The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Handsworth, Sheffield
Images showing the congregation of The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin of Handsworth in Sheffield, a photograph of the church spire and a photo of St Mary and baby Jesus taken from a stained glass window from inside the church.

Weddings at St Mary's


Pastoral Introduction

A wedding is one of life's great moments, a time of solemn commitment as well as good wishes, feasting and joy. St John tells us how Jesus shared in such an occasion at Cana, and gave there a sign of new beginnings as He turned water into wine. Marriage is intended by God to be a creative relationship, as His blessing enables husband and wife to love and support each other in good times and in bad, and to share in the care and upbringing of children.

Book of Common Worship

For Christians, marriage is also an invitation to share life together in the spirit of Jesus Christ. It is based upon a solemn, public and life-long covenant between a man and a woman, declared and celebrated in the presence of God and before witnesses. On this their wedding day the bride and bridegroom face each other, make their promises and receive God's blessing. You are witnesses of the marriage, and express your support by your presence and your prayers.

Your support does not end today: the couple will value continued encouragement in the days and years ahead of them.

Taken from Common Worship 2000

http://www.cofe.anglican.org/lifeevents

Visit the Old Rectory website for further information about your wedding reception.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13.4-7

Your wedding ceremony

Weddings can take place at almost any time of the year in our well kept and historic church. If you would like to enquire about being married at St Mary's please contact the Rector, Fr Keith, (0114) 269 3983 or call into The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin on a Thursday evening at 7.30pm. It is possible to have either a wedding service or wedding mass. It is possible to marry here even if you live outside the parish either  by having a connection to this church or by having your name placed on our Electoral Role, for which you have to attend here regularly for six months prior to your wedding. For details on what qualifies as a connection please refer to the CofE website. 

At St Mary's we will consider the marriage of those whose former marriage has been dissolved by law. In such instances we take you through a process in which we give careful consideration of your request. If you would like to know more please contact Fr Keith. Click here to hear our bells.

In preparing for your wedding:

Fr Keith will arrange to meet you to discuss all the questions you may have about such matters as banns, videos, flowers, music, an organist, and things like a printed order of service. Do allow plenty of time for these arrangements to be made, but remember that all of these are optional extras and a church wedding need not have expensive trappings. If you have friends or family members you would like to involve in the service, for example by doing a reading or playing a musical instrument we would discuss this at an early stage in the planning. A wedding is one of the most important events in life and we aim to make it a special occasion.

What Christians believe about marriage:

Christians typically regard marriage as instituted and ordained by God for the lifelong relationship between one man as husband and one woman as wife. The New Testament says that marriage is to be "held in honour among all".

If you choose to wed in church you are also saying that you want God to be part of your relationship. Christians believe a Church wedding to be a sacrament, an outward and visible sign of the love between Christ and His Bride, the Church.

Your wedding reception

At the completion of the wedding ceremony many couples choose to hold their wedding reception at the Old Rectory.

The gardens with the historic and listed Old Rectory make a wonderful backdrop for your treasured photographs as well as an excellent venue for your reception. There is free car parking, a licensed bar and excellent catering; with various rooms and halls. Disabled facilities are available. Very competitive rates.