Planning a Wedding
Each wedding at the Main Street Church has its own planning pleasures and challenges. There is, however, a general process for planning weddings.
Setting a date: We recommend that wedding dates be reserved months before the planned event. Securing a summer date by the first of year is not unusual. Unless other plans are necessary, a wedding reservation will normally include the day of the wedding and a block of time on the afternoon or evening preceding that day for a rehearsal. Major holidays in the church year — including Holy Week, Easter, and the Christmas season — are generally not available for weddings.
Reservation: Once a date has been identified, a reservation should be secured by submitting the Wedding Fees and Reservation Form, along with a deposit. The Wedding Fees and Reservation Form, linked below, includes the necessary information on fees.
Setting a date: We recommend that wedding dates be reserved months before the planned event. Securing a summer date by the first of year is not unusual. Unless other plans are necessary, a wedding reservation will normally include the day of the wedding and a block of time on the afternoon or evening preceding that day for a rehearsal. Major holidays in the church year — including Holy Week, Easter, and the Christmas season — are generally not available for weddings.
Reservation: Once a date has been identified, a reservation should be secured by submitting the Wedding Fees and Reservation Form, along with a deposit. The Wedding Fees and Reservation Form, linked below, includes the necessary information on fees.
| wedding_fees_and_reservation.docx |
Officiants: The pastor of the Trinitarian Congregational Parish of Castine is usually available as an officiant for a Christian wedding in the church. The pastor is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and conducts weddings according to the traditions of the church and the laws of the State of Maine.
Specific Requirements of the Pastor
Other Officiants: Officiants other than the pastor of the Trinitarian Congregational Castine may be approved by the pastor in consultation with the couple planning a wedding. In general, we are pleased to extend a welcome to individuals ordained or licensed by recognized religious organizations and denominations who are authorized to solemnize marriages in the State of Maine. Please note that it is customary for an ordained or licensed minister to ask permission of a local pastor to officiate a wedding in the local pastor’s church. Individuals who are not ordained or licensed as clergy, but who are authorized under the laws of the State of Maine to solemnize marriages (justice of peace, notary public, etc.) may be considered as officiants of weddings in consultation with the pastor of the church. In some situations, the pastor of the Main Street church will work with other individuals as co-officiants of a wedding.
Marriage License: Under the laws of Maine, a marriage license is required before a wedding can be solemnized. Marriage licenses are obtained from town government offices, usually in one of the following ways:
The Marriage License must be presented to the officiant prior to the wedding ceremony. Without a valid Marriage License, no wedding can be performed! To avoid the possibility of forgetting the license on the wedding day, most officiants will collect and check the Marriage License well before the ceremony.
Weddings in Maine require two witnesses other than the wedding couple and the officiant. This is usually not a problem, but part of the planning process will be the identification of witnesses prior to the ceremony. Immediately following the ceremony, the officiant and witnesses will sign the Marriage License to affirm that the ceremony took place. Following the wedding, the signed and executed Marriage License must be returned to the Town Office from which it was issued. Part of the wedding planning process will include decisions about who will be responsible for filing the executed Marriage License.
Wedding Planners and Coordinators: The Trinitarian Congregational Parish of Castine does not have a staff Wedding Coordinator to plan all the logistics required for a church wedding (church decorations, flowers, wedding day logistics, traditions, and so on). In general, the pastor of the church will serve as the church’s representative in working with those who are planning the wedding. If the couple utilizes a professional wedding coordinator, that person will work with the church’s representative to approve plans for the use of the church during the wedding ceremony. The church’s representative reserves the right to disallow activities, decorations, or proceedings that may damage the church facility or disrupt the peace of the community.
In supporting the logistics of the wedding ceremony, we offer advice and assistance with:
Specific Requirements of the Pastor
- Since weddings fall outside the normal duties of the pastor, a separate fee will be charged for the pastor’s services, as indicated on the Wedding Fees and Reservation form.
- The pastor has an ethical obligation to meet with each couple prior to the ceremony for premarital counseling. The pastor typically schedules three premarital counseling sessions to explore the couples' religious upbringing and faith journeys, understandings and conceptions of marriage, and will also include time to discuss and plan the details of the ceremony. For couples traveling to Castine from a distance to be married, these sessions can be conducted by Zoom. The pastor reserves the right, following these meetings, to decline officiating at the wedding.
- The pastor will work with the couple to develop the script for the wedding ceremony, including vows.
- In addition to performing the ceremony, the pastor will meet with the wedding party once prior to the ceremony to rehearse the ceremony and its movements. This rehearsal is usually scheduled for the afternoon or early evening before the day of the wedding.
Other Officiants: Officiants other than the pastor of the Trinitarian Congregational Castine may be approved by the pastor in consultation with the couple planning a wedding. In general, we are pleased to extend a welcome to individuals ordained or licensed by recognized religious organizations and denominations who are authorized to solemnize marriages in the State of Maine. Please note that it is customary for an ordained or licensed minister to ask permission of a local pastor to officiate a wedding in the local pastor’s church. Individuals who are not ordained or licensed as clergy, but who are authorized under the laws of the State of Maine to solemnize marriages (justice of peace, notary public, etc.) may be considered as officiants of weddings in consultation with the pastor of the church. In some situations, the pastor of the Main Street church will work with other individuals as co-officiants of a wedding.
Marriage License: Under the laws of Maine, a marriage license is required before a wedding can be solemnized. Marriage licenses are obtained from town government offices, usually in one of the following ways:
- The couple takes out a marriage license at the town office of the town in which they live or plan to live following the wedding; or
- The couple takes out a marriage license at the town office of the town in which the wedding will be performed. (This is usually the method for couples who reside outside Maine.)
The Marriage License must be presented to the officiant prior to the wedding ceremony. Without a valid Marriage License, no wedding can be performed! To avoid the possibility of forgetting the license on the wedding day, most officiants will collect and check the Marriage License well before the ceremony.
Weddings in Maine require two witnesses other than the wedding couple and the officiant. This is usually not a problem, but part of the planning process will be the identification of witnesses prior to the ceremony. Immediately following the ceremony, the officiant and witnesses will sign the Marriage License to affirm that the ceremony took place. Following the wedding, the signed and executed Marriage License must be returned to the Town Office from which it was issued. Part of the wedding planning process will include decisions about who will be responsible for filing the executed Marriage License.
Wedding Planners and Coordinators: The Trinitarian Congregational Parish of Castine does not have a staff Wedding Coordinator to plan all the logistics required for a church wedding (church decorations, flowers, wedding day logistics, traditions, and so on). In general, the pastor of the church will serve as the church’s representative in working with those who are planning the wedding. If the couple utilizes a professional wedding coordinator, that person will work with the church’s representative to approve plans for the use of the church during the wedding ceremony. The church’s representative reserves the right to disallow activities, decorations, or proceedings that may damage the church facility or disrupt the peace of the community.
In supporting the logistics of the wedding ceremony, we offer advice and assistance with:
- Choreography of the wedding ceremony (movement and arrangement of the wedding party, including the procession and recession);
- Use of the sound system;
- Assistance with securing musicians;
- Conducting the wedding rehearsal;
- Cleaning of the church prior to the wedding ceremony;
- Lighting, heat, and ventilation.