Congratulations on your engagement and decision to get married. God blessed marriage by officiating the first marriage between Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Then Jesus honored marriage by performing His first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.
You have asked for a church wedding. You could have chosen to elope. You could have gone to a justice of the peace, or to a Las Vegas wedding chapel. You could have decided to live together without getting married. You have done the right thing. You are seeking to start your life together with God's blessing and continued help.
You are asking for God's blessing and approval. The Bible is God's Word. It is the owner's manual for life and marriage, as well as God's blueprint for eternal salvation. God has instituted marriage. He has set up certain rules, principles, and guidelines for building a successful marriage and home that will last a lifetime.
You have asked your pastor to marry you. A pastor serves as God's representative in your wedding. It is his solemn duty and privilege to counsel, warn, instruct, and encourage you through God's Word toward a wholesome God-honoring marriage.
We are in a cultural crisis in marriage. More than 50% of marriages today end in divorce, or separation. Many couples in love deny that marital problems can happen to them. They assume that any differences will fade with time, or will not be important in the long run, or that they will be able to change the other person after marriage. This is not true. The harsh reality is that 25% of all couples are separated or divorced within the first three years of marriage.
The truth is that many Americans spend more time on their hobbies than they do on their marital relationship. It is easier to get married than to get a driver's license. There is less scrutiny over a marriage than there is to buy a car or take out a mortgage on a house.
We require premarital counseling for all church weddings. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to measure the predictability of marital success. It is possible to prepare for a marriage that will last. Many premarital questionnaires have been developed that can predict with 80% accuracy which couples will divorce during the first three years of marriage. Premarital counseling is part of the process of avoiding unnecessary conflicts and divorces.
Please see our Premarital Counseling Policies and Procedures for details. A Wedding License is required by the State of Pennsylvania. You must request and secure a wedding license within 60 days of the wedding service and provide the minister with that document at the rehearsal. Wedding licenses may be obtained at the Mercer County Court House.
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