Planning a Wedding
at Cicero Christian Church

view / print Wedding Policy Booklet

view / print Wedding Application

Christian Marriage

Congratulations! We celebrate with you on your upcoming marriage and wish to help you in every way possible. This information should clarify the facilities and services available to you, as well as your responsibility in using them. It is our prayer that your wedding will be an enjoyable, memorable experience for all involved and that God will bless your marriage with joy and peace.

We want most of all to provide you with every opportunity to enjoy your Christian wedding. The ceremony is a worship service honoring God for the wonderful gift of human love. In whatever we do, we want to honor Christ. We ask for your prayers and assure you of ours as you go through the process of setting dates and making plans, from the rehearsal to the wedding ceremony itself, and from two lives becoming one in Christ.

Six Steps to Your Wedding at CCC

1. Read through this booklet and the Guidelines to determine whether your plans will work with the policies in place at CCC.
2. Contact the church by visiting during office hours or calling (317-984-4653) to determine whether your desired date is available. 
3. Complete the CCC Wedding Application Form and return it to Cicero Christian Church. Upon receiving your form, your wedding date will be tentatively reserved.  "Tentative" will be removed once Senior Minister has approved of your wedding and all obligations have been met. 
4. The Wedding Ministry leader will be contacting you after Step 3 is completed. Review of guidelines will take place as well as determining who will be officiating at your wedding and the requirements associated with that.
5. (If using CCC Minister) Meet with a CCC Minister. At this meeting, arrangements for Premarital Counseling will be discussed and established. Premarital Counseling is     required for those getting married at CCC. If a minister not associated with CCC is officiating the wedding, proof of Premarital Counseling needs to be secured.
6. Begin meeting with your Wedding Coordinator. Use of a Wedding Coordinator at CCC is required. This person will assist you in the details of both rehearsal and ceremony and will be your link to the church and its policies during this event.

Policies

We are allowing you to hold your wedding at Cicero Christian Church (CCC) as a courtesy and ministry, therefore, certain expectations and policies dealing with the meaning of marriage as well as the use of the church facilities have been established by CCC, its Ministers, and Elders. We feel responsible, as faithful stewards, over what God has provided so these policies on facility use are designed to help you as well as the church. This packet of information clearly defines these policies, which is the responsibility of the Elders and are subject to change as they deem necessary.

The bride and groom are responsible for making church policy known to all members of the wedding party, including the photographer/videographer, non-CCC pastor, guest musicians and in some cases, guests.

Facility Use

• The church facilities are available for weddings to church members, their immediate families, and non-members according to the Schedule of Fees.
• All weddings MUST be scheduled no fewer than four months in advance in order to complete all necessary requirements.
• For all weddings, everyone, including the clean-up crew, must be out of the church building by 8:30pm. Please keep these times in mind when planning your wedding.
• Throwing birdseed, bubbles, etc must be restricted to the outside of the building. Rice and confetti are not permitted.
• Those using church facilities must accept full responsibility for any damage to the facility, equipment, or grounds incurred during that use. Access for the wedding party should be arranged with the Wedding Coordinator.
• Any movement of sanctuary furniture is to be done through the custodian, Wedding Coordinator, or church staff.
• The wedding party is responsible for the decorations, putting them up AND taking them down. Tape, wire, staples, or nails may NOT be used in placing decorations. Should any damage occur, you will be charged accordingly. Any decorations left in the building (intentionally or unintentionally) after the 8:30pm will be disposed of by church staff.
• The church will be open for decoration purposes only through arrangement with your Wedding Coordinator. Other events may occur which might conflict with your plans.
• Please make provisions for personal belongings to be removed from the building after your wedding. The church is not responsible for items left behind.
• Use of the facility is limited to those areas (Sanctuary, Bride and Groom’s rooms, etc) relevant to the ceremony.
• No alcoholic beverages or tobacco products are to be used at any time in any way – not within the church facilities or on church property, including the parking lots. The bride and groom will make these rules known to all members of the wedding party.
• There will be no weddings scheduled for the following weekends when the holiday falls on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday: New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. Other weekends may be blacked out due to previously scheduled events.

Ministers

It is mandatory that the Senior minister approve of all weddings conducted in the church.

Should you desire someone other than a CCC Minister to officiate at your wedding at CCC, the request for that minister and ceremony must be approved by the Senior Minister of CCC and/or its Elders.

Ministers in the church will perform wedding ceremonies only for those having the scriptural right to marry.

The staff minister in charge will interpret any parts of these guidelines and will determine procedure for any item that may come up not included herein.

Pre-martial counseling is required to be conducted by the minister conducting the wedding. The timing and number of sessions shall be determined by the minister in charge of the wedding. There is no pre-martial counseling fee. The Minister Fee for the marriage covers the pre-martial counseling.

Wedding Coordinator

In order to assist you as much as possible, a CCC Wedding Coordinator is required for your wedding. Once your wedding has been tentatively added to the calendar, the Wedding Coordinator for your wedding will be in contact with you. They will be an indispensable liaison between you, the church, its history, and traditions. You will find the Coordinator a rich source of information that will make them an invaluable problem solver for the situations unique
to a wedding.

Together, you and the Coordinator will develop a plan that will cover the details of the service. The Wedding Coordinator will give instruction at rehearsals and assist in any way possible prior to and during the actual wedding service. In short, they are a facilitator to ensure that all flows smoothly. We feel confident that we are serving you and our congregation best by requiring that they be a part of weddings at CCC.

The Wedding Coordinator will also be working with the Minister, custodian, sound technician, and church staff to insure smooth and efficient planning for the wedding. In addition, they will go over all fees of Cicero Christian Church for your ceremony.

Music

Your Wedding Coordinator may assist you with music selection, if desired. All music used in the ceremony, including before and after, must be appropriate and in keeping with the sacredness of a Christian wedding and the use of the church. Music must be approved by the Wedding Coordinator in cooperation with a CCC Minister.

All music used for the ceremony, whether recorded or sheet music, must be provided by the bride unless other arrangements are made in advance.

Any DVD’s, picture slide shows, etc. MUST be given to the Wedding Coordinator prior to the Rehearsal to insure compatibility with our technical equipment.

Pictures

We strongly encourage all formal photographs be taken prior to the wedding, approximately 2-1/2 hours before the ceremony.

There are several reasons for this recommendation. When the wedding party pictures are taken before the wedding, the photographer can have everything completed and the wedding party is free to go to the reception immediately after the wedding. To take the pictures following the ceremony requires a minimum of 45 minutes, thus keeping the guests at the reception waiting.

It has been estimated that there is a loss of one-fourth of the guests for every 45 minutes the bride and groom delay arriving at the reception. The crush from hugs and kisses after the wedding ceremony also takes their toll of the wedding party. Thus, the final pictures are not as beautiful as they could be.

Before the wedding, the camera picks up an excitement and anticipation of the coming wedding. After the wedding, the feeling is “Hurry up, let’s get to the reception.” There is also confusion with wedding guests and on-lookers watching the picture-taking process.

We understand the bride may be disappointed to have the groom see her before the wedding. To help compensate, we will provide an opportunity for the bride and groom to meet each other in privacy in the sanctuary prior to the pictures being taken.

We have had wonderful feedback from brides and grooms because they followed this recommendation of taking all pictures prior to the wedding. Please carefully consider this recommendation and talk this over with the Wedding Coordinator.

Rehearsal

In coordinating the many activities of the church program, we set aside one hour for each wedding rehearsal. Please be certain your wedding party is prompt. The bride and groom is responsible for the wedding party being on time for the rehearsal. If the rehearsal would have to go past the allotted hour because the wedding party was late, the rehearsal will be terminated at the one-hour point.

The wedding rehearsal must be understood as a firm commitment on the part of the entire wedding party. Male and female attendants, ushers, and musicians, including vocalists, are expected to be present. Every participant is expected to be prompt so your rehearsal will begin on time. All details of the wedding ceremony will be arranged and settled prior to the rehearsal. The wedding rehearsal is not the time or place for decision making regarding your wedding.

Reception

We encourage you to explore options other than the church for your reception. The Family Life Center is offered for use (for a fee) to members only. However, church staff must approve the use of the facilities for the reception, and the calendar must have no conflicts for the room for setup, reception and cleanup. Given the multi-use of the room by many ministries, the availability of the Family Life Center for receptions will be very limited. All decorating and serving at the reception is provided by the bride and groom.

Schedule of Fees

Security Deposit: A refundable security deposit is required for both members and non-members in the amount of $250 due at the time of reservation with the completed application. The check will be cashed. When the church is inspected after the wedding/reception to insure that everything has been left the way it was found and there are no damages, etc, a check for the deposit, minus damages and non-paid fees will be issued. If wedding is cancelled, a full deposit will be returned.

Payment: The wedding party is responsible for making individual payments according to the wedding policy Schedule of Fees. CCC is not responsible for running payments through the church financial system. This even includes the building usage fee for non-members which shall be a separate check payable to Cicero Christian Church. The Wedding Coordinator will distribute the individual checks to the appropriate parties. All fees must be paid through the church office or Wedding Coordinator prior to the day of the Wedding Rehearsal.

Application for Wedding

Please open and print out the application form, fill out return this form to the church along with your deposit check. You may also call the church and ask for the wedding booklet with the application be sent to you.

Receipt of this form initiates the wedding procedure. The date will not be reserved until both the deposit check and the completed form are received.

Cicero Christian Church 1715 Stringtown Pike  Cicero, IN 46034  317.984.4653