Price of church weddings may rise by up to 50%

The price of a church wedding could soon increase by up to 50% under plans being considered by the General Synod.

The move - to be discussed later by the Church of England's law-making body - would see fees rise from £284 to £425.
It comes at a time when church weddings have been intensively promoted and the number of couples marrying has declined by about a third in 30 years.
The Church of England insists the hike is justified and says couples in some parishes could pay less under the plan.
That is because many parishes have added "hidden extras" to the bill, charging extra for heating and lighting, or vergers.
Some bills have included such items as building and churchyard costs.
"This is designed more to even out charges than to raise them," said a Church official. "Church weddings will still be highly competitive."
The new fee will not cover everything - it will still cost extra for items such as bell-ringing, flowers, a choir or specially-printed service sheets.
With weddings, the Church's own share of the market has diminished quickly in the face of competition from alternative venues such as stately homes and hotels.
In recent years, the Church has significantly relaxed the rules governing where couples may marry.
People have generally had the right to marry in their own parish church, or the one they attend.
But access to other parish churches has historically been far more restricted.
Recently, however, the Synod has allowed couples to marry in any parish church where they can show a "connection".
It could be as distant as a grandparent having married there.
That has inevitably increased the pressure on a number of more popular "picture postcard" churches, and allowed them to command a higher price.
It is not just the cost of marrying that could be increasing; dying might also be about to get more expensive.
Funeral costs The proposal before the Synod suggests the price of funerals in Anglican churches should go up from £102 to £150.
The Church says the new fees would reflect a more realistic assessment of the value of the time and expertise of the people taking part, and the cost to parishes.
A crematorium service would carry the same charge.
But one service that seems bound to remain free of charge is baptism - when it takes place as part of a regular service.
The number of parents having their babies christened has also been in decline, and the Church does not want to put any more obstacles in their way.

Posted in: uk