What Happens If The Church Cancels?

Last week we got through a minor hiccup which had the potential to become a huge disaster; the church had to cancel our wedding, as structural defects meant their insurance wouldn’t be valid on the day unless they raised 1.2 million quid to spend on repairs before July.

We have learned some valuable do’s and don’t’s from the experience, which I would like to share with people in case it happens to them.

Do expect help. The church has certain procedures for this kind of thing, namely that they will phone around other churches in the area and offer you a choice of ‘surrogate’ churches. They won’t just tell you to bugger off.

Don’t, however, leave them to it. If your wedding is in the summer, which is a pretty popular season, everyone else will be calling up neighbouring churches and grappling for the date, so you would be well advised to show some initiative and start dialling, even if you hate the phone as much as this man does (and so do I). Two out of the three alternatives we were offered did not have the 16:00 time slot available. They did, however, have the date, which was the most important thing, because you should probably also…

Don’t get your personalised stuff printed too early. It may be tempting to be super organised and we have already ordered the napkins with our names and the wedding date on it and printed off the day invitations. We were lucky in that we were printing the invitations out ourselves and therefore didn’t waste too much money on reprinting costs, but a professional printer may not be so forthcoming with a refund.

Do be prepared to be flexible. I have mentioned earlier that summer is wedding season, which may mean that your preferred time may not be available. You may have to entertain your guests for an extra hour between the ceremony and the reception (i.e.: stock up on extra booze), but the main thing is getting the original date, especially if you have already booked the reception and are planning to swan off on your honeymoon the next day.

Don’t be afraid to show your dissatisfaction. My father-in-law had the cojones to go up to the church and yell at them (I’m not religious but even I would have felt awkward shouting at church officials), which meant that instead of taking the promised 7-14 days to call us back, they did so later on that day (a Sunday, no less). Yes, the English are horrendous at complaining but it gets you results.

And most importantly of all, Do try to look on the bright side. A ceremony venue can be of paramount importance and losing it can be very upsetting but it will do you no good to slip into emotional man-flu. The church we ended up choosing was far more traditional-looking than the original (my mother loved it, even though she did nearly say, ‘Bloody hell!’ to the vicar when she found out how old it was) and Paul’s grandmother got married there, which meant it had some sentimental value to him.

The main thing to keep in mind is that even if you get married in a shipping container with a big cross stuck on top, you will still be promising the rest of your life to the person you love the most. And as long as that happens, nothing else should matter.

Related Posts:

• Thou Shalt Marry On The 16th July 2011
• How To Get The Church On The Date You Want
• Which Church Can You Get Married In?
• In The News: This Week’s Round-Up
• Win A Personalised Wedding