 |
 |
|||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
||||||||
Weddings for Non Members of NFUMC Best wishes on your plans to be married. The congregation of First United Methodist Church welcomes you and prays God's blessing upon your pending marriage. We look forward to the possibility of being of service to you during this exciting process. I intend for this to give you all the information necessary to make this occasion a meaningful one and to assure that the wedding and surrounding tasks run smoothly. It is essential you understand something about how importantly we, here at First UMC, consider marriage to be. Our congregation firmly believes that Christian marriage is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman blessed by God and witnessed by the community. The ceremony of Christian marriage is always a worship service of the church presided over by an ordained pastor. It is one of the most serious and important steps in an individual's life and must be accorded its due sanctity. Because marriage is so important and is a worship service of the church, one of our pastors must be in charge of every wedding ceremony in our church building. All worship ceremonies at First United Methodist Church happen only under the authority of one of our pastors. Thus, before a wedding can be scheduled both the bride and groom must meet with one of the pastors. Dates on the church calendar can be checked for availability, but the actual scheduling will occur only after your visit with a pastor. Non-member's weddings may be scheduled no earlier than nine months prior to the wedding date. You may invite other pastors to assist in the ceremony if you wish, but only after you have discussed this possibility with the pastor of First UMC who will be performing your wedding. However, remember one of our pastors will be in charge of the service. Our pastors will want to meet with you a total of two to seven sessions to plan and prepare you for marriage and for the wedding ceremony. Below is additional information concerning weddings at First United Methodist Church. I hope you find it to be helpful. N. Jack Wolfe Senior Pastor Member Status For the purposes of wedding scheduling and costs, a non member of the church is defined as:
Scheduling a wedding at First United Methodist Church Only the Pastor assigned to your ceremony can officially schedule your ceremony. You may call the church office and determine through the administrative assistant if a date and time are available. The date can then be held for you until an appointment is made with the officiating pastor. All Saturday weddings are normally scheduled at either 1:30 or 5:30. Occasionally, we must schedule more than one wedding on a given day. Your reservation of the building assures you of a four hour time period, starting two and one-half hours before the time of your ceremony. The first wedding scheduled for the date will get the first selection of rehearsal time. Meeting with the Pastor The Bridal Couple will need to meet with the Pastor at least two or three times in person to plan the ceremony and an additional two to five times for pre-marital counseling. This is important for several reasons. First, it will give you and the pastor an opportunity to get to know one another, and this will make for a much better wedding ceremony. Second, it will enable you to talk about marriage in general and your wedding service in particular. Please call the church office (317) 773-2500 to schedule your first meeting with one of the pastors and to confirm the date of wedding. Which pastor will officiate at our ceremony? If you have a pastoral preference, please note that preference when you call to check on schedules. Whenever possible, our pastor will seek to be available to serve. However, due to schedule conflicts a certain pastor may not be available on the date you select. At our weekly staff meetings, the pastoral staff coordinates wedding calendars and confirms availability. You will then be contacted by the church informing you of how to best schedule an appointment with that pastor. Photographers Pictures are important to families as years pass and memories are recalled. Pictures may be taken before and after in the Bride's Room, the Groom's Room, in the halls and in the narthex. During the procession, pictures may be taken in the sanctuary. Flash pictures may be taken during the processional and recessional, but all photographers are to remain in the back half of the sanctuary when taking these pictures. Once the wedding service proper has begun all photographers and videographers are asked to not move about and to remain in their positions. Flash pictures during the ceremony are strongly discouraged. No pictures may be taken from the altar or chancel area during the ceremony. It is important that your photographer and/or videographer check with the pastor before time of wedding so that they can answer any questions concerning where the cameras may set up during the wedding ceremony. Some areas are not allowed. An audio tape and video tape of the service (taken from the sound booth) is provided as part of the audiovisual services included in the wedding fees. Music If organ music is used in your ceremony, our organist must provide it. The fee for the organist is included in your wedding package. Soloists may schedule to rehearse with the organist before or after the Wedding Rehearsal. Additional rehearsals with the organist will entail an additional fee. Marriage is an ordinance of God and the ceremony is an act of worship . It is therefore essential that the music you select as part of the ceremony is praise worthy to honor our Lord, to glorify God and to be faith centered. As with any worship service, the music selected helps to set the tone and to invite people to join in what they are about to experience. Music helps people to prepare for worship (pre-service music), to participate in worship (congregational hymns), and to leave the worship ready to serve God in the world. A wedding service is no different in these respects from any other worship service of the church. It is best to avoid popular favorites that recall and emphasize secular, social, sentimental or personal associations. Remember that this type of music in not befitting of a sacred occasion, nor will it enhance your religious wedding service. Music that seems more of an intimate and secular nature is best utilized at the reception. If you have a secular or contemporary melody you wish to use in your service, their lyrics must be in keeping with the meaning of a Christian marriage. The church organist or the church's Music Minister will have final say concerning the appropriateness of any secular music you may wish to use. Our church organist can help you through the steps of selecting music appropriate for your wedding. The organist is also an excellent pianist and is familiar with a wide selection of music. You may wish to leave the choice of music to the organist. The church has soloists available for your use. The church also has a hand bell choir that may be of use. The pastor can provide you with a fee schedule should you desire these services. You may, of course, provide your own vocalist, or instrumentalist (other than the organist). If you do have a soloist or other special music for your wedding, please talk to the church organist to arrange a practice time other than the night of the rehearsal or day of the wedding, if possible. The music planning should be done as far in advance as possible. In addition, you need to know that taped music or music played from CD's is rarely an acceptable alternative to live music in worship. Such recorded music is not normally part of a formal sanctuary wedding. Some more popular spots for music in a wedding would be: before the actual service, congregation singing such as the hymn of invocation, right before the exchange of vows, during lighting of the Unity Candle or directly thereafter (usually The Lord's Prayer ) and recessional music. Rice, Birdseed, Confetti, etc... We rejoice with you. Nevertheless, we must ask that you cooperate by not scattering rice, confetti, birdseed, tissue flowers, or tossing any other non-approved objects either inside or outside the church building. Please advise your family, wedding party and guests of this requirement. Should the throwing of any of these other items occur, an additional fee for cleanup may be charged. Candles and Candelabras Candles and candelabras are available for rent through the First United Methodist Church Choir. No other candles or candelabras are permitted, with the exception of the Unity Candle. A church representative will do set-up and removal of all candelabras. Available for use are:
If flowers or bows are attached to the candelabras, they must be attached with wrapped wire. NO BARE WIRES OR ADHESIVES ARE PERMITTED Great care should be exercised in the lighting and extinguishing of candles. Smoking and Alcohol on the Church Grounds Primarily, your church is a place of worship. We ask your cooperation in helping to keep your church holy. Please do not bring alcoholic beverages onto the premises (church or church grounds) and please do not smoke anywhere in the church building. The Sanctuary There are 19 rows of pews in the sanctuary that provide seating for approximately 380 persons. The church aisle is 63 feet long. The arrangement of the chancel furniture will be part of your wedding ceremony plan made with the pastor. If you plan for a flower girl to throw live flower petals, you must secure an aisle runner from your florist. Sweet-smelling petals stain the carpet. Silk petals may be used without the use of an aisle runner. If an aisle runner is used, the church has a preferred method of attaching the runner.
Use of Celebration Hall Celebration Hall is only available for non-member weddings if the Sunday morning seating configuration is used. However, the main stage is not available and the stage curtain will remain closed. Florist Arrangements for floral decorations should be made with the florist of your choice. Most local florists can probably suggest various decorations for your consideration. If your florist is not familiar with our church, he or she should be told that it is not permissible to put tape, nails or tacks into the woodwork. First United Methodist Church or any of its staff cannot be responsible for personal effects, decorations or other items that are not picked up by florists on the same day of the wedding. Such items may be left in the church ( if storage space is available) overnight or over the weekend, but we cannot assume any responsibility for such items. Rehearsals If the wedding party consists of no more than four adults, a rehearsal may not be necessary. However, if more than four persons are involved, and especially if children are included, a rehearsal is wise. One hour is ample time for the rehearsal, and all persons involved are urged to be prompt. It is important that special music persons attend the rehearsal, both for their own information about the wedding day and so that the sound system operator can set up the microphones for them. Readers also need to attend for the same reasons. Dressing Rooms Non-reception related food on the church premises should be kept to a minimum; more specifically, kept within the bride's or groom's dressing rooms. This request is made in consideration of those who will be returning the church to its regular status for services. Members of the wedding party are responsible for gathering all paper and removing all food items as they leave. The bride and groom dressing rooms will be clearly marked. The wedding party and guests should use only their designated rooms and the hallway connecting them to the narthex and sanctuary. If the reception is held at the church, other necessary areas will be made available. Please do not leave any items of value unattended in the dressing rooms. Purses, wallets, cameras, etc. are best secured by their owners. Holy Communion It is completely acceptable to have Holy Communion as part of your wedding ceremony. However, if the sacrament is offered during a worship service in our church, it must be offered to all who are present in the sanctuary. As United Methodists, we have no restriction as to age or church membership concerning who may receive the sacrament. The only qualification required by one receiving the sacrament is a desire to know more of God's grace and love. If you might wish to have Holy Communion as part of your ceremony, you will need to discuss this option in detail with the pastor officiating at your wedding. The Wedding Service The State of Indiana requires that a license for marriage be obtained and the couple fulfill the legal formality of pronouncement. The State of Indiana Marriage License may be obtained in the county of residence of either the bride or the groom and is good for 60 days following the date of issue. The Indiana license is in two portions. The first portion of basic biographical information must be filled out by the couple prior to delivering the license to the church office. At our church, we offer a Christian service in which the wedding vows are made in a context of worship, prayer and thanksgiving. A typical wedding service includes:
This is a basic outline of a wedding ceremony, and each couple is invited to work with the Pastor to personalize their service. Professional Wedding Coordinator You are of course free to employ a professional wedding coordinator to assist you with the details of your wedding. However, please be aware that any such person you employ will have to work under the direction of the pastor concerning all details of the rehearsal, wedding ceremony and all arrangements involving the church. Wedding Fees The charge for your sanctuary wedding will cover all staff and professional costs. The amount of charge will be given to you at the time you schedule your wedding. The final setting of the dates for the wedding, rehearsal or any other function at the church will not be finalized until a Letter of Understanding of the fees and rules of the church is signed . This letter will be available in the church office one week following the first meeting with one of the pastors. One half the base fee is due then. This deposit is non-refundable. The balance of all fees is due 30 days before the wedding service. Invitations When ordering invitations, the suggested form for the name and address of the church is:
CONTACT INFORMATION Pastors of FUMC
|
 |
|||||||||||
| About FUMC | Worship | Activities | Ministries | Newsletter | Weddings | Beliefs | Other Links | Site Map | |||
|
|||||||||||