Your Wedding at Calvary UMC

The United Methodist Service of Christian Marriage is designed for couples actively engaged in the practice of the Christian faith. United Methodist pastors are not currently allowed to perform same sex marriages or allow the facility to be used for a same sex marriage. We at Calvary United Methodist Church have a very high view of marriage. If you are not currently worshipping at Calvary UMC we would ask that you and your fiancé attend a couple of services to get to know us and the pastor as he will be conducting the ceremony. Marriage in the church is a service of worship to God. It is more than a wedding ceremony. It is the uniting of two people in the presence of God. Marriage is viewed by this pastor as sacramental in that Jesus prescribed in Matthew’s Gospel, “…the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” The vows are a sacred expression of a couple’s love of each other and the recognition of a spiritual covenant between the couple and God, which is more than legally binding. The vows are permanent.
The pastor is interested in your wedding. I will assist you in coordination the various details of your wedding with you. I want your wedding to be beautiful and memorable for you and your family.  
The following information is provided to help you plan your wedding at Calvary United Methodist Church. Please fill out the separate “Wedding Information Form” that is enclosed and return it to the pastor.
 
Premarital Counseling
A series of premarital counseling sessions is required for couples wishing to get married at Calvary UMC or by the pastor of Calvary UMC. For this reason it is necessary that you schedule your wedding at least three months ahead of time. At the first meeting the couple and the pastor will decide whether it is in the best interest of the couple to be married at Calvary UMC. If the pastor and the couple decide that they do want to continue the process, then the couple will be asked to complete a pre-marriage inventory. This is not a test by any means, rather a tool to be used in the counseling process. It can be done on line or on paper, and the couple will be charged $30.00 (online version) or $35.00 (paper version) for the company to score the inventory.  Please be prepared to pay the appropriate amount at the first meeting. The inventory takes about an hour to complete, and is done by each individual separately. Please do not discuss the inventory with each other prior to completing it. Each question is answerable with a number from 1-5. Please try to avoid answering any question with a 3.

Music
The music selected for a Christian wedding should be appropriately sacred or be suitable for the occasion, which is Christian worship. This policy is adhered to very strictly. However, the policy allows for a broad range of music. All music for the wedding must meet the approval of the pastor. It is suggested you Contact our organist, Emilie Stuart @ 717-737-6921 to get her input and help for the planning of the music for your wedding.
 
Rehearsal
A rehearsal date should also be set for the evening before the wedding. An hour should be allowed for the rehearsal. If you do not have a wedding coordinator it is requested that you include a relative/friend to fulfill that role during the ceremony.  Someone will need to give signals as to when the processional is to begin as well as spacing of the bridal party. Bride, groom, all attendants, parents, organist, and wedding coordinator, should kindly be present and on time for the rehearsal.

License
Both individuals must appear in person to complete the application for marriage. If either party cannot speak English, a third adult party, with ID, must be present to translate. Social Security # and a government issued photo ID are required. Non US residents must provide a passport with current Visa. The state reserves the right to require additional forms of ID as deemed necessary.  
Both persons must be 18 years of age. If you are under 18 years of age for either applicant you must have the consent of a parent or guardian. Applicant must present Birth Certificate plus an additional $5.00. If you are under 16 years of age you must have the approval of a Judge of the Orphans Court, as well as parent or guardian.
There is no medical exam or blood test required.
Applicants who have been previously married must provide the following information concerning the dissolution of the most recent marriage. For divorces and annulments you must present decree. Decrees in a foreign language must be officially translated. If maiden name has been resumed, that document must presented. For a widow or widower the date of death of the deceased spouse is required.
Blood relatives down to and including first cousins, MAY NOT marry under the laws of Pennsylvania.
Marriage Licenses are valid on the 3rd day following application. License is valid for only 60 days from issue date.
To apply for a license in Cumberland County go to the Register of Wills, 1 Courthouse Square, Carlisle, PA 17013, Phone (717) 240-6344.  
In Dauphin County obtain the marriage license from Register of Wills, Dauphin County Courthouse, Room 103, Front & Market Streets, Harrisburg, PA 17101, Phone (717) 255-2657.
In York County obtain the marriage license from Clerk of Orphans’ Court, York County Court House, 28 E. Market St. York, PA 17401
Phone: (717) 771-9607.  
In Lancaster County go to the Office of the Clerk of Orphans Court located on the second floor of the Lancaster County Courthouse at 50 North Duke Street, Lancaster, PA 17602.  Office Hours: 8:30 – 4:30 Monday through Friday.  
The ceremony need not be performed in the county in which the license was issued. A license issued by any Pennsylvania county can be used in any Pennsylvania county. The license is invalid outside of Pennsylvania. There is a $40.00 cash only fee. You must bring the license with you and give it to the Pastor the evening of the rehearsal or at an earlier counseling session.

Decoration and Care of the Church
It is the responsibility of the bride and groom to arrange for decorating the church before the service and for removing the decorations after the service.

• Flowers – Please instruct your florist to deliver the flowers at least 2 hours before the service. We can provide two vases for your use on in the sanctuary or you may chose a single, center arrangement for the Altar table. If you decide to leave the altar flowers for Sunday’s worship service, please let the pastor know and the flowers will be acknowledged in our Sunday bulletin. If the flower girl is going to be throwing flowers as she comes down the aisle, we ask for the pedals to be artificial as live petals stain the carpet.
• Calvary UMC can provide some help with decorations, candles, etc.
• Pew Bows and Ribbons – Please use care in attaching bows and ribbons in such a way as not to damage the pews.
• Decorations should be removed following the ceremony.
• Outside celebration may include birdseed, bubbles, and ringing of the bells as the couple leaves the church.
• Food or Drink – No food or drink allowed in the sanctuary.  
• Alcohol – No alcohol is allowed in the building or on church property.

Photographs
The church and pastor are pleased to welcome professional/amateur photographers to take pictures. We ask that the photographer cooperate fully and abide by these policies:

1. No flash pictures shall be taken during the actual ceremony as it is a worship service.
2. Pictures may be taken without flash during the wedding, but at the discretion of the pastor, ie the photographer is not blocking views.
3. It is permitted for the photographer to move around and to take flash pictures during the processional and recessional; however at all other times during the service the photographer is expected to remain stationary.
4. It is the responsibility of the bride and groom to inform the photographer of church policies.
5. If you wish for the pastor to be photographed with the wedding party or to recreate scenes, please request this of the pastor beforehand.
6. Video taping of a wedding is permitted at the discretion of the pastor.  It is assumed that the camera person will remain stationary and be inconspicuous.
7. The photographer is not to move or rearrange the furniture.
8. Please limit photo taking to one hour before and one hour after the service. 

Costs

Please understand, Calvary is not in the wedding business. In other words, we do not regard a Service of Christian Marriage as a service performed in exchange for fees paid. To Calvary UMC, as to the United Methodist Church, weddings are Services of Worship in and through which God’s grace is actively engaged in the lives of those being “joined together.” Therefore, weddings are worship services.  
However, there are costs to be borne. The custodial and organist fees for services of Christian Marriage at Calvary UMC are $75.00 for custodial services and $125.00 for organist services. It is customary to provide the pastor with an honorarium as he is conducting the counseling, the rehearsal, and the ceremony.

Therefore, the cost for a Service of Christian Marriage at Calvary UMC is:
Custodial……………………$75.00 (If use of the church facilities exceeds more than two hours before the service and one hour after the service there is an additional $15.00 an hour cost.)
Organist……………………..$125.00
Prepare Enrich scoring…….$30.00 – $35.00 
Pastor’s Honoraria…………