As the height of the wedding season approaches, clergy in the Church of
England have seen a dramatic rise in the number of requests for a religious
ceremony.
The number of couples booking a church wedding has risen by as much as 50 per cent in one diocese, while other areas are also experiencing a resurgence.
It follows a campaign by the Church which has seen it transform its approach to the lucrative wedding market in an attempt to compete with civil ceremonies held in venues such as stately homes.
Among the more unusual steps it has taken to modernise its appeal, clergy are now marked by newlyweds on their performance in feedback forms designed to improve the standard of services.
Bishops are being sent to wedding shows to help sell the advantages of a church service and dispel misconceptions that brides and grooms must be worshippers or that vicars will be unapproachable.
Earlier this month the General Synod, the Church's parliament, passed new laws
to allow couples to get married in any part of the country in which they can
prove a "qualifying connection", further relaxing the rules
following changes in 2008. Couples are now able to choose any Church of
England parish or benefice if they can show some link with it, such as a
grandparent who lived or was married there.
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Source: Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent, The Telegraph
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