Anglican churches face stiff competition as couples increasingly look to alternative venues for their weddings; Church makes choice easier as a means of outreach.

The Church of England agreed today to relax its rules on couples marrying in churches where they have little connection with the local parish, after hearing of the competition it faced from secular venues such as hotels.

Members of the General Synod, the church’s national assembly, supported a call for a rule that would allow marrying couples to choose from a greater range of churches for their ceremony.

Clergy would no longer have to apply for a special licence for couples with a “qualifying connection” to one church who want to marry at another church within the same group of parishes.

The Rt Rev John Packer, Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, who proposed the rule, said: “It is surprising how many people want to get married in churches at the end of muddy lanes surrounded by cows, in a warmer church, or at time like this, a cooler church, churches which fit the occasion, and where the parish priest can work with a couple and their family to create the right ambience.”

The Ven Jan McFarlane, archdeacon of Norwich, said she had seen “queues” of people at wedding shows hoping to get married in hotels. “If we say no for whatever reason, we turn people away. We have lost them because they have 101 other places to go.”

She also implied that a successful wedding could lead to more permanent ties between the church and the family. “If we welcome them and their family and friends, and they have a magnificent day, then who knows where it will lead?”

Read More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/13/anglicans-church-england-marry-choice-parish-links