Weddings
Celebrate Your Special Day with US
Weddings at anchor point
At Anchor Point Church, we believe a wedding is one of the most important spiritual moments in a person’s life. Therefore, our goal is not only to help you have a memorable wedding day, but also to help prepare you and your future spouse to build a successful, lifelong partnership. While a lifelong, loving marriage partnership doesn’t come easily, we believe that with Jesus’ help, it’s within everyone’s reach. We’re excited about how God is going to work in and through your relationship!
Anchor Point Church’s staff pastors perform weddings. Please review the information below so that you have a clear understanding of what the wedding process at Anchor Point Church looks like from start to finish. After reading through the information, the next step is to complete the Wedding Request Form.
THE PROCESS
Here’s what takes place once your completed form is received:
FORM REVIEW
The Wedding Request Form is reviewed by one of APC’s Pastors to determine if either the bride or groom meets the requirements to be married at Anchor Point Church. If the Wedding Request Form is approved, the Pastor will contact you to confirm your wedding date and time and to let you know which Pastor will perform your ceremony.
INITIAL MEETING
Once an APC staff pastor is assigned, that pastor will contact you to schedule a meeting to discuss the wedding date, plans, and other ideas. At this meeting, the APC Wedding Agreement is reviewed and signed by the couple and the APC staff pastor.
MARRIAGE LICENSE
It’s the responsibility of the couple to obtain the marriage license before the wedding and mailing the marriage license to the county office following the wedding. The APC staff pastor is only responsible for signing the marriage license as the officiant.
ADDITIONAL MEETINGS
The APC staff pastor and the couple will meet two additional times before the wedding ceremony. The first meeting will be conducted to discuss and finalize wedding plans, and the second meeting will be the actual wedding rehearsal.
WEDDING DAY
On the day of the wedding, the APC staff pastor arrives approximately 45 minutes before the wedding and may leave once the ceremony is complete and the marriage license is signed. While the staff pastor and his/her family may choose to join the wedding party for the reception, this may not be possible.
REQUIREMENTS
For an APC staff pastor to perform a wedding, the couple must do a few things:
COUNSELING
Complete 4 weeks of premarital counseling with an APC pastor or a Christian counselor. Preferably, the counseling sessions should be completed at least two months before the wedding date, and a schedule of three follow up counseling sessions may be set for three months, six months, and 12 months after the wedding day. It is up to the couple to schedule these sessions.
Upon the completion of counseling, if a non-APC pastor was chosen, the counselor is required to send a letter to the APC pastor stating the sessions were completed. This letter must be received no later than 14 days before the wedding.
RELATIONSHIP
If a couple wants to be married by an APC staff pastor and they’re living together and are sexually active, the couple must agree to stay apart sexually from the date of signing the APC Wedding Agreement until the wedding night. Because the Bible’s direction is that a man and a woman should not have sex before they’re married, we believe this commitment before marriage is the best way to start fresh and do things God’s way.
APC staff pastors believe that God’s intention is that marriage is for life; however, they also understand that there are times when a marriage fails. APC staff pastors will marry those with divorce in their past. Once the Wedding Request Form is reviewed, after initial meetings, the APC staff pastor may require that the couple receive professional Christian pre-marital counseling.
OTHER INFORMATION
FACILITY AND SERVICES
APC’s current facility is available, but couples can also rent other church buildings, chapels, community buildings, and outdoor facilities for their ceremony. Regarding the different aspects of the ceremony, such as programs, flowers, and musicians, it’s the responsibility of the couple to make these arrangements. The APC staff pastor will gladly assist as much as possible to provide contacts and direction.
FEES
The fee for the wedding ceremony is $300 and is to be paid directly to the APC staff pastor that is officiating. This includes pre-marital counseling.
TIMING
To meet the requirements for an APC wedding, we recommend that you initiate the wedding process at least 9-12 months before your wedding date. APC does not schedule weddings on Sundays or the weeks before or after Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.