Weddings

Congratulations and a warm welcome to you if you are thinking about being married at St Pancras.

We will do our best to make your wedding day memorable for you, your family and your friends. This will be a very exciting time for both of you with many things to think about and plan. However, it is sensible to start with location and date so your first question is likely to be:

Can we get married at St Pancras Church? 

The Rector has a legal duty to be satisfied that you can lawfully marry in the parish before any arrangements can be fixed. To make this process as quick and simple as possible, it is best to telephone our Rector (01243 728865).  There are four questions about you as a couple that will need to be clarified:

• Whether you are so closely related to each other that the law does not permit you to marry. You will need to certify that this is not the case.
• Whether either of you is not a UK National. Special issues arise in this situation and these need to be considered before further progress can be made.
• Whether either of you is qualified to be married at St Pancras Church. Qualification comes by virtue either of being a resident in the parish; or of being on the church electoral roll; or of having close family links with the parish.
• Whether either of you has been married before and your former husband or wife is still alive. In this case an interview with the Rector will be necessary before any arrangements can be made.

After an initial meeting with the Rector, these issues will be clarified and you will be told whether it is possible for a wedding to take place.
 

Will we be required to go on a Marriage Preparation Course? 

Attending a short course of marriage will be necessary if you are to be married at St Pancras. The details will be discussed with the Rector.

What will it cost? 

The fee for a wedding is £531.00. (as of 2024)

Having your banns read at St Pancras

If you live in the parish of St Pancras Chichester and you intend to get married in another Church of England Church you will need to have your “banns” called out on three consecutive Sundays at St Pancras. Every year a significant number of people have their banns read at our services. While it is not necessary for you to be there we always encourage couples to attend at least once and you will be prayed for by name during the service.

What should I do if I need to have banns read at St Pancras?

It is your duty to contact us to arrange for banns to be called – the easiest way is to send us an email at admin@stpancs.org . You will also need to collect a certificate to show to the minister who will officiate at your wedding that the banns have been called out. Failure to do this can cause a number of legal complications and can be expensive to resolve.

Step by step process:

• Check that you live in the ecclesiastical parish of St Pancras (click here)         If you do not live in the St Pancras Parish you will need to contact your parish church.
• If you do live in St Pancras parish then contact the parish office (admin@stpancs.org)  for a Banns Form or download it from this website.
• Complete the Banns Form and either scan it and email it to admin@stpancs.org or send it by post to the St Pancras Church Office, 101 St Pancras, Chichester PO19 7LJ
• Our Operations Manager will tell you when your banns will be read out. They normally commence of the first Sunday of the month and will be read out at the 9.00am and 10.45am services for 3 consecutive Sundays.
• Our Operations Manager will also send you the details of how to pay for your Banns to be read (bank transfer to the Church account). The fee for calling the Banns is £36 (as of 2024) 
• You will also need to have a Banns Certificate to show the minister who is officiating at your wedding that your Banns have been read at St Pancras. The Banns Certificate is £18 (as of 2024). Once the Banns have been read and we have received the fees - we will send the certificate to you – or you can arrange to pick it up. 

Please allow plenty of time for this and so contact us at least 2 months before your wedding.