Weddings

Your Wedding at Duddingston Kirk

Many people choose to be married at Duddingston.

If you are considering getting married in the Kirk, then please come and see the minister at his weekly Vestry Time which takes place in the Gatehouse of the Kirk most Wednesday evenings from 6.30 to 8 pm. 

No appointment is necessary.

A Christian Understanding of Marriage

The statement at the beginning of the marriage service in the Book of Common Order (1994) starts with three affirmations about marriage.

1. It affirms our faith in the presence and power of Jesus Christ the Son of God. He who once was at the marriage in Cana of Galilee is present now with power at every Christian marriage.
   
   
2. It affirms that marriage has been part of God's plan for the human race since the beginning of creation. Jesus emphasised this in his teaching.
   
   
3. It affirms that through the renewal of the Holy Spirit, husband and wife can love each other as Christ loves them.

Because marriage has its foundations in God, it is to be undertaken with faith, reverence and dedication, in the light of God's purposes. The statement in the marriage service points us to four purposes underlying the institution of marriage.

1. Lifelong companionship, comfort and joy between husband and wife.
   
   
2. The enjoyment of a complete physical union between man and woman. Sex is a gift of God – the expression of a total and lifelong commitment between husband and wife.
   
   
3. The safeguarding of family life. Children are God's gifts. They are entitled to security and love, within a household built on a true marriage.
   
   
4. The well-being of human society, which depends for its stability on citizens upholding the marriage bond.

It is in the light of these beliefs that you make your vows to each other before God. For Christians, marriage is not simply a human contract; it is one of the Creator's great gifts to God's children. It is through God's grace that ‘the two shall become one flesh’ and we find our own separate identities greatly enriched in the long process of growing together as one.

The Kirk Session and minister of Duddingston Kirk are pleased that you are considering being married at Duddingston. If you are already a member of the congregation we hope that you find great joy in your being a member. If you are not a member of the congregation we hope that you will always feel that a welcome awaits you here, each Sunday when we meet for worship.

Planning your wedding service

Here are suggested hymns and readings which are suitable for weddings.