How to Find a Church for Your Wedding Ceremony

One of the first and most important elements of planning your wedding that needs to be taken care of is finding a venue or site for your wedding. For many couples, this means finding a church for their wedding ceremony. If you do not have a church in mind, finding a wedding church can be a difficult and stressful process.

First of all, some people may wonder why those who aren't churchgoers themselves would even be looking for a church to get married in, but there are a number of reasons. Tradition can mandate holding the wedding ceremony in a church, or the bride's family might not go to church, but the groom's does and wants the ceremony to be held in a church in the bride's hometown. Or the church that the bride and her family attend might be too small for the wedding, or it could meet in a rented location that is used for other purposes during the weekend, or that is too ugly for a wedding. Whatever the reason, these tips will help you get started, and hopefully help you find that perfect church.

Finding a Wedding Church: Ask Your Churchgoing Friends

The best place to start is with personal connections. If you have friends who go to church in the area where you want to get married, ask them what their churches are like, and if they know whether their pastors do wedding ceremonies often. This is probably the best way to find a good church to get married in, and even a solid pastor to perform the wedding ceremony.

Finding a Wedding Church: Ask Your Married Friends

Similarly, if you have friends in the area who are married, especially if you know that they held their wedding nearby, ask them about churches in which you could hold your wedding ceremony. They can even share pros and cons about the site they ended up using, potentially saving you from making an uninformed decision.

Finding a Wedding Church: Old "Farm" Churches

If you live in the part of the country that has lots of older churches that aren't necessarily used anymore for formal churching, these can be great sites in which to hold your wedding ceremony. Although they are often a bit smaller and have uncomfortable pews, they will add a lot of charm and character. Plus, they often have nice sites around them that can be good backdrops for photos and the receiving line.

Finding a Wedding Church: Internet and Yellow Pages

As a last resort, turn to the Internet and the phone books. These sources are not the best because you don't have any personal connections to the place or the potential pastor, but if you just can't seem to find anything, these searches are sure to turn something up. Especially if you are searching on the Internet for churches that often hold weddings for non-members, you will likely need to book in advance because these places fill up (or at least the good ones do), so get searching early!