Share |

Getting RAF personnel married in a Church

We received this question in to our mailbox for the Resident Rev

can you please advise me, our daughter is currently at university and is due to take her commission in the RAF in august this year. as she is joining as a dentist her first year is whats called a vt year, and her leave entitlement is very limited. She and her fiancee want to get married in church next august. we are coming up against many problems in trying to get a church for them to get married in, as she will not be a member of any parish. I always thought that the church looked upon members of H.M. forces in a sympathetic light, due to their circumstances being somewhat different,. however this has not been the case in the church that we approached, with one rector saying she would think about it if I (her mother) attended church for 6 months, as my daughter could be posted
anywhere in the country and would not be able to attend. could you please confirm if there are any guidelines for members of H.M. forces to get married in a church of their choice, we have the application form for a special license?

Comments

Jan Harney's picture

Dear Reader
Many thanks for this and I sense your frustration. You didn't mention where your daughter's fiancee lives. If he lives in a parish they would be able to get married in his parish church, as he is legally able to marry in the parish where he is a resident. It's slightly more complicated if either of them has been married previously.

A special license ought to be an option if you have, as a family, a strong link with a particular church.

The other option is to get married in a licensed military chapel. Let me know if you want me to expand on this.
warm regards
jan