Your wedding at Ripon Cathedral
God is love and those who live in love, live in God, and God lives in them.
We say these words from the Bible at the start of every wedding.  For Christians, when humans love one another they reflect something God’s love in Christ so it is natural to declare that love publicly in a church before God. Â
Getting married is probably the biggest commitment people ever make in their lives and it is right and good to seek God’s blessing as you start a new phase in your relationship, dedicating yourself to one another in the presence of your friends and family.
There are as many types of weddings as there are couples. We conduct weddings of all sorts. Form those with hundreds of guests, many bridesmaids, choir, bells, and music to simple services without hymns for just a few family and friends. Whatever style of Christian marriage you prefer, we’ll try to work with you to make this day special and unique to you as a couple.
You’re welcome to marry in the Cathedral whatever your beliefs. However, we are bound by English law which provides rules for weddings in a cathedral. In brief, you must meet one of the following conditions to be married here:
- At least one of the couple lives in the Cathedral Parish
- At least one of the couple is on the Cathedral’s Electoral Roll
- You have been granted an Archbishop’s Special Licence for your marriage in the Cathedral
You can find out whether or not you live within the Cathedral Parish by putting your postcode into the search function on the Church Near You website https://www.achurchnearyou.com
We are able to marry anyone who is either a British National or a National of the EEA or Switzerland. Where one or both of the couple have a different nationality you can still be married here by applying for a ‘Superintendent Registrar’s Certificate’. We can explain more about this process if this applies to you.
If either or both of you have previously been married it is usually possible to marry in the cathedral but we would need to talk about that with you as a couple. English law at present does not permit the marriage of two people of the same sex in a Church of England church or cathedral.
If you would like more details of these rules about marriage at the cathedral please contact: [email protected]
Everyone has the right to be married in their Parish church (if they have not been married before). You can find out much more about planning a wedding in the Church of England from https://www.yourchurchwedding.org/