We hope we can help you have a great start on your marriage–not just the wedding!
Please use this form in your planning process and to share information with us.
Wedding Information Form
If you would like our pastor to perform your wedding, you will need to be in touch directly, and talk about it with the pastor several months before the wedding. Call the office at 517 629 9425, and get that conversation going soon! You will need to plan on meeting with the pastor at least three times as a couple before the wedding, and it is very strongly recommended that you also work with a professional counselor to prepare yourselves for married life.
If you are not a member of this church, the honorarium for the pastor is $200, to be paid directly to the pastor at the rehearsal. Please consider worshiping with us a few Sundays, so you get to know the pastor and our manner of worship.
This is a church, and the pastor is a Christian minister, so any wedding will include content that is specifically Christian, including readings from the Bible and references to Christ. The United Methodist Hymnal includes a complete outline for the service. Not all the details of the service need to be used at your wedding, but some key elements need to stay: the”declaration of intent,” vows, and words to say with the exchange of rings. If you would like to include other vows, statements, or poems, please discuss them in advance with the pastor. If you have questions about the content, please contact the pastor directly.
As early as possible, you will need to reserve the spaces you need, by filling out a building use request form. Our building is very busy, so please do this a few months in advance. Be sure also to book a time for the rehearsal, typically the evening before the wedding. A smaller, less formal wedding may not need a rehearsal. A few details about our spaces:
Wesley Chapel has a seating capacity of about 150, which means you can comfortably seat about 125. We have an electronic keyboard as well as pipe organ.
Goodrich Chapel belongs to Albion College, so if you want to use Goodrich, please contact the college.
Tennant Hall can seat about 200 people at rectangular tables, and about half that with round tables. The number can be increased by adding seating in the adjacent Fellowship Lounge, which can seat about 70 for a meal.
If you plan to have another pastor perform the wedding, our pastor will need to have a conversation with that pastor before approving the use of the space. Make sure you give contact information for your pastor at the same time you are requesting space. Our church is very open-minded, but we do want to make sure that if the wedding happens here, it will not be contrary to our United Methodist values.
Musician: The church’s keyboardist is often available to play for weddings. You are responsible for hiring your musicians, and the office can give you contact information. The keyboardist will need to have a conversation with the couple, usually in person, to discuss music selections. If you have a soloist who needs accompaniment, the keyboardist will need a copy of the sheet music two weeks in advance of the service. Soloists must arrange a practice time with the keyboardist well in advance.
The keyboardist must be paid at the rehearsal, if there is one. The minimum rate is $150 for the service, and an additional $50 if there is a rehearsal with the soloist.
If you only want to have the reception here, you only need to fill out the building use request form. The United Methodist Church does not allow alcohol in church buildings, so if that is a part of your plans, you may need to find another location.
Albion First 