Steps for Planning a Wedding at Grace Church
Step 1: Getting Started
Interested in marriage at Grace Church or in having a Grace Church pastor perform your wedding ceremony?
If you, or your parents, are a member or regular attender of Grace Church:
- Contact Kathy Veurink, Director of Guest & Member Services, to discuss your potential wedding date and the pastor who will perform your ceremony.
- Download and complete the Pre-marriage Information Questionnaire. Return forms to: Grace Church, Attn: Kathy Veurink, Director of Guest & Member Services, 9301 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55347
Click Here to download the On-site (AT Grace Church) Pre-Marriage Questionnaire
Click Here to download the Off-site (NOT at Grace Church) Pre-Marriage Questionnaire - When the completed forms are returned, the wedding date will be put on the calendar. You will be sent a copy of the Grace Church wedding handbook. Please read the handbook carefully and be sure that you understand the guidelines. These Biblical standards are upheld for your benefit.
If you desire to change or cancel your wedding date, you must notify the Director of Guest & Member Services at least four months before the scheduled date.
Step 2: Schedule Pre-Marriage Interview
Once you have submitted your pre-marriage questionnaire, confirm your tentative wedding date with the pastor you wish to perform your ceremony. If you do not have a pastor in mind, contact Kathy Veurink for recommendations. Click here to see a list of Grace Church pastors who perform wedding ceremonies.
Schedule a pre-marriage interview with your wedding pastor. If you are being married at Grace Church by a non-Grace pastor, you still need to meet with a Grace pastor for this interview and its follow-up.
The purpose of this interview is:
- For the pastor to get to know you and your fiance
- For the pastor to review your questionnaire forms and go over the standards for weddings at Grace Church
- To discuss/administer the PREPARE® Pre-Marriage Inventory.
- PREPARE® is an inventory of your views on various areas in your relationship with your fiance. PREPARE® is not a "test" and there are no "right" or "wrong" answers. This tool is not intended to predict success in marriage, but rather to identify both the strengths in your relationship as well as any problematic areas for you to address with your fiance.
- This diagnostic inventory may be completed at the end of your interview or online, depending on the arrangements made with your pastor. It is a requirement for all couples being married at Grace (regardless of where your pastor is from) and for all couples being married by a Grace Church pastor (regardless of where the ceremony will be held).
- There is a $35 fee made payable to Grace Church for the scoring of the PREPARE®.
Note: If a non-Grace pastor is performing your wedding, a pre-marital counseling fee applies as follows:
- For Grace attenders: $35 for scoring the PREPARE® and $75 for the counseling.
- For non-Grace attenders: $35 for scoring the PREPARE® and $150 for the counseling.
Step 3: Pre-Marriage Class
Step 4: Your Wedding Coordinator
After you've completed the initial interview with your pastor, we will provide you with a Wedding Coordinator. Even a simple ceremony can be logistically difficult for one person to handle, so to ease the stress level and burden on the wedding party and family, your Wedding Coordinator will be there to facilitate the planning and directing process.
Wedding Coordinators provide valuable assistance in many ways, including:
- Serving as your liaison with Grace Church, available to answer your questions about etiquette, facility and equipment availability, and policies and procedures
- Helping you plan and arrange the different program elements
- Showing you the ceremony decorations Grace Church has available for free, and if needed, assisting you in locating other resources and vendors
- Staging and placing the wedding party
- Coordinating the ushers
- Directing the church staff and facility use
- Leading the rehearsal (most pastors do not attend rehearsals)
- Timing and directing the actual wedding
A Wedding Coordinator is required for all on- and off-site weddings. If your ceremony location is off-site, your Grace Church Wedding Coordinator will familiarize herself with the location and work with the off-site staff before and during the ceremony.
Your wedding coordinator looks forward to helping you make your wedding day a special and joyous occasion!
Step 5: Pastoral Counseling
After your initial interview your pastor will meet with you again to review the results of your PREPARE® Inventory. He will provide personalized pastoral counseling, giving you the opportunity to discuss specific issues. Many couples meet with their pastor more than once in order to clarify relationship issues and to have their questions answered. These meetings can be scheduled by calling your wedding pastor's assistant.
Step 6: Finalize Your Ceremony Plans
Working with your officiating pastor and your wedding coordinator, you will finalize the details of your ceremony. Both of these individuals will be available to help you if you have any questions or desire guidance and counsel for making decisions that reflect Christian values.
Music
Your Wedding Coordinator can provide you with a list of appropriate, popular wedding songs and a directory of approved musicians.
Sound/Lighting
Designated sound and lighting technicians from Grace Church are needed for your ceremony due to the technical complexity of our audio/visual systems. Fees are charged according to your sound and lighting requirements.
Step 7: The Rehearsal
Rehearsals are usually held the evening before the wedding; however, in some cases scheduling requires the rehearsal to take place two days in advance. Rehearsal dates can be confirmed up to 90 days in advance. Should two weddings occur on the same day, rehearsal time priority will be given to the couple that completed their pre-marriage interview first.
Who Conducts the Rehearsal?
Your Grace Church Wedding Coordinator will direct the rehearsal. Your pastor is available for consultation beforehand, but generally will not be present at the rehearsal. We find that having your coordinator facilitate the rehearsal helps relieve the bride and groom from the burden of directing and remembering all of the logistics and details.
You and your fiancé will work with your Wedding Coordinator to make all the major decisions prior to the rehearsal. This prevents the stress of last-minute decisions and keeps the rehearsal from dragging on too long and inconveniencing your wedding party and family.
Who Should Attend?
All wedding participants should attend the rehearsal. This might include bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girl, ring bearer, parents, grandparents (and anyone else who might receive special seating), readers, ushers, greeters, guest book attendants, etc. Please encourage everyone to arrive on time.
Note: Musicians and soloists most often rehearse an hour before the ceremony. If they need to practice at the rehearsal, there is an additional sound tech fee.
What Should We Bring to the Rehearsal?
- The ceremony outline
- The wedding programs
- Payment envelopes for each wedding service (i.e. Pastor's honorarium, musicians' fees, etc.). Your Wedding Coordinator will distribute the envelopes for you.
Step 8: Your Wedding Day!
The big day has arrived--relax!
The church dressing rooms, worship center, and other facilities will be open to you three hours prior to the ceremony, unless other arrangements are made in advance.
Photographs
We strongly recommend that you take your photos prior to the ceremony so that your guests are not kept waiting between the ceremony and the reception. Your photographs should begin two to three hours prior to the ceremony. Be sure to inform everyone whom you want present at the photographs (generally the entire wedding party and close relatives) of what time they should arrive. Make sure friends and relatives take pictures only after the photographer is finished; that way if you run out of time you will be sure to have the "official" shots completed. Only a minimum of photographs should be taken during the ceremony; your Wedding Coordinator will provide your photographer with more detailed guidelines. No flash photography is allowed during the ceremony.
Flowers
Flowers should be delivered at least three hours before the start of the wedding. Your wedding coordinator will provide your florist with more detailed guidelines.
Video Technician
The video technician should arrive 90 minutes before the ceremony. Your Wedding Coordinator will provide your video technician with more detailed guidelines.
Soloists/Accompanists
Soloists and accompanists should arrive 60 minutes before the ceremony so that a sound check and warm-up are completed before the guests are seated.