Marriage is one of the most sacred, beautiful and joyful of all church ceremonies. It celebrates God’s uniting of two persons in holy matrimony and his blessing on their marriage by his sustaining presence. The Christian marriage ceremony is a service of worship before God. All of the preparations we will make together are undertaken in light of that fact. You may want to know 1. The Church seats 180 excluding the wedding party, is air conditioned, has an amplification system, and has pew candles & window decorations for your use. 2. To answer questions, contact the church office at 8 1 5 - 7 7 7 - 2 5 9 0, by e - m a i l at gracerector@gracegalena.org, or contact our Wedding Coordinator, Alice Maffit, at 815-776 -0685. Procedures First, call the church office to obtain clearance of the date on the church calendar. No weddings will be scheduled in Lent. The use of the building on this date must be approved by the clergy. Following the preliminary clearance, the receipt of the $375.00 fee for the use of the church will reserve the date. No fee is required of Grace Church members. Since the church is primarily concerned with the marriage rather than just the wedding, you must arrange for pre-marital counseling. Pre-marital counseling can take place with the clergy at Grace or with the couple’s “home church” clergy in the area in which they live. Such clergy must, by letter or e-mail, contact Grace’s rector no less than 90 days before the wedding indicating that pre-marriage counseling is in process or completed. If this is not done, the wedding cannot be held at Grace Church and the deposit will be returned. We believe our altar to be God’s altar. Therefore, we welcome clergy from other denominations to officiate and/or assist at a couple's wedding if they choose not to use Grace’s clergy. If Grace Church’s clergy is performing the marriage, he/she will want to meet with the bride and groom well in advance of the wedding, before any public announcement is made. It is very important to discuss the meaning of the marriage relationship and the marriage service for Christians. At least three more premarital counseling sessions with the priest are normally required to prepare for the marriage. It is ordinarily expected that a couple pay a personal honorarium of not less than $150.00 to Grace’s priest. This compensates him/her for the time they spent with you counseling, participating in the rehearsal and wedding and for the preparation of a short homily or sermon. Our current priest is partly retired and helps you in the celebration of your wedding during non-parish-work hours. When it is the wish of the couple to have other clergy conduct or participate in the ceremony, they must first get consent of the priest at Grace Church. If the priest has agreed to share the service with other clergypersons, they will consult with each other on how to divide the ceremony. Music – Instrumental and Vocal Music in worship is intended to direct attention to God and our relationship with Him. Of course, music is not mandatory. Some beautiful weddings have taken place in quiet. However, most will undoubtedly plan to include music as part of the ceremony. Either the organ or piano may be used in our worship, but solo instruments such as harp, violin, flute or trumpet may also be added. A string quartet, brass ensemble or guitars could also be added or substituted. Appropriate vocal music is often used. Guest organists/pianists with appropriate credentials and experience in playing for worship services are welcome to take part. Music needs to be carefully chosen to give a feeling of dignity to the service when participants enter and leave the Sanctuary. Vocal music should be carefully chosen keeping in mind what is appropriate for a worship service. As a ‘rule of thumb’, the lyrics of music used at worship would speak of God’s Word to us (scriptural) or our words to God (prayer). Popular music which has no spiritual content may be inappropriate to the service itself. Your favorite ‘romantic’ ballad may be more appropriate if used at the reception instead. Once the music has been agreed upon, the soloist is expected to know the music before arriving and to practice with the organist...preferably before or on the day of the rehearsal. It is expected that the organist will be given an honorarium of $200.00 at the rehearsal and if she needs to practice with a soloist or other musicians, a fee of $225.00 is expected. Flowers, Candles, et cetera The Church asks that you place cut flowers in each of the two vases on the altar. The flowers will remain at the Church. You will probably wish to confer with a florist of your choice about decorating the church for your wedding. Items may not be fastened to pews, altar rails, or walls in any way that will be damaging. This church has a natural atmosphere of warmth and beauty. Simple floral arrangements tend to complement this setting best. In particular, if you choose to use a ’Unity Candle’ in the service, you need to make arrangements to bring one of your own. A single white candle can be lit by tapers from the candles already on the altar. Still Photographs All photographers, whether professional or amateur, are asked to respect the dignity and reverence of the ceremony. Most professional photographers will honor this request without being asked. However, you may wish to mention that no flash pictures are to be taken during the ceremony except during the processional and recessional, and then only from the back of the church and not from the main aisle. Non-flash exposures may be taken from the Narthex during the ceremony if care is taken to be discreet in movements and to time the shutter for moments when other sounds will ’cover’ it. If you intend to print a bulletin, please place a notice to that effect in it for those whom you may not have had a chance to tell personally. Either before or after the ceremony, the bridal party may assemble in the church to pose for any reenactment of the ceremony. Be certain that members of the wedding party, parents and priest are informed if, when and where they are to be present for the photography session. Please be sure to reserve the church for your photography session as well. In order to expedite the taking of pictures, it is helpful to give the photographer a list of groups or persons you wish photographed. The License Because the act of marriage is a civil matter as well as a spiritual one, a license must be secured from the State of Illinois before the wedding can take place. According to Illinois law, marriage licenses must be obtained in the county in which the wedding will take place. Therefore, your license must be procured from the County Clerk’s office at the Jo Daviess County Courthouse, 330 N. Bench St., Galena. This is conveniently located from the church. Courthouse hours are 8 a.m. through 4 p.m. Phone: (815) 777-0161. Both persons applying for a marriage license in Illinois must be 18 years old when the license becomes effective. Both potential marriage partners must apply for the license in person at the Clerk’s office and the fee must be paid at that time. The license becomes effective one calendar day after it is applied for and remains effective for 60 days, so the wedding should take place within that time frame or a new license must be issued. The license should be brought to the wedding rehearsal and given to the priest, who will, after the service, obtain the necessary signatures and be responsible for returning it to the Courthouse. After all the signatures have been affixed, the bride and groom will receive an official Certificate of Marriage. Rehearsal To assure that the ceremony will go smoothly and all parties will be relaxed and confident of the parts, everyone in the wedding party (including parents, soloist, ushers, readers, grandparents, etc) should be present for the rehearsal. You may schedule the rehearsal for whatever time is convenient for the people in your wedding party and for the priest. Rehearsals are usually in the late afternoon (about 5 or 6 p.m.) on the day before the wedding. All participants should be urged to be prompt, for at that time, procedural details of the ceremony will be worked out by the priest with all the wedding party. THE Wedding day The time of arrival of the wedding party will depend upon whether you plan to have photographs taken before or after the service. If not, the bride and her attendants will need to arrive at least an hour ahead of the ceremony. The bride-groom, groomsmen and ushers should arrive at least forty-five minutes beforehand. Time should be allowed for the fact that friends and relatives you haven’t seen for a while may choose the last minute before the wedding to stop and chat, or for the inevitable mad dash to the house or hotel to retrieve some item you’ve forgotten. Dressing facilities for women are located in the sacristy area left of the altar, near the restrooms. The Parish house can be available for dressing if the men would like to dress at the site. The chapel is where the men stay prior to the wedding. All participants are expected to be dressed and ready one-half hour before the ceremony is to begin. Please allow sufficient time! If pictures are to be taken before the service, the wedding party should add one to two hours before the times given above depending on how many photographs are being planned. Ushers should begin seating people one-half hour before the ceremony is to begin. Candles are lit about 10 minutes before the service. Grandparents, the bridegroom’s parents and the bride’s mother should present themselves to be seated at the service’s opening. Seating will be determined at the rehearsal. Parking is a problem in Galena, especially during the height of the tourist season. The only way to avoid that problem is to hire trolleys or park on our steep streets where space is available. The church owns two “Handicapped” signs that will be placed in front of the church on the day of the wedding. Those spaces should be reserved for the wedding party or any guests who are physically unable to walk very far. Please make sure that after the wedding that all flower pedals, runners, flower boxes, programs, etc. are placed in the trash containers outside the church. Alcohol Please refrain from alcohol use before the ceremony. No alcohol may be consumed on church property. And finally, we are happy that you are making your wedding plans through our church. We would like to make it a celebration of the love that God has given you and of the blessing that He will be giving you in all that lies ahead. We hope that everything that is done in connection with your wedding will help to make it a beautiful memory for years to come.