Wedding
Marriage & Faith
CONGRATULATIONS! We should begin with a word about our understanding of marriage. We believe that marriage is a lifelong, spiritual commitment. One of the most challenging and rewarding of human relationships, marriage is meant to be lived out in a community of faith where it can be supported and nurtured by others seeking to grow in love, forgiveness, justice, and compassion.
By choosing to be married at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, we invite and encourage you to be supported by and committed to this church community now and in the future. If you live out of town, we invite and encourage you to find a community that will support you in your life together.
You are, “By your promises” planning to bind yourselves together in the presence of God and the congregation. This is a wonderful experience that you are planning for your family and friends. The following will help you with your planning.
Not only is the ceremony for family and friends, but God is pleased when you make it a service of worship that is centered in Christ and is dedicated to God’s glory. A couple desiring a church wedding wants more than a legal ceremony. Standing before the altar, a couple wants their wedding to be:
You are to be commended for planning to have your wedding in a church. What a wonderful witness! It is in the church that Christians live out much of their lives. Confession, forgiveness, prayer, hearing of the Word, offering of our gifts, serving—all of these take place among the people of God. You have chosen to begin your married life in that setting. Thank you! We wish you God’s richest blessings as you look forward to your wedding day!
FIRST STEPS
Before contacting the church, you are encouraged to look over the "Wedding Guidelines" and "Your Wedding Planner for Gethsemane Lutheran Church" that are found on this page.
THE RESERVATION
The date for your wedding is confirmed when you have met with the pastor and completed the Wedding & Building Use forms. A Building Rental Fee is applicable to non-members and a $50 deposit is requested at the time the reservation is made. Feel free to fill out the contact form below and we will email you to set up an initial meeting with the pastor. You may also contact the church office (715.684.2984) to set up the initial meeting with the pastor.
THE PRE-MARITAL COUNSELING
We want your marriage to be as happy as your wedding day. During the initial meeting with the pastor, we will schedule 2-3 sessions of pre-marriage counseling. The goal of pre-marriage counseling at Gethsemane is to help couples learn to communicate about issues and concerns that may crop up in a marriage as well as that may be brought into the marriage. I use a curriculum from Prepare and Enrich, which comes from a national recognized group, which is really good at figuring out what the strengths and growing edges of the couple are.
At the pre-marriage counseling, we will also plan together the wedding ceremony.
CONGRATULATIONS! We should begin with a word about our understanding of marriage. We believe that marriage is a lifelong, spiritual commitment. One of the most challenging and rewarding of human relationships, marriage is meant to be lived out in a community of faith where it can be supported and nurtured by others seeking to grow in love, forgiveness, justice, and compassion.
By choosing to be married at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, we invite and encourage you to be supported by and committed to this church community now and in the future. If you live out of town, we invite and encourage you to find a community that will support you in your life together.
You are, “By your promises” planning to bind yourselves together in the presence of God and the congregation. This is a wonderful experience that you are planning for your family and friends. The following will help you with your planning.
Not only is the ceremony for family and friends, but God is pleased when you make it a service of worship that is centered in Christ and is dedicated to God’s glory. A couple desiring a church wedding wants more than a legal ceremony. Standing before the altar, a couple wants their wedding to be:
- A statement of faith, that marriage is part of God’s plan
- A prayer for God’s blessing
- A celebration for the whole family and guests
- An expression of the couple's desire for God's lifelong presence in their home
You are to be commended for planning to have your wedding in a church. What a wonderful witness! It is in the church that Christians live out much of their lives. Confession, forgiveness, prayer, hearing of the Word, offering of our gifts, serving—all of these take place among the people of God. You have chosen to begin your married life in that setting. Thank you! We wish you God’s richest blessings as you look forward to your wedding day!
FIRST STEPS
Before contacting the church, you are encouraged to look over the "Wedding Guidelines" and "Your Wedding Planner for Gethsemane Lutheran Church" that are found on this page.
THE RESERVATION
The date for your wedding is confirmed when you have met with the pastor and completed the Wedding & Building Use forms. A Building Rental Fee is applicable to non-members and a $50 deposit is requested at the time the reservation is made. Feel free to fill out the contact form below and we will email you to set up an initial meeting with the pastor. You may also contact the church office (715.684.2984) to set up the initial meeting with the pastor.
THE PRE-MARITAL COUNSELING
We want your marriage to be as happy as your wedding day. During the initial meeting with the pastor, we will schedule 2-3 sessions of pre-marriage counseling. The goal of pre-marriage counseling at Gethsemane is to help couples learn to communicate about issues and concerns that may crop up in a marriage as well as that may be brought into the marriage. I use a curriculum from Prepare and Enrich, which comes from a national recognized group, which is really good at figuring out what the strengths and growing edges of the couple are.
At the pre-marriage counseling, we will also plan together the wedding ceremony.
We are in the midst of updating our policy. Please contact the church office, if you are looking for pricing guidelines or have other questions. The new policy will be up shortly. Thank you for your patience!
