Gloria Dei Weddings

Planning Your Wedding

As you look forward to your wedding day, there are two important tasks your congregation and pastor can help you with:  one is planning a wedding, the other is preparing for marriage.  A wedding lasts thirty-five minutes, a marriage lasts a lifetime

A Worship Service

A church wedding is, first and foremost, a service of worship.  The community gathers to join the couple in worshipping Christ and giving thanks for God’s blessings.  The couple shares their vows in this worship setting, and are thereby presenting their marriage as an offering to God.  A marriage service performed in a court house or private home is blessed every bit as much as one performed in a church.  Therefore, the reason to request a church wedding is not to seek God’s blessing, which is freely given, but to worship God and to be surrounded in this worship by the supporting fellowship of your congregation. The church is a house of prayer and all parts of the service – music, words and dress are to reflect the depth, beauty and meaning of Christian worship.  Having a church wedding only because it is a beautiful place and has a center aisle is not appropriate.

A Congregational Event

A church wedding is a congregational event, and the minister presides as pastor of the congregation, not as a private wedding agent.  Church weddings grow out of a history of being an integral part of congregational life, and so a wedding is most meaningful when the bride or groom, or both have been involved in the life of the church. As a couple, you can discover that congregational involvement will be able to be an enriching part of your marriage in the years to come.

The Rite of Marriage

The service will follow forms approved for use by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  This will include wording from the LBW and Renewing Worship.  The question “who gives this woman to this man?” is not used in ELCA marriage liturgy.  There will be an opportunity for the family and congregation to respond to a question regarding the support of the couple’s relationship after the declaration of intention.

It is important to schedule a wedding well in advance so that we can assure a date that works for you, and that you can find out the financial responsibility for such an event. You may contact our office to find out more information by calling 262-251-7720