The Church of St Peter Great Berkhamsted

St Peter’s Parish Church is a historic landmark – parts of the building date from the 13th century, and we recently celebrated out 800th anniversary!

Inside the church it’s very spacious and brightly lit, so it’s especially suitable for weddings. Use this virtual 360° tour to see what it’s like:

Visit St Peter’s

Of course! St Peter’s is open every day until about 5pm – there’s no need to make an appointment (but check our calendar in case there’s a service on). You’re welcome to come and have a look around. 

To get married in the Church of England, there are some legal requirements. One of you will normally need to live within the Great Berkhamsted Parish Boundary. Not all addresses in Berkhamsted fall within this parish – you may live in the centre of town but discover that you are in Northchurch or Sunnyside Parish. We recommend that you check your location before you contact St Peter’s. The easiest way to do this is to go to:

www.achurchnearyou.com

and enter your postcode into the search box. This will show you which parish you reside in, and the contact details for your parish church.

If neither of you lives in this parish, you may still be able to get married in St Peter’s if:

• you are a regular worshipper here (which can qualify you via membership of the church electoral roll),
  or
• you can establish a “qualifying connection” with St Peter’s (basically a particular type of family link – ask the Rector).

Download the
Application Form

The first person to contact is the Rector of St Peter’s. He will arrange to meet you to go through the preliminaries, answer any of your questions and agree a wedding date.

It will help to get things moving if you download the initial contact wedding form, fill it in and email it to the Rector before you meet.

The Parish Office will provide the necessary invoices and help you with further information.

Contact the Rector

Download the
Banns of Marriage
Application Form

Banns of Marriage are an announcement in church of your intention to marry and a chance for anyone to put forward a reason why the marriage may not lawfully take place. Banns are an ancient tradition, and a legal requirement for the Church of England.

• Banns need to be read in the church in which you are to be married.
• If you live outside the Great Berkhamsted Parish, your banns need to be read in the parish church where each of you lives too.
• Banns must read out in church for three Sundays during the three months before the wedding. At St Peter’s we normally read banns over three consecutive Sundays at the 9:30am Eucharist.
• If you are getting married somewhere else, you will need a banns certificate from St Peter’s Berkhamsted.

As well as being a legal requirement, your banns readings are special public occasions when people in church hear of your intention to marry, and the congregation pray for you both. It’s an exciting and moving time, and many people like to invite family and friends to these services to share in this moment.

To request your banns to be called in St Peter’s, please download the Banns of Marriage Application Form, fill it in and email it to the St Peter’s Parish Office. A small statutory fee applies for having the banns read out and for the certificate.

For banns of marriage:

• If your banns are read at St Peter’s Berkhamsted, but your wedding is in another parish, we need to provide you with a certificate to give to the church where you will be married. There is a small fee for the banns certificate.
• If your banns are read at St Peter’s Berkhamsted and you are getting married here too, you don’t need a certificate from us.
• If your banns are read at another parish, and you are getting married here in Berkhamsted, you will need a certificate from the other church to give to our Rector.

For marriage certificates:

• Getting a certificate of your marriage is a civil matter, and you can request marriage certificates from Hertfordshire County Council. Fees apply.

  Get a marriage certificate

Wedding fees depend on your choices. The basic wedding service will require:

• a priest to conduct the ceremony
• an organist to accompany hymns
• a verger, who looks after the building and welcomes guests

Additional fees will apply if you want to have flowers, a choir or bells. To help you to budget for your big day, see the list of fees above (updated annually). 

No. We normally only require an initial deposit of £100 when you book your wedding date, and then the balance is to be paid 6 weeks before the wedding day.

You will need to choose at least one Bible reading for your wedding. You can also have a secular (non-religious) reading if you wish.

We have put together a list of suggested readings to help you to decide but you don’t have to use these.

We usually use the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (NRSV) at St Peter’s. If you prefer a different version, such as King James, please check with the clergy prior to your wedding.

You may choose up to 3 hymns for your wedding. If you’re not sure which hymns to have, speak to our church organist who will be very happy to make some suggestions. Please be sure to contact the church organist at least 3 months in advance to discuss your wedding music.

Listen to some hymns online to help you to pick the style of music you want:

St Peter’s has a Church Choir! If you would like the choir to sing during the service, please confirm this with the clergy when you make your booking. As well as supporting the hymns, the choir can sing an anthem. To help you to choose, you can listen to some sample choral anthems online:

Yes, but please only use rice paper confetti or rice. Also, we ask everyone to only throw confetti on the grass in the churchyard – this is actually a lovely spot to celebrate the newlyweds and to pose for photos with the church in the background.

Please do not throw confetti inside the church or at the church door – unfortunately confetti blows back into the church, and this causes all sorts of problems when it gets into the heating grates! Thank you for your cooperation. 

Berkhamsted is fortunate to have a wide range of restaurants, pubs and community spaces that can offer a wedding reception service. Contact the Parish Office for a list of popular local venues.

The church hall next to St Peter’s is the Court House, and this can be suitable for smaller wedding receptions. This is a 16th-century building with wooden roof beams, a fully equipped kitchen and a flexible range of furniture. You can hire the entire building, and the Parish Office can provide a list of local catering companies.

You’re welcome to come in a look around the Court House – contact the Parish Office to make an appointment. 

View Court House facilities

Wedding car: if you wish to arrive at the church in style, there is a space right in front of the west door for one wedding car.

Guest parking

• Monday-Friday: parking is very limited during the week. Please note that the car park next to the church is privately owned and cannot be used.
• Saturday & Sunday: if your wedding is on a Saturday, we do have access to the car park and can offer free parking for a limited number of guests, for the duration of the wedding ceremony only.

There are public car parks within 2 minutes’ walk of St Peter’s Church offering short and long-stay parking:

Map of local car parks