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WEDDING GUIDELINES of
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson, Pastor
as of July 21, 2003

Olivet United Methodist Church
in Galena, Maryland

and Mt Olivet United Methodist Church
in Warwick, Maryland

I like to officiate at weddings. So if you are not already
a member of another congregation and you want to have
a wedding ceremony in one of the churches I serve, or in another
location near Warwick or Galena, Maryland
please give me a call at 410-648-5212.

Dear friends,

Congratulations on your engagement! Getting married is
one of life's happiest and best events. I am so glad that
you have asked me to conduct your wedding! Performing
weddings is one of the parts of pastoral ministry that I
enjoy most! I look forward to working with you and seeing
our friendship grow because of this experience.

It is my sincere desire to help you plan a wedding that
is 1) distinctively Christian and 2) distinctively you!
I feel that the best weddings do both these things well.
If we can plan a service that glorifies Jesus Christ and
reflects your unique style and personality, then I will be
very happy indeed.

Some of the following material may not apply to your
situation. For instance, intimate ceremonies attended by
just a handful of people may not require a logistical meeting
or rehearsal. A wedding held on the beach or at a private
home will present a whole different set of problems to be
solved. The key to having a successful wedding is good
planning. I want your wedding to be a success. That is why
I have written this document. It is intended to be used as a
tool to help you plan. Please feel free to call me at 410-648-5212
when you have questions!

In Christ's love,
Larry Jameson

Items to accomplish before the wedding:

1) Begin to attend Sunday worship at Olivet, Mt Olivet UMC,
or another Christian Church either Catholic or Protestant near you.

2) Contact Pastor Larry Jameson to start the process
of getting a date on the church calendar. Home 410-648-5212

3) Contact Organist to reserve date on her/his calendar

4) Attend three Pre-Marital Interviews (about an hour each)
in Pastor's Study or in another location
OR
attend the Alpha Course at Olivet & Mt. Olivet and just one interview

5) Attend Logistical Meeting at wedding site (optional)

6) Get your Wedding License
from Cecil County Courthouse in Elkton for Mt Olivet in Warwick
or from Chestertown for Olivet UMC in Galena.
Give the license to Larry Jameson at least one week before wedding

7) Attend Rehearsal at wedding site (optional)

CHURCH ATTENDANCE
You and your betrothed need to attend a Christian church
at least a few times in the months before your wedding.
If you truly want a Christian marriage, you will give
evidence of that desire by coming to Church to worship
God, learn more about the Bible, and fellowship with
other Christians.

I want to deal with everyone in good faith and I expect
the best from you. Therefore I will not keep track of
your attendance or refuse to marry you if you do not
make a quota. I simply want you to come to church and
be challenged in your commitment to Jesus Christ.

PREMARITAL INTERVIEWS
The three Premarital Interviews last about an hour each.
They take usually place in the Pastor's study,
but I often enjoy making this a lunch meeting, sometimes in a
local restaurant, sometimes at the church with a sack lunch.

Our first interview will cover:
a. practical considerations, dates, times, and
church requirements
b. your faith background
c. where you are from, and how you met

The second interview will cover:
d. what is a Christian
e. the words used in the wedding ceremony

The third interview will cover:
d. logistical preparations for the rehearsal
e. details, details

If you want or need counseling on a deeper level I can help you
find a good Christian marriage counselor. What you will
get from me will be an interview with a Pastor who
really cares. I will do my best to challenge you in
your faith and help you plan a service of Christian
marriage that will compliment your personality and
values.

Those couples who take the Alpha Course offered by
Olivet and Mt. Olivet Churches can waive the first two
pre-marital interviews. The Alpha Course is a great way
to prepare for marriage! 

LOGISTICAL MEETING (optional)
If your wedding is at all large you should schedule additional
logistical meeting with the Pastor. The logistical
meeting is an opportunity to sit down and plan out the
details of the wedding ceremony (such as what comes 1st,
2nd, and so forth). This meeting will make the
rehearsal much easier because almost all of the detail
decisions will be behind you. The day before your
wedding is not the time to increase your stress level
with a lot of detail decisions. This meeting is for the
bride and groom but is very often attended by just the
bride and a close woman friend of her's. The logistical
meeting is not required but highly suggested for larger
weddings. To schedule a logistical meeting just call
the Pastor and make an appointment. Plan to spend about
45 minutes to an hour and come prepared with pencil &
paper and questions you need to have answers for.

WEDDING LICENSE
Give your marriage license to Pastor Jameson as soon as you can.
Please bring this documentation, along with checks to the church
at least one week before the wedding. Earlier is better!

Our churches are located in two different counties in Maryland.
You need a marriage license from
Cecil County for Mt Olivet UMC in Warwick,
or a license from Kent County for Olivet UMC in Galena.
Make sure you call the government office first before you go in.
Find out what you will need to apply for the license,
and find out what days they are open and the hours of operation.

Cecil County
Circuit Clerk
108 Court House
Elkton, MD 21921
(410) 996-5318


Kent County Circuit
Court Clerk
County Courthouse
Chestertown, MD 21620
(410) 778-7460

WEDDING REHEARSAL (optional)
The best place for a rehearsal is at the actual site of
where the wedding will take place. If the wedding is
at the church you will need to call the Pastor and
get your rehearsal date and time on the church calendar.
Most of the rehearsals I have seen take place at 6 or
6:30 P.M. This gives folks who work enough time to get
there and still have enough time for a dinner to follow.

REHEARSAL DINNER / WEDDING RECEPTION (optional)
If you want to invite my wife (Susan) and me to attend a
rehearsal dinner and/or wedding reception, please send
an invitation. We need to have advance notice, and if
we have not been invited ahead of time, we will probably
have other plans. If you are planning a dinner (formal
or informal) and you are reserving seats for the wedding
party and family members, please don't forget the Pastor
and his wife in your plans! This may sound like an odd
thing, but very often my wife and I are overlooked when
it comes to reserved seating. Please don't put us at
the head table. Just seat us with some non-smoking
family members if that is at all possible.

If you want to invite our church organist to attend a
rehearsal dinner and/or wedding reception, please send
her/him an invitation at the church address.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Please make checks payable to the person providing the service.
Do not make out a check to the church for payment to
the custodian, organist, or pastor.
Please give all the checks to the pastor a week before the wedding,
along with your wedding license.

Olivet UMC in Galena

Suggested honorarium for pastor: $100
Fee for organist: $50
Fee for custodian: $50

Mt Olivet UMC in Warwick

Suggested honorarium for pastor: $100
Fee for organist: $50
Fee for custodian: $50

ADDITIONS TO THE SERVICE (optional)
Your wedding ceremony should reflect your personality
and style. It is very appropriate that you should
consider adding a few extra items to the service which
will involve your friends and loved ones. Most people
have never been asked to light a candle in church or
read a verse of Scripture, but they would be delighted
if you asked them. Doing this makes the entire worship
experience more personal and much more exciting for
those who attend. Here are some examples of simple
things you can invite others to do in the service.

Light family candles (as part of Unity Candle ceremony)
Read a Scripture verse
Read a poem
Tell a personal story (with or without notes)
Sing a song (solo, duet, trio, what have you)
Play an instrumental piece of music
Make a presentation of a symbolic gift (such as a rose,
a Bible, a note of thanks)

It doesn't take a lot of effort to give your ceremony
that little extra touch which will make it stand out
from the crowd. I like it when couples use their
imagination when planning their wedding.

ALCOHOL & TOBACCO (not allowed in church)
Under no circumstances is the consumption of alcohol or
tobacco allowed in the church. Please tell everyone in your
wedding party that no one may smoke or drink in any part
of the Church (this includes the offices, rest-rooms,
church hall, and classrooms).

EXAMPLE WEDDING SCRIPT
check out this example
The words of the wedding
ceremony can also be found on page 864 of the United
Methodist Hymnal.

GUEST ORGANISTS
It is recommended that you invite the church organist to play.
Other alternatives include piano, other guest musicians,
or recorded music. If the church organist is not available the pastor can
provide names of qualified musicians.

Olivet UMC in Galena, MD -- Ellen Walters 410-648-6862
Mt. Olivet UMC in Warwick, MD -- Dottie Price 410-275-0052

GUEST CLERGY / OTHER CHURCHES
If a member of your family or a close friend is a clergy person,
and you want to invite them to your wedding,
by far the most simple and correct thing is to invite them as you would any other guest.
Send them an invitation and save them a dance at the reception.
If for some special reason, you have a desire for another clergy person to
participate in the wedding ceremony, the appropriate thing is to check
with Pastor Jameson first.
If you want Pastor Jameson to perform a wedding at another church
(other than Mt. Olivet UMC in Warwick, MD or Olivet UMC in Galena, MD)
the answer would probably be no up front. But exceptional circumstances happen,
so every request will carefully considered.
I gladly perform weddings (on or off the church campus) for persons in or near
the geographical region of Warwick and Galena
who are not already related to another congregation.

If you are a member of a church which I have previously served,
please note that I love you and respectfully decline the invitation
to come back and perform your wedding. I want you to get to know and trust
your current pastor and give him or her the chance to be there for you.
I will gladly attend your wedding as a guest, sit in the pew,
and dance a jig at your reception! When the Bishop moves me to a new parish,
our relationship changes and we remain good friends, but no longer pastor & parishioner.

ONLY ONE WEDDING PER DAY
The Pastor will not perform more than one wedding on the same day.

NO WEDDINGS ON THESE DAYS

Please don't ask for a wedding on the day before Easter or Christmas
because I'm way too busy.
Christmas is always on December 25, so Christmas Eve is December 24.

Easter falls on the following dates:

03-27-2005
04-16-2006
04-08-2007
03-23-2008
04-12-2009
04-04-2010
04-24-2011
04-08-2012
03-31-2013
04-20-2014
04-05-2015
 

RICE (not allowed)
No rice, confetti, or birdseed is to be thrown inside or
outside the church. It causes a mess, is very difficult
for our custodian to clean up, and the birdseed attracts
pigeons which destroy our building. The practice of
throwing rice has pagan origins, the symbolism of which
runs counter to Christian teaching. If you must, please
throw rice (or birdseed) in a location other than the church.
Soap bubbles (outdoors) are OK.

SANCTUARY FURNITURE (don't move it)
Do not take it upon yourself to move any furniture in
the church sanctuary. The Pastor has the authority to
move furniture or have it moved, but others do not have
this ability.

You may reserve some pews for family members but take
care that you do not damage the pews in the process.
Thumb tacks, nails, and staples are prohibited.
Cellophane tape will damage our wood finish so please
don't use it. We have found that floral wire works
well, as does good old fashioned string or cloth ribbon.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Your wedding ceremony will mean more to you if you
choose the Scripture lesson(s) that is/are read. I recommend
that you have a friend or relative come to the lecturn
and read the Scripture. But if that is not possible, I
will be happy to read your Scripture lesson(s). You may
choose one of the following or pick your own.
Genesis 1.26-28,31a ; Song of Solomon 2.10-14,16a,8.6-7;
Isaiah 43.1-7, 55.10-13, 61.10-62.3, 63.7-9 ; Matthew
5.1-10, 7.21-27, 22.35-40 ; Mark 2.18-22, 10.42-45 ;
John 2.1-11, 15.9-17 ; Romans 12.1-2, 12.9-18 ;
1 Corinthians 13 ; 2 Corinthians 5.14-17 ; Ephesians
2.4-10, 4.1-6, 4.25-5.2 ; Philippians 2.1-12, 4.4-9 ;
Colossians 3.12-17 ; 1 John 3.18-24, 4.7-16 ; Revelation
19.1, 19.5-9a

UNITY CANDLES (optional)
I like unity candles and I enjoy seeing them used.
Please visit a local Christian bookstore to acquire unity candles.

The average unity candle set is comprised of a single
marriage candle (usually a pillar type, shaped like a
cylinder) and two family candles (usually tapered
candles set in standard candlestick holders).

The manner in which unity candles are used varies, but
here is the way things usually go:

The unity candles are placed on the Lord's Table
(usually at the rehearsal the night before the wedding).
When the mothers (or other family representatives)
of the groom and bride are escorted to their seats,
they stop by the Lord's Table and light their family candle.
Later on in the ceremony, after the vows have been spoken,
the pastor invites the bride and groom to light the central
marriage candle with the two family candles.

WEDDING INVITATIONS
Here is the official name and location information
for helping your guests find the church.
You may use this information for invitations,
but please note
the Post Office will not deliver mail to either one
of these church street addresses.
We receive mail by P.O. Box only.

NAME OF PASTOR

Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson, Pastor


MAILING ADDRESS

Olivet & Mt Olivet UMC
P.O. Box 107
Galena, Maryland 21635


LOCATION OF CHURCHES (not for mail)

Olivet United Methodist Church
115 South Main Street
Galena, Maryland 21635
 

directions to Olivet UMC in Galena

Mt Olivet United Methodist Church
131 Main Street
Warwick, Maryland 21912
 

directions to Mt. Olivet UMC in Warwick

PHOTOGRAPHY
Please give a copy of the attached Wedding Guidelines
for Photographers and Videographers to anyone you ask to
take pictures at the wedding.

After the wedding service it is entirely appropriate to
recreate the event in the sanctuary. That is a good
time for parents, family, and friends to pose up front
with the bride and groom.

If you wish, we can allow a photographer to set up in
the fellowship hall before the ceremony and take family
pictures at that time. This can free up the time spent
between the church and the wedding reception.

VIDEO (optional)
Anyone who desires to operate a video recorder must be
briefed by the pastor in advance of the wedding. The
Pastor is the worship leader. It is well within the
authority of the Pastor to control the circumstances of
those who are given special permission to record a
service. If the video operator comes in late and has
not talked to the pastor, he or she will be denied
access.

It is highly advised that you find someone who knows
what they are doing, who is well practiced to work the
video recorder. For instance, we have seen many wedding
videos spoiled due to undercharged batteries.

Please give a copy of my Wedding Guidelines for
Photographers and Videographers to anyone you ask to
videotape the wedding.

WEDDING GUIDELINES
for Photographers and Videographers
by Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson, Pastor
*************************************************************

Dear Photographer and/or Videographer,

Welcome to Olivet & Mt Olivet United Methodist Churches!
I have written down these guidelines so that you will know in
advance what we expect from you before, during, and after the
wedding ceremony.

A church wedding is a religious worship service where a
bride and groom exchange sacred vows before God. When we
worship God in church, we want our focus to be on God, and
not on looking good for the camera. I want you to know
quite clearly when the wedding ceremony begins and ends.
Being clear on this will help both you and me.

Simply put:

The ceremony starts when Pastor begins speaking.

The ceremony ends when the bride and groom kiss.

During the actual wedding ceremony I do not allow flash
or other camera lights to be used. During the ceremony I
expect you to stay in one place and quietly record the event.
During the actual ceremony you should keep a low profile and
not draw any attention to yourself. I do not want camera
motors or clicking sounds to interfere with the ceremony.

During the events leading up to the ceremony you are
free to use artificial lights and you are free to move
around. For instance, it is perfectly alright for you to
move around the sanctuary in order to photograph the wedding
party as they walk in. And when the couple kiss, you may
take flash photos, and/or begin to move around again.

do not use artificial light (flash or other) during ceremony
do not move any church furniture, or candles
do not stand on pews without first removing your shoes
do not smoke or use any tobacco products on church property
do not bring any alcohol on church property
do not move from one spot during the ceremony
do not make any noise during the ceremony
do not show up late and expect to be allowed to set up

do come to the rehearsal and get idea of the schedule
do come early to talk to me and to set up your equipment

In Christ's love, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Jameson

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04/12/04