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Sacraments: Marriage

We would like to assure you of our prayers not only for a successful and happy day, but for a fulfilling life together for the rest of your lives. When you get married your marriage partner becomes an important part of your way to God. Each sign of love within your relationship can sustain, heal and help you grow in holiness. It is a way of being happy.

We welcome couples who wish to marry in St Paul’s parish.  All of our Churches, with the exception of St Raphael’s nursing home, are registered for marriage.

Civil Registrar

You marry in the church by permission of the state.  You need to visit the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths in the place where you live.  You need to give the Registrar at least one month notice of your intention to marry. When you return to collect your certificates (one each) they will be valid for one year. After you have obtained your certificates please send them to the Parish Office and we will take care of registering your wedding on the day if you are marrying in St.Paul's Church.

If one of you does not have an address in Haywards Heath registration district, you need to visit your own local Registrar and provide a reason why you wish to marry at St Paul’s.  Normally we suggest that St Paul’s becomes your regular place of worship — in legal terms this means that the priest can vouch that you have worshipped at St Paul’s on 4 occasions prior to your application to marry here.

If you are marrying at Our Lady of Fatima, Staplefield, you need to book a registrar to come and register the wedding. If marrying elsewhere, you need to check who is to register your marriage on your wedding day.

Music

You are free to use anyone to help with your music.  Some in the past have used taped music; it needs to be on a tape cassette to work on the church system.

If you wish to make use of our organists their numbers are:

Tony Croly: 01444 456425
Sylvia Foley: 01444 413034  (sometimes Sylvia can find some singers as well)

Flowers

You can make any arrangements to decorate the church that you wish. 
If you want help from the parish our flower arranger is:

Bob Tunks: 01444 450732

Photography & Video

Your photographer or video person is allowed to take photographs in the church as long as they do not get in the way or distract attention from the service. However with sound or vision recordings you may be breaking copyright laws by recording marriage texts, hymns and music. If the copyright holder chose to do so, everyone taking part in the service, including best man and bridesmaids could be prosecuted!  So if you wish to record the service the onus is on you to obtain a licence.  The licence, which will cover everything, will be automatically granted.

Parking

The parking at St Paul’s is very limited.  There are pay and display car parks near by.  Remember, however, that on Saturdays, being in a town centre, parking can be difficult and guests should be advised to allow extra time to find a parking space.  It may on some occasions be possible to arrange parking in St Joseph’s school grounds (next door) but you need to make direct arrangements with the school as the caretaker needs to be available to open the gates.

Gift Aid

You are not charged for the use of St Paul’s or the time of the priest or deacon who leads your service. We do ask you, though, to be generous in your gift to the church. Any gifts to a charity can be made through the Gift Aid Scheme.  As such we are able to reclaim the tax you have paid on the money you give to us, making it worth about 25% more valuable.  You need to fill out a simple form and ensure that when you make your gift it is in a envelope with your Gift Aid number written on the front.

Finally