Rev. David and Barbara Taylor
WITH THIS RING I FREE WED
CASH-STRAPPED couples who are a desperate to marry have been given a life ‘altaring’ offer!
A church is laying on free weddings to those who have been hit by the credit crunch, but still want to tie the knot.
All couples have to do is attend church’s pre-marital course and they can then take advantage of a free wedding.
The idea came from Barbara Taylor whose husband, David, is pastor if St Hilda and St Helen’s Christian Fellowship in the village of Dawdon, County Durham.
She said: “We wanted to give something back to the community.
“We knew of quite few people that had wanted to get married and hadn’t been able to because of the cost.”
As well as waiving the normal fees for using the church and organist, the church can provide free wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses, suits for the groom and other items needed for the big day.
Mr. taylor said:”The only thing to pay for is the registry fee of £50. That’s a fee charge by local authorities for administration so we can’t do anything about that, but everything else is free.
“We are collecting many items and increasing our range of dresses as more are donated”.
He added that after the church was featured on a radio news bulletin, a Leicester based hire firm had donated 10 morning suits and other offers had been made.
The pre-marital course, which couples must attend to take advantage of the offer, looks at the importance of marriage vows and what to expect from life as a couple. The first couple to walk down the aisle as part of the free offer were Alan and Donna Davison. They say it saved them an estimated £2,000, including the £400- plus charge for the church.
Alan was made redundant from his job as a dryliner with a building company last year and has struggled to find work during the recession.
Donna, who left her job as an administrator to become a full-time mum, wore a dress borrowed from the church.
They also saved cash by making their own bouquets with the help of instruction videos, with the pieces donated to the church.
The couple also saved money by shopping on the Internet for their honeymoon.
Donna 29, who met Alan, 33, when he was working on the door of Dawdon Miners’ Welfare Social Club said: “Alan lost his job, so we thought we would have to put off for another few years or find another church.
“It’s absolutely fantastic what they’re doing. There are so many people out there who won’t get married because it’s so expensive.
If you have wedding items to donate to the church please contact Lew Life on 0115 824 0777 and we’ll pass on the details
Barnabas Ministries UK 