Faith Wedding Guide
We are excited to celebrate with you God’s intention to bring strength and joy to you as you enter into marriage! The following information provides you with guidelines for planning your wedding at Faith Lutheran Church.
Officiant
Typically, weddings at Faith are performed by one of the pastors. The pastor will work with you in the required pre-marital counseling and will help in the planning of the liturgical aspects of the wedding service including choosing vows, scripture passages and hymns.
Wedding Coordinator
The wedding coordinator supervises and manages all non-liturgical aspects of the wedding. She will be present at both the rehearsal and the wedding service. Please contact the wedding coordinator early in the planning process to set up an appointment to discuss the details of your ceremony. If you have hired a professional wedding planner, please note that the wedding coordinator will administer the direction in the church according to the guidelines and practice of Faith Church. Our wedding coordinator is Deb Twaddle; she can be emailed at datwaddle@yahoo.com. She will help take care of all of the logistics of the wedding ceremony at the church and take a lot of worry out of the day for you!
Music
Dr. Zach Zwahlen is the Director of Music at Faith and will provide the music for the wedding. He will help you in choosing music for the ceremony including prelude, processional, recessional, and hymns. If a guest organist is requested, approval must be obtained from the Director of Music. Additional musicians (singers, instrumentalist) can be provided for a fee if requested in advance.
Lectors
We encourage you to invite family or close friends to be a part of the service by reading the Scripture passages as lectors. Lectors need to be at the wedding rehearsal to practice and for sound/mic checks.
Photography/Videography
No flash photography is allowed during the ceremony. The pastor will talk with the photographer and videographers to help them find places to unobtrusively best capture the ceremony.
Candles
If you would like candles, please discuss with Deb Twaddle, the wedding coordinator. In general, only high-quality candles should be used to minimize the dripping of wax. If you would like a unity candle in the ceremony Faith has a table that can be used for the unity candle and a candle stand if needed. Candles are not allowed on the pews, nor are luminaries permitted inside the church building.
Flowers
Please share a contact name and number of the florist to the wedding coordinator no later than the day of rehearsal. You can let your florist know that the wedding coordinator will be at church one hour before the wedding. If additional time is needed that can be arranged but will include an additional fee for the wedding coordinator to arrive earlier. Any debris made by the florist during setup is the florist’s responsibility to remove before the ceremony begins.
Aisle Runner
Since the church is carpeted, the use of an aisle runner is not needed.
Ushers
If you plan to have ushers, their main role is not just to escort people to their seats, but to welcome people to your special day. Groomsmen can be used as ushers, and the best man may also seat mothers, grand-mothers, or other special guests. The ushers can also hand out the wedding program/bulletins. To determine how many ushers are needed, figure one usher per 40 guests. The ushers should be present at the rehearsal where they will receive instruction.
Guest Book
It is not necessary to have an attendant at the guest book, but it is an option if you choose. Again, the main idea is creating a welcoming atmosphere for your guests.
Bulletin
If you plan on having bulletins printed, let the pastor know and they will provide you with an order of service after you've met to plan the ceremony. (Bulletins are not provided by the church).
Marriage License and Fees
The marriage and appropriate fees must be delivered to the wedding coordinator at the rehearsal. Please include a stamped addressed envelope for the return of the marriage license to DuPage County. You will be provided with a ceremonial certificate from both the state and Faith Church. Note: neither of these are considered legal documents. It's easy to forget these certificates in the excitement after the ceremony, so we ask couples to designate a point person to the wedding coordinator and she will make sure they get the certificates and any other important keepsake items (unity candles, extra bulletins, etc.) after the ceremony.
WEDDING FEES
The marriage license and fees need to be given to the wedding coordinator no later than the rehearsal. Please make checks payable to the following individuals:
Pastor
Pastor’s Name
$250.00 minimum
$300.00 holiday weekend
Wedding Coordinator
Consultation/Rehearsal/Wedding $200
Wedding coordinator’s name: Debbie Twaddle, 630-995-1000 or datwaddle@yahoo.com
Organist/Pianist
Organist’s Name: Zach Zwahlen
Wedding only $250
Wedding and rehearsal $300
Additional Musicians
If requested and provided by the church $150
Custodian
Custodian’s Name
Wedding only $100
Offering
While marriages are conducted in the church as a service of worship and there is no charge for the use of the facilities, couples will often choose to make a thank offering gift to Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Officiant
Typically, weddings at Faith are performed by one of the pastors. The pastor will work with you in the required pre-marital counseling and will help in the planning of the liturgical aspects of the wedding service including choosing vows, scripture passages and hymns.
Wedding Coordinator
The wedding coordinator supervises and manages all non-liturgical aspects of the wedding. She will be present at both the rehearsal and the wedding service. Please contact the wedding coordinator early in the planning process to set up an appointment to discuss the details of your ceremony. If you have hired a professional wedding planner, please note that the wedding coordinator will administer the direction in the church according to the guidelines and practice of Faith Church. Our wedding coordinator is Deb Twaddle; she can be emailed at datwaddle@yahoo.com. She will help take care of all of the logistics of the wedding ceremony at the church and take a lot of worry out of the day for you!
Music
Dr. Zach Zwahlen is the Director of Music at Faith and will provide the music for the wedding. He will help you in choosing music for the ceremony including prelude, processional, recessional, and hymns. If a guest organist is requested, approval must be obtained from the Director of Music. Additional musicians (singers, instrumentalist) can be provided for a fee if requested in advance.
Lectors
We encourage you to invite family or close friends to be a part of the service by reading the Scripture passages as lectors. Lectors need to be at the wedding rehearsal to practice and for sound/mic checks.
Photography/Videography
No flash photography is allowed during the ceremony. The pastor will talk with the photographer and videographers to help them find places to unobtrusively best capture the ceremony.
Candles
If you would like candles, please discuss with Deb Twaddle, the wedding coordinator. In general, only high-quality candles should be used to minimize the dripping of wax. If you would like a unity candle in the ceremony Faith has a table that can be used for the unity candle and a candle stand if needed. Candles are not allowed on the pews, nor are luminaries permitted inside the church building.
Flowers
Please share a contact name and number of the florist to the wedding coordinator no later than the day of rehearsal. You can let your florist know that the wedding coordinator will be at church one hour before the wedding. If additional time is needed that can be arranged but will include an additional fee for the wedding coordinator to arrive earlier. Any debris made by the florist during setup is the florist’s responsibility to remove before the ceremony begins.
- If the florist is hanging pew bows, let the wedding coordinator know--she has pew clips that can be used that fit our pews. Aisle information: 19 rows, 36 pews.
- Flowers given to mothers are normally ordered through the florist and brought to the church on the wedding day.
- Dropping flower petals (real or artificial) in the church is not permitted (they destroy our carpet).
- No flower arrangements should be placed on the altar.
Aisle Runner
Since the church is carpeted, the use of an aisle runner is not needed.
Ushers
If you plan to have ushers, their main role is not just to escort people to their seats, but to welcome people to your special day. Groomsmen can be used as ushers, and the best man may also seat mothers, grand-mothers, or other special guests. The ushers can also hand out the wedding program/bulletins. To determine how many ushers are needed, figure one usher per 40 guests. The ushers should be present at the rehearsal where they will receive instruction.
Guest Book
It is not necessary to have an attendant at the guest book, but it is an option if you choose. Again, the main idea is creating a welcoming atmosphere for your guests.
Bulletin
If you plan on having bulletins printed, let the pastor know and they will provide you with an order of service after you've met to plan the ceremony. (Bulletins are not provided by the church).
Marriage License and Fees
The marriage and appropriate fees must be delivered to the wedding coordinator at the rehearsal. Please include a stamped addressed envelope for the return of the marriage license to DuPage County. You will be provided with a ceremonial certificate from both the state and Faith Church. Note: neither of these are considered legal documents. It's easy to forget these certificates in the excitement after the ceremony, so we ask couples to designate a point person to the wedding coordinator and she will make sure they get the certificates and any other important keepsake items (unity candles, extra bulletins, etc.) after the ceremony.
WEDDING FEES
The marriage license and fees need to be given to the wedding coordinator no later than the rehearsal. Please make checks payable to the following individuals:
Pastor
Pastor’s Name
$250.00 minimum
$300.00 holiday weekend
Wedding Coordinator
Consultation/Rehearsal/Wedding $200
Wedding coordinator’s name: Debbie Twaddle, 630-995-1000 or datwaddle@yahoo.com
Organist/Pianist
Organist’s Name: Zach Zwahlen
Wedding only $250
Wedding and rehearsal $300
Additional Musicians
If requested and provided by the church $150
Custodian
Custodian’s Name
Wedding only $100
Offering
While marriages are conducted in the church as a service of worship and there is no charge for the use of the facilities, couples will often choose to make a thank offering gift to Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church.