CONGRATULATIONS!

 We celebrate with you as you plan your wedding with us at Bethel and begin a new chapter in your life together!
 You are, “by your promises” planning “to bind yourselves together” in the “presence of God” and “the congregation” “as husband and wife.” This is a wonderful experience that you are planning for your family and friends, but most importantly, God. He is pleased when you make it a service of worship dedicated to His glory.
God instituted marriage because He saw marriage as a way of bringing two people together to share their journey to fulfillment. You are, and will remain, individuals. However, with your unique gifts, you can soon learn to respect each other as creations of a loving, gift-giving God. Such respect assists you to complement each other, while, at the same time, growing to be what God planned for you as individuals.
Christian marriage, as a way of glorifying God by developing your uniqueness, requires the presence of Christ. How wonderful marriage is when “two or three are gathered in His name” experience Christ’s loving presence day after day.
 You are to be commended for planning to have your wedding in a church. What a wonderful witness! It is like a confession of faith. It is in the church that Christians live out much of their lives. Confession, forgiveness, prayer, hearing of the Word, offering of our gifts, serving–all take place among the people of God. You have chosen to begin your married life in that setting. Thank you!

 BETHEL’S WEDDING GUIDELINES

To schedule a wedding please contact Judy Gittus at 288-6430 or jgittus@bethellutheran.com
 •Either the bride or groom, or both, must be a member of Bethel by the wedding date. (This means if you are a prospective member of Bethel, you will want to attend New Member Classes before your wedding. Contact Lorrie Schuchard in the church office for more information.)
 

•A Facility Fee ($75.00), to help offset facility and custodial costs, is required within one month of setting your wedding date. This fee will hold your wedding date and time on the calendar.
•A Pre-Marital Seminar is required of all couples planning a wedding at Bethel. The cost of the seminar is $50 per couple and includes materials, lunch, and two snacks. Four seminars are held each year (see insert for dates). Your attendance is required before your wedding day. The Pre-Marital seminar form can be printed off by clicking here and mailed into the church office.

Weddings at Bethel are scheduled at one of the following times: 10:00am, 1:00pm, and 4:00pm. These times are set to allow enough time between multiple services in a Saturday. (Friday evening weddings are subject to availability of sanctuary.) The scheduled time of a wedding cannot be changed.
The Marriage Request Form can be printed off by clicking here and mailed into the church office.

 FEES

 Fee Charge  $75.00             Check Written To: (Bethel)
 
This fee is due at the time you schedule your wedding. This fee holds your date on the calendar and is used toward custodial time and supplies in reference to your wedding.
 Fee for soloist** $100.00+
 Fee for organist/pianist** $125.00
 Sound Technician $50.00  (If needed)

 Video Technician $225.00 (Videographer)

 **Please confirm fee with organist/pianist and soloist as fees vary depending the person.
 Commonly honorariums are offered to the officiating pastor. If you choose to thank the pastor in this way, a range of $100 -150 is customary.
 Please note: Organist/pianist and soloist should be paid the evening of the rehearsal. Honorarium to the pastor is also best given at this time.
 A list of soloists, organist/pianists, and sound technicians contacts are available by calling Bethel’s Music Minister, Gary Thorn in the church office (288-6430).

 PRE-MARITAL SEMINAR & COUNSELING

 Attendance at a Pre-Marital Seminar is required as preparation for a wedding at Bethel. Seminars are offered at Bethel four times a year on Saturdays from 8:15am to 4:30pm. A schedule can be found in your packet. Please fill it out and send to the church office with the fee of $50 per couple (checks to: Bethel Lutheran Church). This fee includes materials, snacks, and lunch.
 The Pre-Marital seminar form can be printed off by clicking here and mailed into the church office.
  The pastor officiating your wedding will want to sit down with both of you to talk about planning, as well as other matters early in your planning agenda. You will need to speak with the pastor officiating to schedule this appointment. Be sure to share with the pastor if any other clergy will be involved in your ceremony. Non-Lutheran clergy may participate, but a Bethel pastor will host all weddings.
 THE SERVICE God instituted marriage. Out of His love, He called you together to express your love for each other. That love, centered in Jesus Christ, will be the central focus of your marriage service.
 Because your marriage service is centered in Christ and is intended to praise God, it is a worship service. Your plans will want to reflect careful planning of a worship service that will assist you and your guests to bring glory to God. Your pastor is fully prepared to help you in this joyous effort.
 See booklet: The Marriage Service.

 SCRIPTURE

The scriptures you choose to have read at your marriage service are a way of telling others about your own faith, love, and understanding of marriage. Choose your scripture readings with prayer as you decide to which you want to bear witness. See the suggestions below. If you wish, the pastor will choose the scripture readings for you.
 Suggested Scripture Readings
 

 VOWS

 The vows you choose to make to each other are shared publicly with your guests. They reflect your commitment to each other, but also make a statement about what your relationship will be like in the future.
 Possible Vows
 I take you, _____, to be my wife/husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better and for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish till death do us part.
 I, _____ take you _____ to be my wife/husband from this day forward and these things I promise you: I will be faithful to you and honest with you; I will respect, trust, help, and care for you, I will share my life with you, through the best and worst of what is to come. I will love and cherish you until parted by death.
 I, _____ take you, _____, to be my wife/husband, and these things I promise you: I will be faithful to you and honest with you; I will respect, trust, help and care for you; I will share my life with you; I will forgive you as we have been forgiven; and I will try with you to better understand ourselves, the world, and God; through the best and worst of what is to come, as long as we live.
 I, _____ take you, _____, as my husband/wife in Christian marriage. I take you for what you are, what you will be and what we will become together. I will love you and trust you above all others as long as I live, and I will seek to become one with you as we live together sharing God's love.
I take you, _____/_____ to be my wife/husband from this day forward, to join with you and share all that is to come, and I promise to be faithful to you until death parts us.

MUSIC

 From Lutheran Book of Worship, Ministers Desk Edition:
 "Music selected (for weddings) should embody high standards of quality and...reflect the praise of God, God's steadfast love in Christ as the foundation of and model for marriage, and the asking of God's presence and blessing.
 
Recommendations and guidelines:

 I. The use of prerecorded or taped music is discouraged. We prefer that live musicians perform music during worship, and that the holiness and integrity of the sanctuary be respected.
 II. Secular music (that which does not lift up God's presence and blessing) may not be used during the wedding worship. It may be used sparingly during the prelude or postlude.
 III. Arrangements for musicians and music are the responsibility of the couple to be married. Spend time with your organist, soloist, and pastor in choosing the very best music you can.
 IV. We also encourage the guests of a wedding to participate in the service, because they are a congregation and not an audience. The simple singing of a hymn can accomplish this. You are welcome to stop by the church office and borrow a hymnal if you need to.
 HINT: If you don’t know where to begin in selecting music, visit a music store, and purchase a CD “compilation” of wedding music and see what you like. We also encourage you to meet with our Minister of Music.

 Organists:
Dale Mundahl 288-1131
Jim Bahler 285-0488

 For help with vocalists, instrumentalists, and all other questions, please contact: Gary Thorn, Minister of Music (288-6430).
 Please Note: Bethel will be without an organ in the new sanctuary for several years (beginning 2004). A grand piano will be available for use at your wedding.

 CANDLES

 Bethel does not provide candles. All candles and candelabra are rented or purchased by the couple to be married. Plastic sheeting will be placed under the candelabra and unity candle stand.
 All candelabra attached to the pews must have glass chimneys. Please note: There are no arms on the pews in the new sanctuary.
 A unity candle stand is available at the church. Unity candle tapers should be 12 inches long.

  FLOWERS

 Flowers are not to be placed on the altar.  Stands are available for all other flowers.
 If flowers are going to be donated to the church for Sunday worship, Carol Lamberg, 282-8897, should be contacted no later than two weeks before the service in order to receive appropriate recognition in the Sunday bulletin.

 AISLE RUNNER / SANCTUARY SIZE

 The aisle runner, if used, is furnished by the couple and can be obtained from the florist. The aisle runner needs to be 68 feet long (from back pew to first step onto the chancel, front of church). There are 16 pews in the main aisle of the sanctuary and approximately 1000 people can be seated.

PICTURES

 Pictures are taken before the ceremony. Any departure from this must be approved by the pastor. It is imperative that all picture taking is stopped 30 minutes before the service begins to allow for ushering people and other preparations. No flash pictures are allowed during the ceremony. If you or your photographer move anything for your pictures, it is your responsibility to see that those items moved are but back in their proper place. Please inform your photographer of the above guidelines.

 AUDIO VISUAL

 If you wish to have a video made, the camera person should speak to the pastor prior to the service for directions. A camera person is not provided by the church.

 BULLETINS

 Bethel does not print the marriage service bulletin. Blank bulletins may be purchased at a Christian bookstore or Augsburg Fortress online (www.augsburgfortress.org). The pastor will assist you in planning the bulletin content.

MARRIAGE LICENSE

 Applications for Olmsted County Marriage Licenses can be placed at the Olmsted County Government Center (151 Fourth Street SE, Rochester) or via their website (www.olmstedcounty.com/propertyrecords/vitalrecords/marriagelicense).
 
Please note the following information regarding your license:
V. Apply within the six months before your wedding and at least 5 days before your wedding day
VI. A Minnesota Marriage License is required to be married in Minnesota (regardless of what state you live in)
VII. You can obtain a marriage license in any Minnesota County
VIII. You must have two witnesses to the wedding ceremony (over the age of 16). This typically means that your “best man” and “maid/matron of honor” will sign your marriage license.
IX. An Olmsted County Marriage License, as of August 2004, fee is $85.00, without 12 hours of premarital counseling. The marriage license fee is $20.00, with 12 hours of premarital counseling and a signed letter from the church to verify.
X. Please bring your marriage license to the church office the week before your wedding.

GENERAL POLICIES

 The bride and her attendants will use Room 115 (on the main floor) for dressing. The groom and his attendants will use Room 225 (on the second floor) for dressing.
 Rice and birdseed are not allowed because of safety and difficulty in cleaning. Please do not throw either on the church property.
 The use of alcoholic beverages on the church property or in the church is expressly forbidden.
 Bethel is a non-smoking facility. Therefore, there is no smoking on the church property or in the church.
 Pictures are best taken before the wedding (flash pictures should not be taken during the ceremony).
 Personal wedding banners may be used in the sanctuary. It is the responsibility of the wedding party to replace any church banners removed for the ceremony.
 It is the responsibility of the wedding party to see that all rented items (i.e. candelabras, decorations, etc) be returned to the place of rental.
 The wedding party, guests, and decorations must be removed from the sanctuary by 5:30pm the day of the wedding. This is needed to prepare for Saturday evening worship at 6:00pm.