Is it normal to pay for church ceremony?

What kind of church? For Catholic if you are a member then you get a discount, although they tend to still be pretty pricey overall.

I am a Christian so it is a presybation church. Sorry I am bad with spelling. Wow.

Why are you furious? Even if you were a member, you would be using church resources to have your event there--janitorial services, someone having to be there who wouldn't otherwise if the building weren't open, etc. Also, officiants themselves are not free (nor should they be--this is their job, which means they get paid to do it).

Yeah thats pretty normal. Some will even make you take pre marital classes.

Yea I just thought it is free, I have heard that some people get married for free at their churches.

Cabell raised a good point, we are paying $250 for a minister to perform our short ceremony. And he was one of the cheapest!

I understand, I just felt it was too expensive that I would have to pay almost $700 for ceremony. Yes she does have a good point.

The ones around here you just give a donation of what you can afford to give..

It costs a lot to run a church and there are usually a number of services included in the price. Officiant, candles, possibly music. As has been brought up, there are a LOT of lights which cost money to run, they need to heat or cool the building, clean it, have someone plan all these wedding, etc. Those costs add up and so they have to charge.

I have never heard of a wedding being free anywhere, even churches.

When you say "have to be a member of the church" do you mean that you are and you still pay or that you need to become a member of a church to use it? Because if you mean the latter, then that is not normal. Usually there is a discount for being a member but you don't have to be to be married there.

Yes some people don't pay for the use of THEIR church but you stated you're not a member of this church. have you inquired about the use of your church?

That's what i ran into when i was searching for churches...one wanted $500 for church rental.

The church we picked it's $150 for church rental, $250 for organist, $50 for custodian; and $50-$400 for pastor, he said that cost is up to us, we can give him whatever we feel.

Wow, thanks for telling me you guys. I guess that ceremony is one of the most expensive things to pay for in a wedding.

Yeah as people above have stated, it is definitely normal to pay for a church ceremony. And when you think about it, that's the actual wedding, so it should be the most important part and the area where you shouldn't fret over the budget. Without the ceremony, the rest of your wedding details are useless.

It is normal to pay for a church for the ceremony. The most expensive part of a wedding is usually the reception.

That depends--what is your overall budget? Certainly a lot of people pay $500 or more for their dresses, and we're spending ~$550 on VERY cheap catering for ~40 people.

I think if you were a member it probaly would be cheaper.

I think that is super cheap. I am paying $1875, but that includes the organist, minister, chapel, music, and marriage counceling.

I would definitely expect to pay if I was not a member of the church. I am a member of the church where I am getting married and still have to pay a small fee.

Well I have a job that don't pay me good and my FH is in Navy that he's going to war next month. I was thinking 5k or less than 10k. I have 4 bridemaids and will have 100 guests total. Just cupcakes and deli sandwiches. I am trying to spend at least 5k nothing less. I dount it, Mrs. Schmidt. It said even if I am a member, I have to pay those fees. I am thinking about trying my future sister in law church and see what they can offer.

Btw, cadel love the pic! Your FH is madly in love with you :-)