Wedding Info

CHURCH SANCTUARY

NO PICTURES - shall be taken during the Service. Posed pictures can be arranged following the Service. Pictures may be taken as the Bride enters the sanctuary, during the signing of the register, and as the couple is leaving.

VIDEOS - Video cameras are permitted at St. Paul’s. There are two options for the operation. If a camera is desired at the front of the Church, it must be unmanned. That is, it will be on a tripod, turned on at the beginning of the Service and turned off after the Service. No re-aiming will be permitted during the Service. A manned camera is permitted behind the wedding guests. Video recording is often done from the west balcony. Videographers and photographers are expected to attend the rehearsal. The BRIDE/HER PARENTS/BRIDESMAIDS arrive 10 minutes before the Service. The GROOM AND BEST MAN arrive 20 minutes before the Service. USHERS should be present 40 minutes before the time of the Service.
FLOWERS are the responsibility of the Bride and Groom and should be placed on flower stands. NO FLOWERS are to be placed on the Chancel woodwork. A tray behind the Communion Table will hold your flower arrangement. Those responsible for decorating the sanctuary may do so just one hour prior to the time of the wedding when the custodian will have all doors unlocked. These same decorations must be all removed within the first half hour following the Bride and Groom’s leave of the sanctuary space.
Note: If you select Easter, Thanksgiving, or the week prior to Christmas for your wedding, the sanctuary and altar will already be decorated with seasonal arrangements. A financial contribution for the flowers will gladly be accepted.
CANDLES - may be used in the Service. The Church does not have candle holders, so the responsibility of the candles and holders is the Bride and Groom’s. Candles are to have glass chimneys, if placed other than on glass top of Communion Table.
WEDDING BULLETINS - are the responsibility of the Bride and Groom and will not be prepared at the Church. However, if a bulletin is desired, please consult with the Minister about the order of the Service.
NO RICE OR CONFETTI - is to be thrown within the Church building or on the Church property.
MUSICAL SELECTIONS - to be used in the Service are to be approved by the minister and then arranged through consultation with the Director of Music for St. Paul’s:
Name: Church Phone:	Shelley Vermeersch 688-0011
NOTE: If during the first visit with the minister to plan your wedding you indicated you wanted the organist to play at your wedding, the minister would have booked the date with the organist shortly after that meeting. If you later decide that you no longer need her services, you have up to five weeks prior to the wedding date to contact the minister and cancel without penalty. After that period of time has passed and you still wish to cancel the organist you will still be responsible for paying the fee.
VISITING ORGANIST - requests for a Visiting Organist are to be directed through the Director of Music for St. Paul’s and approved by the Worship Committee of the Church Council.
SOLOIST - requests for a soloist are to be directed through our Director of Music.
MUSICIANS AND SOLOISTS are expected to attend the rehearsal.
THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS: A Minister is permitted to marry a couple after they have obtained a marriage license.
LICENSE: Where a marriage is to be solemnized under the authority of a license, such a license may be obtained from the Clerk of any City, Town or Village. Both parties usually apply together; or if one applies alone, he/she should present the Birth Certificate of the other, or an affidavit concerning age and (if necessary) consent. A marriage shall be solemnized only within 3 months immediately following the issue of a license. ** Marriage shall not be solemnized, if any person is mentally ill or mentally defective, or who is under the influence of intoxicating liquor or narcotic drugs.

CHANGE OF NAME ACT: Either spouse can use the spousal election provisions to legally change their last name to what the other spouse’s last name was immediately before the marriage, or to a hyphenated or combined last name incorporating the last names of both spouses. It is important that those getting married understand the difference between a “legal” name and an “assumed” name. A legal name is the name by which the person is entitled to be recognized for all purposes of Ontario law. An assumed name is a name that a person uses or adopts although is not their legal name.

Option 1 – Continue to use his/her current last name. Under this course of action, the spouse who wishes to keep his/her current last name needs to take no action. Ontario law does not require a spouse to change his/her last name on marriage. Option 2 – “Assume” the use of the spouse’s last name. A spouse may simply assume (i.e. use) their spouse’s last name. Most government organizations, credit card forms, etc., will accept a copy of the marriage certificate issued by the Office of the Registrar General as proof of the marriage, and issue revised identification. It is not against the law to simply use another name, provided it is not for fraudulent purposes. Option 3 – Legally changes his/her last name. In this instance, the spouse elects the option under the Change of Name Act, completes the appropriate forms and submits them to the Office of the Registrar General. If the person was born in Ontario, the birth registration is notated, and a birth certificate in the new name is issued, as well as a change of name certificate. If this is done within 90 days of the marriage, there is no charge; otherwise a fee is charged.
THE REHEARSAL: The following people should be present: Bride, all of her attendants, Father of the bride (or person walking her down the aisle), Mother of the Bride, Groom, Groom’s parents, all Groomsmen, all Ushers, Soloist, Musicians, Videographer, Minister(s). Other friends or relatives are welcome. The rehearsal takes an hour. * If there are young children at the rehearsal, for safety reasons, they must remain in the sanctuary. The parents are responsible for them!