How to Form a Wedding Guild in the Church

A wedding guild at your church can help couples plan for their special day.

In 2009, there were more than 2 million weddings in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If any of them were at your church, then you might already know how much time brides and grooms spend planning for their special day. To alleviate some of their stress, you might consider organizing a wedding guild at your church. Together, the members of your wedding guild can help couples coordinate music, photography and decorations.

Things You'll Need

• Volunteers at your church
• Place to meet
• Schedule

Instructions

1. Discuss your wedding guild idea with your pastor and church council. Make sure that your pastor and council are aware of your plans. Depending on your church, asking for your pastor's or council's permission might be mandatory before proceeding.

2. Prepare an advertisement for your church's bulletin and website. In your advertisement, ask for volunteers from your church to contact you or meet at a designated time and place for your first wedding guild meeting. Ask that they make a list of ideas before coming to the meeting.

3. Make an outline of how you envision the wedding guild and all of its duties. Think about making subcommittees for handling particular duties such as music, decorations, photography, wedding schedules, Scripture readings and dress rehearsals.

4. Meet with the volunteers who respond to your advertisement. Discuss the various duties and subcommittees that you drew up as well as any ideas that volunteers might have.

5. Vote for leaders to oversee "housekeeping" functions of the guild such as finances and meeting minutes. Also vote for leaders to oversee each subcommittee.

6. Create a list of rules or meeting requirements for members to follow, if desired. For example, ask the volunteers if they want to enforce a minimum meeting attendance or minimum events participation in order to maintain membership in the wedding guild.

7. Arrange a schedule that assigns guild members commitment dates for their services at weddings throughout the year. Plan the schedule according to your pastor's or church council's guidelines on wedding lead times. If your church requires that couples provide at least three months' notification, plan your wedding guild's schedule every three months.

8. Plan meetings several times a year for your wedding guild to meet and discuss ideas. Meetings are the best time for members to express their concerns, ideas and challenges that occur throughout the year. By meeting and communicating frequently, your wedding guild can better assist brides and grooms.

References

• St. Michael Catholic Church: St. Michael Wedding Guild
• Aquia Episcopal Church: Wedding Guild
• "Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2009"; National Vital Statistics Reports; August 2010