Weddings

We will happily discuss marriage with anyone who shows genuine interest in being a part of and sharing in the life of this parish. At least one of you has to be a baptized Christian and will already have some connection to this parish. Those who are not actively engaged in the life of the parish, or who are not members, are still invited to contact one of the clergy to discuss their hopes and our expectations.

We will not schedule a wedding until you have been participating in the life of the parish for at least one year. Looking for a church community is a very different exercise than looking for a venue for a wedding. We are a Christian community and hope that you will want to join us. We are therefore concerned that you have proper time to decide that this is the faith community for you. We know that this can be extremely frustrating to couples who come to the church with a wedding date already in mind, but we have found that the focus on planning a wedding makes it very difficult to engage the life of the parish and urge you to take the time you need for your wedding to be a true celebration in the midst of this community of faith.

Once in a while people who have grown up in the parish but no longer live in Atlanta seek to be married at All Saints’. We are happy to accommodate you, but will ask that you have established a relationship with some community of faith where you live, and that you seek the normal preparation for marriage offered in that community.

You may be married at All Saints’ at any time available on the parish calendar with the following exceptions: the season of Lent, any Friday designated as a fast day, and within one week of major holidays, such as Christmas or Easter.

Weddings may be scheduled in the church or the chapel as late as 6:00 p.m. on a Saturday, with rehearsals normally scheduled between 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on the previous day. On the day of your wedding, you may have use of the church and Egleston Hall for one hour before the wedding and thirty minutes following the service. We allow at least two and a half hours between weddings so that no one need feel rushed on the day of your wedding. (Example: If we already have a 5:00 p.m. wedding scheduled, the latest time available would become 2:30 p.m. on that day.) Sometimes couples ask for additional time before or after the service and we are glad to confirm whether this will be possible one month before your wedding and subject to additional costs.

Under normal circumstances we need at least three months notice of your desire to be married. Weddings may be scheduled with Betsey Gibbs at 404-267-4264. You should be in touch with her as soon as possible after your decision to be married.

We will expect you to participate regularly in worship as well as in a course of pre-marital preparation, which will include at least three sessions, each lasting approximately one hour, with the member of the clergy who will be officiating at your service. You schedule these meetings directly with the member of the clergy who will be officiating at your wedding. In addition, you will participate in the Couples’ Workshop. Usually, this is scheduled for a Saturday from 8:30 until 4:30 p.m.

The purpose of these preparatory times will be to help you reflect on your own relationship and the patterns you have developed. They will also be times for you to further your own Christian faith and relationship with clergy and others in this parish.

Occasionally, it will be impossible for a couple to be in Atlanta on a regular basis before their wedding. If this is the case, some person mutually agreeable to you and the officiating clergy may prepare you for marriage.

All the staff clergy of All Saints’ are assigned to be available for weddings on a rotating basis. If you have a particular relationship with a member of the clergy of any denomination not on the staff of All Saints’, please know that we are delighted to include him or her in your wedding service in mutually acceptable ways.

We consider your marriage service a gift to you from your community of faith. There is never a cost for worship nor a fee for a priest. Please request a copy of our fee schedule from Betsey Gibbs so you can plan for other fees you may incur for musicians, the wedding coordinator, reception space, security, and sextons. Checks should be made payable to All Saints’ and should be remitted one month before your wedding.

As the church gives to you, we trust that you will give to others. Each couple is asked to contribute to our ongoing ministries. If you are new to the parish or not otherwise known to the treasurer, your contribution should be at least $1000, the cost associated with our expenses. Members of the parish are asked to contribute what they can. Marriage is a time of giving. The congregation provides the liturgy and priest, the bride and groom give themselves to each other and a new couple is born sharing what they have with others.

While not required, it is customary to make a gift to the officiating member of the clergy, or to All Saints’, marked for her or his discretionary fund.

Yes, it does. The policies of All Saints’ and of the Diocese of Atlanta for the solemnization of marriage following divorce, consistent with the canons of the Episcopal Church, are based on two Christian truths. First, marriage is a lifelong union of man and woman, instituted by God, signifying the union between Christ and the Church. Second, God in mercy and love creates new life in death, gives hope where there is despair, and forgives our sins. The church maintains our belief that the will of God for marriage is that it be life long as a sign of God’s steadfast love. At the same time and with no dilution of that belief, we can bless the union of those whose prior marriages have died and who, while accepting the consequences of their prior commitments, covenant with one another in a mature Christian marriage.

Our desire is to assist you in building a strong marriage after the death of your prior one. Experience has taught us that after a divorce time is necessary for healing, for learning, and for forgiveness. We require that at least one year have lapsed between the final decree of divorce and the time when the member of the clergy must seek our Bishop’s permission to bless your marriage. (Please note: we are not seeking permission for you to marry. We are seeking permission for us to officiate.) We also seek to help you resolve any issues left over from a prior marriage and in accepting any commitments (e.g., child support) that remain from that marriage. Therefore, some kind of preparation acceptable to the officiating clergy is essential.

The Bishop will not routinely give permission for clergy to bless third and subsequent marriages. However, when such permission is given, at least two years will have passed since the final decree of the most recent divorce. In addition, a professional counselor will have submitted a written assessment of what has changed in your life that gives grounds for confidence that you have learned from the past sufficient for a genuine future commitment, and the officiating clergy person will give unqualified support to the petition.

We further expect that at least one of the couple must have been an active member of All Saints’ for at least one year prior to the petition. Any children from the former marriage must be properly cared for and provided for, and all matters of property and custody must be settled.

Yes. Any music must be selected in conjunction with Ray Chenault, our organist. He or his associates will play for your wedding or arrange for a qualified substitute in their absence. Click here to listen to portions of more than a dozen wedding preludes, processionals, and recessionals from which to choose. After listening to the clips and circling the selections on the music sheet, please call Mr. Chenault at 404.262.3032 ext. 1243 to discuss your music at least one month prior to your wedding. If you are having a trumpet player, please contact Betsey Gibbs at 404.267.4264 for the trumpet music CD and selection sheet.

Since a wedding is a congregational act of worship, we do not usually permit solos to be sung during the service. However, they may be placed during the prelude or at communion. If you want a vocalist or instrumentalist for your wedding, Mr. Chenault will identify and contact a professional musician for you. Vocalists are generally chosen from the All Saints’ choir and instrumentalists from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. If you wish to use musicians of your own choosing, please discuss it with Mr. Chenault.

Once the bride and groom have completed their music discussions with Mr. Chenault, please mail the wedding CD and music selection sheet to him at the church.

Altar flowers are given to the glory of God and are a sign of life. Therefore, they should be cut flowers. All Saints’ Flower Guild will provide the altar flowers for your wedding, which will remain on the altar for Sunday worship. The flowers become a gift to the church and are taken to people who are sick or homebound following Sunday services. The altar flowers are the only major arrangements permitted in the church, although small arrangements to mark family pews are also permissible. If you would like to make our Flower Guild aware of your wedding colors, please contact Betsey Gibbs two months prior to the wedding and she will relay your request. The florist of your choice can provide the pew markers, bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages. The only candles used are those on the altar.

We ask that your guests take no photographs during worship. Your photographer may take one picture with flash as the couple leaves the church and will be given the opportunity to take one or two silent photographs without flash from behind the congregation during the ceremony. Our facilities (the church and Egleston Hall) will be available for your use one hour before your wedding. If you feel that more time is necessary, it is essential that you discuss the possibility with Betsey Gibbs as soon as possible. Following the service you may stay in the church for thirty minutes for any additional pictures you desire.

Stationary video equipment may be used in the church although no extra lighting may be added. We have found that a good quality professional camera is more than adequate for the job.

A member of the All Saints’ wedding guild will contact the bride no later than the Tuesday prior to the wedding to gather information to help the guild assist in your wedding. If you are planning to use an outside wedding coordinator, please provide us with their contact information at least two months prior to your wedding and Betsey Gibbs will contact them directly to discuss Church policy and procedure.

The church seats 440 people and the chapel 135 people. Receptions may be held at the church under our use of alcohol policy. Please request information about this from our facilities manager at 404.881.0835.

The clergy do not expect to be invited to social functions in connection with the wedding. If you would like them to attend, however, please issue a written invitation and they will attend if possible.

You will need a wedding license issued either by the county in which you are a resident or in Fulton County, where All Saints’ is located. For further information, please call the probate court at your county courthouse (Fulton County is 404.730.1401). No wedding may take place without a license being in the hands of the officiating member of the clergy prior to the service.