Congratulations on your engagement. If you would like to consider being married in Wadham College Chapel you should contact the Chaplain personally as early as possible and especially before entering any commitments.
Please note that the Chapel is fully booked for 2008. For 2009, we can only offer weddings in the Chapel with the College Chaplain for the months of September and July. Weddings can only be offered to current students and staff only, due to demand.
There are a number of legal formalities to take into account before any firm arrangements can be made for the wedding itself. This information should explain them in full, and guide you through the process. The formalities are usually quite straightforward in practice, even though they may seem daunting at first.
Weddings at Wadham are usually (but not exclusively, see later) performed according to the practice of the Church of England. The Church of England is divided geographically into parishes, and the standard practice is that a wedding takes place in the local parish church where one or both of the couple live. If a couple wishes to be married in another parish church, or somewhere else altogether (such as a college chapel), permission must first be given by the appropriate church authorities. For weddings in Wadham Chapel, the appropriate authority is the Archbishop of Canterbury, and so you need to apply for a Special Licence from his Faculty Office.
The Archbishop of Canterbury's Registrar
1 The Sanctuary
Westminster
London SW1P 3JT
Tel. (020) 7222 5381
or alternatively, you can send an e-mail to the Faculty Office. Full details can be found on their webpages. The Faculty Office will send you the application form, which needs to be filled in by both you and the College Chaplain. Return the form to the Faculty Office, together with a cheque to cover their fee of £138. The Faculty Office will reply fairly quickly with their decision (usually in one or two weeks). Assuming you are successful, you will then need to swear an affidavit before an Anglican minister to support your application, with a further fee of £5, payable to the minister. This minister will usually be the College Chaplain, but a local Anglican vicar could also do it.
It is worth bearing in mind that the Special Licence is a privilege, not a right. It is only granted under certain conditions, as follows:
Wadham College is in the parish of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin and the marriage registers of that parish are used for weddings in Wadham Chapel. Application for the use of the registers must be made in writing or by e-mail to:
The Administrator
The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin
High Street
Oxford OX1 3TA
Sometimes it is more appropriate, either because of the legal restrictions outlined above, or for other good pastoral reasons, to have a service of blessing in Wadham Chapel, following a civil marriage. This can take place any time after the civil marriage, by arrangement with the Chaplain. No licence or registers are required. Contact the Chaplain for more details.
A wedding in Wadham Chapel need not be conducted by the College Chaplain. Another Anglican priest may officiate, or a minister from another denomination. Please consult the College Chaplain. In the case of a wedding conducted by another Anglican priest, an Archbishop's Special Licence is still required. But in the case of clergy from other denominations, they would need to investigate the ecclesiastical and civil constraints regarding the solemnising of marriages in an unlicensed building, according to their denomination. In any case, the officiating minister should undertake full responsibility for the preparation of the couple and the conduct of the service, as well as the registration of the marriage.
It is sometimes possible for public rooms in the College to be hired for a wedding reception. All enquiries concerning the use of College rooms, and details of hire charges, should be addressed to the Events Manager, Jan Trinder, tel. (01865) 277579. The use of confetti in College is not allowed and we would be grateful if you could let your guests know in good time.
Wadham College Chapel seats 90 comfortably. A further 20-30 can be accommodated in the main body of the Chapel on wooden benches (although slightly less comfortably). This makes a total capacity of about 120. Further benches can be placed in the sanctuary if necessary. Many more seats can be provided in the Antechapel, though with very restricted viewing.
When a date for your wedding has been set, please contact the College Brookman Organ Scholar or, if she is unavailable, the Assistant Organist, about playing at the service; they have first refusal. If you would like other musicians to play at the wedding instead (e.g. a personal friend), please get the approval of the Organ Scholar. In the event that you invite another organist to play when the Brookman Scholar is available, Brookman Organ Scholar is entitled to be paid a retainer.
In the wedding service, there are usually three hymns, a bridal march at the beginning of the service, and an organ voluntary at the end, together with music to cover the signing of the registers (this is often where friends play a part). You have a fairly free choice of which hymns and music you can use: please discuss with the Organist. If you don?t have any ideas about which hymns or music you?d like at the service, W H Smith sells a CD of popular wedding music to give you some ideas.
If you wish, it may also be possible to arrange for a small choir to sing at the wedding service, made up of members of the College Choir. Please consult the Organ Scholar.
Special Licence Fee
£138
Marriage Registers
£198
Minister's Fee
£117
Organist's Fee
£110
College Fee for administration and use of Chapel
£100
In addition to the fee of £138 for a Special Licence (see above), there is a statutory fee of £198 payable to 'The University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford' for the use of their registers. Please send the fee yourselves to the Administrator of the University Church, at least 14 days prior to the wedding date. The College charge £100.00 + VAT administration fee for the use of the Chapel for a wedding. This fee is managed by Jan Trinder, tel. (01865) 277579. The minister's fee is payable to theChaplian or whoever else is the officiating minister. The fee for the organist is £110. The fee to the organist rises by 25% if an audio-recording is made of the service, and by 50% if a video recording is made of the service. If you also wish to engage the Choir, the fee will be around £320 (£40 per chorister, usually with eight choristers present), and if much rehearsal time is needed, £25 per rehearsal per chorister.
A wedding couple would normally meet with the College Chaplain in Wadham several months in advance of the wedding, and again nearer the time to discuss the service in detail, but also to talk more generally about the meaning and purpose of marriage, especially in a Christian context. It is possible to have a wedding rehearsal in Wadham Chapel on an afternoon shortly before the wedding itself. This takes 30-60 minutes. It is helpful if as many of the wedding party as possible can be present.