Church ceremony?

I am having a church wedding and I am a member of that church. That being said I am a FAIRLY NEW member of the church because I only moved to the area a year before we were engaged.

There are many churches that do not require membership for you to get married there. Weddings generate income (donations) for the congregation and very few will turn that away. use your Sundays searching google to find places to have the ceremony. once you have a few in mind give them a call in between classes and you should be good.

Are you sold on a church? Then the only way is to ask around where your friends and family go. It doesn't sound like you really want to have to go to church on Sunday?

Why don't you look at public gardens, parks, or beaches in your town? They are available for rent for like $600 where I live. Check out the parks & rec's site for your county.

I am having a Church wedding, and I am not a member of the church I'm getting married at.

We're having a church wedding and neither of us are parishioners at the church we're being married in.

We are having a full Catholic wedding mass, so we need to be members of the parish. Joining the church now (2 years before the wedding) seems to be the best plan, though I am not Catholic nor do I intend to convert. We will see what the Pastor says about it all, I guess?!

Shouldn't this have been the first step?

I wish Tina - the venue came first! Why have you left it so long?

I've been married in a church before and we both were parishioners, the Catholic church is like that (@Laura - is your FH RC? Oh and in the RC church he most definitely isn't called a Pastor)

Are you looking for one to get married in? Or one to actually join? Because they are different things.

Are either of you baptised/christened or went as children? That may be a good denomination to start with. Also look at what you actually believe and what sort of worship you feel may fit.

Perhaps you could get married in a garden, park, or other space and plan to find a church after you marry. It seems you are a looking for a religion more than a building. I wouldn't rush finding a religion before you marry just so you can marry in the building. You have your whole life together to find the religion that is right for you and your husband. If you just want a church building, are there any old church buildings in your area that can be rented for ceremonies?

My FH and I started attending a church that we have no joined yet...however our pastor is doing our ceremony - we wanted at the venue because its so convenient, however we had the option to get married in the church. We are even going through the counseling process. I love it and the pastor is amazing! BTW it's a Methodist church.

Thanks ladies! These are some great tips! The reason we didn't start looking for a church is because I was working a retail job that had me working every weekend day. And yes we are looking for religion to be a part of since the church I was raised in closed and my FH is looking for a more contemporary service rather than traditional.

Thanks again for the supportive words!

Well ... considering that this is the most important part, you need to figure this out. at this point, it doesn't sound like you want to find a place to worship God every Sunday so I would get that out of my head for the time being. you do not have to commit to raising your children in whatever you church you get married at, and in fact wanting to get married somewhere is a pretty terrible reason to become a true member of that church - it's disingenuous.

find a church that will let you get married there, or find a pastor or someone else who will marry you elsewhere. do this ASAP. without this you do not have a wedding.