WEDDINGS AT FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

Congratulations on your decision to be married!  Our congregation wishes you the best and wants to help you get off to a good start in your new commitment.

OUR VIEW OF MARRIAGE

Marriage is a gift of God.  It is a covenanted commitment that has its foundation in the faithfulness of God’s love.  It is the sacred and lifelong union of two people, who give themselves to each other in love and trust. Marriage is given that together, they may enrich and encourage each other in every part of their life together. The goal of marriage is lifelong companionship, comfort, and joy between two loving partners; and the security of family and home for children brought into the marriage. A Christian wedding, or marriage ceremony, is a service of worship offered to God.   

WEDDING OFFICIANT AND PARTICIPANTS

At First Congregational Church, weddings, like all other worship services, are the responsibility of the Pastor of the church.   Family members and friends of the couple to be married may be involved in various ways in the ceremony, at the discretion of the Pastor.  The length and components of the ceremony are flexible. Our Pastor works with couples to be married to design a ceremony that honors their personalities and relationship as well as honoring our Source of Being.

PREPARATION

The church requires that the couple to be married participate in pre-nuptial preparation.  Ordinarily this involves meeting(s) with the Pastor for discussion.  If the couple to be married is currently living far away from Washington, CT, and cannot meet multiple times with the Pastor before the wedding, the meetings may be held using Skype or similar online meeting tool.

PARKING

There is on-street parking available near the Meeting House, as well as parking lots behind the Post Office and Woodruff House across Kirby Road from the Meeting House.  Parking is also available in the Gunn Library lot after 3:00 on Saturdays (and all day most Sundays).  However, parking can be an issue in our area so wedding scheduling must take into consideration any activities scheduled by our neighbors.  See our facility use guidelines for more details about parking.  Depending on the size of the wedding and the day and time of the wedding; the couple to be married may be required to hire constables to help with parking.

MUSIC

The church’s regular organist is responsible for providing organ music for the wedding—if that is desired—and for finding a replacement if he is unavailable.  The participation of soloists and other musicians is welcome and should be discussed with the Pastor.                                                                    

A form will be emailed once date is reserved and discussed with Pastor.

Fees and other relevant information are contained in the form referenced above.  The wedding date will be reserved when the office receives a non-refundable deposit of $100.