We also have disabled parking available.
Please discuss with the Wedding Coordinator at the time of enquiry.
Livestreaming:
Yes, we have streaming available. However this is an additional charge since we need to hire an operator.
Ours is a simple set-up, and we are not a media production company, nor are we immune to internet connection or other technical issues. So if this is a particularly important aspect of your wedding you might consider hiring a professional livestream company.
Music:
We recommend the use of the Organ or recorded music. This is simple to organise. But we can also accommodate bands. However, one of our sound desk operators will required at an additional cost.
Music will be needed for these five moments:
- As your guests arrive;
- The Processional (the bridal party walking into the church);
- A hymn (optional);
- The signing of the register;
- The Recessional – the bridal party walking out of the church.
If you would like to, but it is not required. We recommend solid, easy to sing, well known hymns, sung with the organ. We also recommend asking a friend or family member to lead the singing for you.
Yes. But song choice will need to be approved by the minister. Please appoint one of your wedding guests to ‘press play’ on the day. This person should also come to the wedding rehearsal the week prior to your wedding to learn how to use the system.
Yes, at the approval of your minister. If you want a rehearsal for your soloist with the organist, there will be an extra charge for the organist’s time. To avoid this cost, we suggest that the soloist practise when the organist arrives 30 minutes before the wedding. Please let our coordinator know prior to your wedding.
Yes. If you wish to have a contemporary band, we will need to appoint a Sound Operator, who is trained in using all our sound gear. The fee for this is $300. Microphones, DI-boxes and most leads can be supplied by us, along with monitors for musicians, music stands and microphone stands. You will need to provide all instruments (except if you wish to use our keyboard). You must indicate at least 3 months out from your wedding if you intend to bring in a band for your wedding.
Readings:
Your wedding is a Christian ceremony, therefore all readings need to be taken from the Bible. We suggest including any other readings at your wedding reception.
You will choose two Bible readings, and two readers. Please send your chosen passages to your readers before the wedding and encourage them to practice. You can also contact us for some tips for Bible readers.
Flowers:
It is your responsibility to arrange flowers. We have plenty of stands which the flowers can be placed on.
The Minister:
No, you do not. The minister performs wedding ceremonies as part of his duties. If you bring your own minister (after approval is given) you should discuss this with them.
No, you do not. The minister doesn’t expect to be invited to the wedding reception.
Only if your minister is ordained in the Anglican Church, or known by our minister, and only after permission is granted by the Senior Minister, Matt Stedman.