Wedding Plans  

Where do we begin?

     Your first contact will be with our church office, where procedures for scheduling weddings will be explained.  A date for the wedding will be scheduled on the calendar. Many people put their wedding date on our calendar a year in advance. You want to call the church office as soon a possible.  About eight weeks before the date of the wedding, the first counseling appointment will be scheduled.

Some important meetings

    You will meet once with the wedding hostess and twice with the pastor.  The first meeting is with the wedding hostess and will consist of getting some general information about the wedding day and the wedding party. She will help you in the preparation, planning and rehearsal of your wedding.  She is well versed in answering questions about proper wedding procedures at Zion and will go over the fee schedule.

Also at this session you will both fill out a "Prepare/Enrich" questionnaire, a set of five inventories that examine major relationship issues a couple may experience.  At this first session, you will need to bring a check for $35 made out to "Prepare/Enrich" to be mailed with your completed inventories.  This session will last about an hour.

The next two counseling sessions with the pastor should be scheduled through Carole, at the church office. Please call her. These session will be at least two weeks after the session with the wedding hostess to allow the questionaire to be scored by Prepare/Enrich and returned to Zion. Please allow 90 minutes for each of these two sessions.

The rehearsal

    The rehearsal date and time, usually scheduled on the Friday before the wedding, will be determined in the meetings with the pastor.  It is important that the wedding license be brought to the rehearsal.

The wedding ceremony

    The wedding ceremony is a worship service, part of the liturgy of the Lutheran Church.  The pastor of Zion Lutheran officiates at a weddings.  Other pastors may assist.  The length of the service is about thirty minutes.  The service includes prayers, scripture lessons, a short homily, exchanging of vows and rings, and music.  If you need an organist, you will need to contact Zion's organist directly.  The soloist is of the couple's choosing.  It is best to share the music selections with the organist to see where they are placed in the worship service.

     Secular composition may be used prior or after the service, but music during the liturgy should reflect the Christian nature of the ceremony.  If a soloist is desired, music selections must be given to the organist at least one week before the rehearsal.

Church facilities

    Our air-conditioned sanctuary seats 175 quite comfortably.  The aisle is about fifty feet long.  Altar candles are available.  A "unity candlestand" is available for the wedding candle that you supply.  Since the church is a house of worship,  all religious symbols will remain in their place.  The parament (the coverings on the altar and the pulpit), are of the proper color for the season of the church year.  You can see what color they are for the date of your 2007 wedding in the table at the bottom of this page.

Some guidelines for all weddings

• Please understand that alcoholic beverages are not permitted on the property.
• Since the church is a public building, smoking is not permitted.
• For safety reasons, the throwing of rice, bird seed, flowers and the like is not allowed.
• Pictures may be posed for before and after the service. Available-light photography or video taping is permitted during the service as long as the photographer does not intrude into the service. No flash photography is allowed during the service. 
• Rooms are available at the church for the wedding party to dress.
• We ask you to assume responsibility for the loss of valuables left in the dressing area or restrooms. Please do not leave your valuables unguarded. 

Cast of characters:

Administrative Assistant:	Carole Crouch	419-433-4711
Wedding Hostess:	Leslie Foxworth	419-433-4955
Organist:	Judith Burrows	419-625-4854
Pastor:	Raymond H. Vance	419-433-4711

  

Wedding Fee Schedule

    The following fee schedule has been adopted by the Church Council.  Payment in full is due two weeks prior to the wedding rehearsal.  Please make a check for the  basic wedding fee payable to Zion Lutheran Church.  Please include in the memo section of the check the name and date of the wedding.  Thanks!

    All weddings must include the services of the Pastor, the Wedding Hostess and the Custodian.

    If one of the persons being married, or their parent, is a voting member of Zion Lutheran, Huron,
the Member Basic Wedding Fee is:

The Non-members Basic Wedding Fee is:

Use of the  Building	$100
Pastor	$200
Hostess	$150
Custodian	$75
Total	$525

Organist

    If you choose to hire the church organist, the organist will provide you with a separate fee schedule.  Organist  payments are made directly to the organist and are not included in the Basic Wedding Fee.

Fellowship Hall

    Use of the fellowship hall for a reception has a fee based on the number of persons attending.  Please ask the wedding hostess about this sliding scale and the guidelines for the use of the facility if you are interested.

Liturgical Colors for 2006-2007

The following colors are on the paraments on the day of your wedding:

Blue	Advent	December 3 - December 24, 2006
White	Christmas Season	December 25, 2006 - January 6, 2007
Green	Epiphany	January 7 - February 20, 2007
Purple	Lent	February 21 - April 7, 2007
White	Easter Season	April 8 - May 26, 2007
Red	Pentecost Day	May 27, 2007
Green	Sundays After Pentecost	May 28 - December 1, 2007
Blue	Advent	December 2 - December 24, 2007

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

 930 South Main Street
 Huron, Ohio 44839
              419-433-4711