A welcome from the Rector…
We are really pleased that you are considering having your wedding at St Mary’s, Alderley. Folk have been getting married here for the best part of a 1000 years. Good choice!
Whether you are planning a large wedding or intimate service, we can offer you the sort of venue and occasion which will be memorable and unique. As Rector, I look forward to meeting you and discussing any questions about your big day. Please do come to a service on a Sunday at 9.45am and make yourselves known.
With every blessing as you prepare for this next step on life’s journey.
The Rev’d Canon Nathan Jarvis, Rector of St Mary’s, Alderley
Church Lane, off Congleton Road, Nether Alderley, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 4TW
Rectory Tel: 01625 921702 / Email: stmarysalderley@gmail.com / Admin Tel: 07768 138367
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Useful information regarding marriage at St Mary’s, Alderley
Music
Your wedding service is a public act of worship. Music is integral to worship and in St. Mary’s Church music is provided by the church organ. We are fortunate to have a wonderful organist who will be happy to play the organ for your wedding service.
The Rector’s PA will liaise directly with you to discuss your wedding music requirements, hymns, background music etc. They will then confirm all of this with the organist. This information is required ideally at least 8 weeks before your wedding date.
If you would like additional musicians to come and play or sing during your ceremony, please let the church admin team know so it can be included in the service as we love the additional sound of musicians. Remember this is your special day and we will be more than happy to accommodate all of your requests.
Choir
There is currently no resident choir at St Marys, however if you would like to make your own arrangements to bring one in, we will be happy to accommodate this for you. Please let us know as soon as you can.
Church Bells
We have a full team of 6 Bell Ringers. Very few churches are privileged to have this these days. The Church Bells, when rung, sound beautiful and well worth considering. Please let us know as soon as you can if this is something you would like booking.
Photography & Videography
We welcome photographers/videographers with open arms and the minister conducting the ceremony is more than happy for them to take photos from all 3 angles within the church, discreetly, so that they can take the intimate and memorable “wow” photograph for you.
In this world of fast social media, everyone is looking to post on their social media platforms and therefore we discuss and consider you, the bride and groom, to what you would like and are guided by you to the level of social media postings you wish and announce your wishes to your guests on the day.
The church team, present on the day, may also take their own discreet photos of the ceremony for their own use associated with St Marys, social media and website. If you have a query regarding this, please don’t hesitate to raise this with the admin team at any point up to and on the wedding day.
Flowers
We encourage lots and lots of beautiful fresh flowers throughout the Church for the Ceremony. We find that most Bride and Grooms look to have 1 or 2 pedestals that flank the choir stalls and then attach bunches of flowers to the Pew ends through the central section of the Church (8 rows, 16 pew ends if you choose to do all).
The wonderful church “volunteers” floral team usually provide 1 pedestal of fresh flowers for the weekly services, and this is positioned to the left of the High Altar. The weekly colours are usually dependant to the time of year and what is in season.
It may be possible to co-ordinate these flowers with your own colour scheme, with plenty of advanced notice.
The Marriage Service
St Mary’s conducts the following Church of England wedding service.
If you would like to discuss an alternative service option, please let us know.
With this Banns of Marriage will also need to be read within all Parishes that you reside, and these must be done in the 3 months prior to the wedding date. Please discuss further with our admin team.
Orders of Service
It seems to be tradition, that an Order of Service is provided to all your guests. Therefore, we recommend that you arrange specially printed booklets with the words of the ceremony, readings, hymns, details of music and any other information so your guests can follow the ceremony, plus have a keepsake to take away with them.
Please speak to our admin team for further information as they will be able to guide you with this. Previous examples are available on request. When printing, please ensure you have enough copies along with a few extras for the Church team who will be there on the day, 5 or 6 should be sufficient for the Rector, Organist, helpers on duty. Thank you! All that we ask is to see a final proof prior to printing at least 2-3 weeks before the wedding date.
Once printed, please ensure that the Orders of Service are at the church at least 45mins before the start of the service (or when you hold your rehearsal) so they can be handed to guests as they arrive.
Ushers/Groomsmen
Most couples arrange for friends and family to be ushers or groomsmen who will be on hand to assist on the day. We therefore ask if at least 2 of them, could be at the church 45 mins to 1 hour before the ceremony start time, so they can welcome your guests, hand out orders of service and show guests to their seats. Also they are handy helpers after the service, who can assist with official photo taking, removal of any flowers that you might be taking to the reception venue.
Confetti
We are happy for Confetti to be thrown after the ceremony. Please however be considerate and use eco-friendly confetti, such as dried petals and/or biodegradable confetti.
PLEASE DO NOT USE PLASTIC OR METAL and NO CONFETTI CANNONS.
Dry Petals confetti can be sourced at https://www.shropshirepetals.com/
Other suppliers are available!
Car Parking
At St Mary’s, we can provide extra parking for your guests in addition to the small main hardstanding car park, in the way of the Paddock field on the left-hand side as you drive up to the Church. This is hired out as a half or full day hire to suit your requirements. However, depending on the time of year, the use on the day of the Paddock will be weather conditions permitting.
If you are looking to hire the paddock, then we would also include our car-parking attendant. They will arrange to open-up the paddock, put out car-parking signs and direct cars in and out. All we ask is for all vehicles to be removed from the field immediately following the ceremony as the gate will be locked once the last guest has left. We are happy for any cars to be left overnight at your own risk in the hardstanding parking area, by prior arrangement.
If you are looking to lay on transport for your guests in the way of minibuses/ coaches to ferry your guests and wish to use the Mill car park (across the main road) as a drop-off point, please contact the National Trust direct: Tel: 01625527468, netheralderleymill@nationaltrust.org.uk to arrange, as their car park must be available for their own visitors when the Mill is open (usually May-Oct).
Practical arrangements on the day
St Mary’s Alderley is a wonderful church to be married in
We pride ourselves that the Church and grounds are maintained and looked after to a high standard, by a team of wonderful gardeners and volunteers. As you will see, when you visit, the interior of the church is also kept meticulously clean, and it is given a special tidy and last minute clean especially before a wedding.
Sadly, none of this comes for free, and over the past fifteen plus years, St Mary’s Church has spent over half a million pounds maintaining the Building and beautiful Piped Organ, with our current fundraising projects being for, repair to the Clock mechanics and clock face/hands and replacement of the existing boiler, that is so desperately needed. With any donations being very much welcomed. If you would like to discuss how you can help further, please do ask our team anytime.
The Nether Alderley Village Hall at the entrance to the churchyard is owned and managed by Nether Alderley Parish Council
Currently under redevelopment but expected to reopen Early March 2025.
So, if you would like to hire the Village Hall for your wedding, whether pre or post ceremony drinks, use of the toilet facilities or as a reception venue, please let us know and we will be happy to discuss further your thoughts and plans. We will be happy to liaise directly with the Parish Council on your behalf or you can do this directly.
St Mary’s Church provides a Verger & a Car park attendant for your wedding
The verger will open-up the church, Village Hall and Toilet facilities (as necessary) an hour before the start of your wedding. The verger then, will be on hand during the service at the back of church for any advice or assistance that may be needed as well as assisting the users, looking for lost property after the service (wedding guests often leave things behind when they leave the church), assisting with any other arrangements after the service and locking up. The car park attendant will manage car parking and ensure that space is left for the Bridal Party cars, usually the turning circle by the Lychgate. They will also provide security for cars parked during the service.
The features covered by the Ancillary Costs for your wedding
In paying the Ancillary Costs, you will have peace of mind that all practical arrangements at the church before, during and after the wedding service will go smoothly, by way of the Church Admin/Event planner, plus you are contributing to costs covering the heating system, cleaning and gardening teams so to ensure that the Church is maintained to the highest standard that we wish to give you and your guests.
Payment
Once you have chosen to hold your wedding ceremony at St Mary’s Alderley, we would ask for a deposit payment so to secure the date and provide you with peace of mind. Then when you have been able to discuss your arrangement through with our admin events team and decided on what to go with, we would look to send a final invoice 6-8 weeks, with full payment due 4 weeks prior to the wedding date.
Please contact us for further information on 07768 138367 or stmarysalderley@gmail.com
Useful websites
www.alderleychurch.co.uk
www.your churchwedding.org
On Facebook: St Mary’s Church, Nether Alderley
