Wedding FAQs

We’re looking for a church that will marry us?  Do we have to be members or a regular attendee?

• You’ll notice in the wedding application that we ask couples to make us their church home during the time of their engagement. Before submitting your application attend services for at least three or four weeks.  Ask yourself some questions.  Is this the kind of church you’d feel comfortable attending week in and week out?  Are the messages helping you to deal with the spiritual issues in your life?  Do the people feel welcoming? 
  
  
•  We have contemporary worship services at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.  On Sunday we also offer traditional services at 10:00 a.m. & 11:30 a.m. and at 6:00 p.m. we have a Vespers Contemplative Communion service.  

We need to know right away if we can be married at Christ Church.  We need to put a deposit down on a reception hall tomorrow. Can’t you give us an answer today?

•  As a general rule we don’t want to be rushed into making a decision based on the availability or unavailability of a reception hall.  If you are part of our congregation, attend regularly and are known to us, we can review your application and try to help you meet your deadline. However, there are no guarantees that we will be able to fit you into an interview time as quickly as you’d like.

 Is it really necessary to go through all the classes and seminars?

• Yes.  We believe it’s important to equip couples with the tools to look at their relationship realistically.

 How much time do we need to complete all the classes and counseling?

• Our premarital seminar is offered in a series of 6 consecutive Sunday's.  The series is offered at various times during the year.  You need to attend all 6 sessions.  The minister marrying you will also want to do some counseling with you.  Divorce Recovery Workshops are only offered in the fall and spring.  All this takes time. As a general rule give yourself six to twelve months. 

 We’re older.  Why do we need to take the classes?

• We’ve had couples of all ages and backgrounds attend our classes and seminars and without exception everyone walks away with some information or insight that helps their relationship.  We believe that when you stop learning – you stop growing.  Marriages thrive when people continue to grow together.

I was divorced several years ago and went to counseling.  Do I really have to go to a divorce recovery program?

• Yes.  We’ve found that God uses these seminars in powerful ways.  It helps clarify issues, facilitates continued healing, and draws people closer to Jesus.  Sometimes people go and find that they are used by God to encourage others. However, if you’ve attended a divorce recovery program of comparable scope and sequence to ours we are more than willing to accept that program as a substitute for our own.

 We’re living together.  Is that a problem?

• First of all, we are thrilled that you want to be married.  We believe marriage is what God wants for every couple who falls in love and see themselves in a permanent relationship.  Secondly, we want to meet every couple where they are at without compromising our role as God’s church.  That can be tricky. You see, it’s our understanding that when a couple approaches our church for marriage both the man and the woman must agree in both Christian belief and practice.  It makes little sense to be married in the name of God but not to live in accord with his promises and commands. 

Living together is very prevalent in today’s society.  Even though the culture as  a whole accommodates this practice the Christian church has held strongly to the sanctity of marriage and the accompanying rights and privileges given to husbands and wives exclusively.  We are also concerned that there is a higher incidence of divorce among folks who live together prior to marriage.  If you are living together we will work with you in examining what all this means and explore with you some possible adjustments that will help you to both honor God and prepare well for your married life together.

        We haven’t attended worship services for a long time.  We’re not         even very religious. Is this a problem?

• We know that getting married is one of those ‘turning point’ events that can point us to new possibilities. We don’t believe God magically shows up to bless weddings.  God wants to walk with you daily in your marriage.

Many people, for a variety of reasons haven’t had an opportunity to discuss issues of faith within a caring and nurturing environment.  Many people come to Christ Church with questions and concerns about faith.  We try to answer those questions and deal with those concerns honestly. It’s important that matters of faith be explored.  We don’t want you to make wedding vows in the name of a God you don’t know or follow. 

All of our ministers want you to find a rich and vibrant life of faith. We believe that following Jesus is the ultimate calling for any person. That’s why we’ll want you to examine the role the Lord plays in your life. The minister working with you will review the basics of the Christian faith and invite you to walk with Jesus on a daily basis.

We want you to be open and willing to learn, grow and experience the life of faith. If you’re not open to exploring what a life with Jesus might look like then we’re probably not a good fit for you.

We don’t want to connect with Christ Church.  We just want a church wedding.  Will you rent us your facilities and provide a minister?

• No.  Christ Church of Oak Brook is not a wedding chapel.

 We want to have an ‘off-site’ wedding?  How can you help us?

• We are willing to do off-site weddings.  Couples still need to ‘connect’ with Christ Church during the time of their engagement and participate in all the necessary classes, seminars, and counseling.

 I grew up at Christ Church but now live in another state.  All my friends and family are in the Chicago area.   What happens to me?

• We’re delighted that you want to come back to Christ Church to be married. Our expectation is that you and your fiancée have a meaningful connection with a Christian fellowship in the city/town where you live. We will work with you and the pastors in that church to develop a viable premarital preparation experience that is the equivalent of what we do here at Christ Church. We will also need to meet with you and your fiancée for a wedding interview.

 We’re having a big wedding.  The church my fiancée and I attend doesn’t even have a building.  How can you help us?

• Christ Church is committed to being a generous resource to other Christians and churches.  We cannot honor all these kind of requests but will do what we can to explore the possibilities of having your wedding at Christ Church of Oak Brook.