The best London churches for a wedding
The right London church for your wedding depends on the room as much as the postcode. We look at churches as musicians do: how the building sounds, what the organ can do, how long the aisle is, and whether you can marry there at all.
Which London churches are best for a wedding? For the music, choose a church with a warm acoustic, a fine pipe organ, and room for your guest list. St Barnabas, Ealing has one of the best organs in London, in our experience (our founder is its Director of Music), and a Bösendorfer concert grand. In central London, St Bartholomew the Great, St Bride’s, Holy Trinity Sloane Square, and St George’s Hanover Square are among the best-known wedding churches. Check you can marry there before you fall for one.
Ubi Caritas by Ola Gjeilo, sung by a quintet of our singers. Hear more recordings.
What to look for in a wedding church
The acoustic, the organ, and a piano
Stone, height, and a long nave give a choir a bloom that a low modern room cannot. Too much echo blurs a reading, so listen to someone speak in the building as well as sing. The organ carries the processional, the hymns, and the recessional, so ask how many manuals it has and when it was last restored. A good piano gives you a second colour for a song at the signing.
The aisle and the size
A long aisle needs a processional that can stretch, such as Parry’s I Was Glad with choir and organ; a short one suits a hymn tune. Match the church to your numbers too. Eighty guests in a church built for several hundred will sound thin in the hymns, and a choir gives them a lead to follow.
Who may marry there
A Church of England wedding needs a legal connection to the parish. Under the Marriage Act 1949 and the Church of England Marriage Measure 2008, you qualify if either of you lives in the parish or has lived there for six months, was baptised or confirmed there, or has worshipped there for six months. A parent who lived or worshipped there for six months during your lifetime counts, and so does a parent or grandparent married there. With no connection, the Church of England says that going to the church’s usual services for six months creates one (who can marry in church). Some couples need a Common or Special Licence instead of banns; the vicar will tell you. Catholic churches set their own rules.
St Barnabas, Ealing: a hidden gem
St Barnabas stands on Pitshanger Lane in the Brentham garden suburb, the Church of England parish church of Pitshanger. Ernest Charles Shearman designed it; the foundation stone went down in 1914 and the church was consecrated in 1916. Inside you find a wide nave, three rose windows, and James Clark’s apse painting The Three Hierarchies of Angels. The church describes its surroundings as exceptionally quiet for a London church, and its acoustic as warm and generous.
The organ is the reason we put St Barnabas first. Gerard Smith built it, and S. S. Wesley played it when it was first heard in 1851. It came to St Barnabas from St Jude’s, Southsea. William Hill & Son rebuilt it in 1877, and Hill’s 45-stop scheme survives almost intact. Nicholson & Co. of Malvern restored it in the west gallery in 2011: three manuals and pedals, with gilded pipes beneath the west rose window. In our experience it is one of the best organs in London. The church also has a Bösendorfer nine-foot concert grand that once stood in the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios.
Our founder, Luca Wetherall, is Director of Music at St Barnabas, so we know the organ and the piano well.
What a choir and organist can do there
Before the service, the organist plays soft music while your guests arrive and take their seats. The choir comes in with the processional: Parry’s I Was Glad, written for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902, needs a strong organ, and the Hill organ has the power for it. The hymns go on full organ, with the choir leading your guests and a descant over the last verse. At the signing the singers can gather at the Bösendorfer for a song arranged for choir and piano, or sing Gjeilo’s Ubi Caritas unaccompanied. For the recessional the organ takes over with Widor’s Toccata or Mendelssohn’s Wedding March.
Weddings at St Barnabas are arranged through the parish office and the clergy. For choirs across the borough, see wedding and funeral choirs in Ealing.
Other London churches worth a look
We describe each from its own website; check dates and requirements with the church.
St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield
London’s oldest parish church has held weddings for almost 900 years. Without another qualifying connection, the church asks for six months of worship, two Sundays a month on average. It is in the City of London.
St Bride’s, Fleet Street
Wren’s tallest steeple is said to have inspired the first tiered wedding cake. The church marries couples at every scale, from a full church to a small gathering.
Holy Trinity Sloane Square
John Dando Sedding designed the church John Betjeman called the cathedral of the Arts and Crafts movement. Its east window, designed by Burne-Jones, is the largest window Morris & Company made. The four-manual J. W. Walker organ, rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 2012, has 71 speaking stops. Six months of worship there counts only with a place on the electoral roll. It is in Kensington and Chelsea.
St George’s Hanover Square
John James, one of Wren’s assistants, designed the church, consecrated in 1725. Handel had a pew there and was consulted on the organ. Parish residents marry after banns; others need to be on the electoral roll or have another qualifying connection. The church asks couples to contact its Organist and Director of Music early. It is in Westminster.
St Etheldreda’s, Ely Place
For a Catholic wedding in Holborn, at least one of you must be Catholic, and the church asks couples to email at least six months ahead.
St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey
St Paul’s Cathedral marries members of the Order of the British Empire, the Order of St Michael and St George, and the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor, holders of the British Empire Medal, members of the cathedral community, and the children of each. St Paul’s is not a parish church, so each wedding needs a Special Licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Westminster Abbey’s website does not set out who may marry there, so ask the Abbey. We sing at St Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey only with the church’s permission, as a separate ensemble.
Book the church first, then the choir
Secure the church and the date before anything else, including the reception venue. Then talk to the church’s director of music: ask whether visiting musicians may sing and play, and whether the church has a wedding choir of its own.
How many singers for the size of church
- Small Choir of four, £1,150 (£1,400 with an organist): a parish church seating up to about 200.
- Sextet, £1,600: a larger church, or a long nave where four voices would sound thin.
- Choir of eight, £2,000: a church for 300 guests or more, where I Was Glad and the hymns need the weight of eight voices.
Each covers up to two hours including a rehearsal, with no travel charge within Greater London and no VAT to add. Our pricing page lists every size, and our wedding choir page shows how we plan a service with you. For the running order, see wedding ceremony music, wedding organ music, and songs for the aisle; to compare choirs, read wedding choirs in London, and for the film’s piece, Ubi Caritas at a wedding.
Frequently asked questions
Can we marry in a London church we don’t attend?
Yes, if one of you has a qualifying connection with the parish: living there, baptism or confirmation there, a parent or grandparent married there, or six months of regular worship. With no connection, the Church of England says that going to the church’s usual services for six months creates one. Catholic churches set their own rules; at St Etheldreda’s, at least one of you must be Catholic.
Which London church has the best organ for a wedding?
In our experience, St Barnabas, Ealing has one of the best: an 1851 Gerard Smith organ, rebuilt by William Hill & Son in 1877 and restored by Nicholson & Co. of Malvern in 2011, with three manuals and 45 stops. Holy Trinity Sloane Square’s four-manual Walker organ, rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 2012, is another fine instrument.
How many singers do we need for a large London church?
For a church holding 300 guests, we suggest a choir of eight at £2,000, which has the weight for Parry’s I Was Glad and leads the hymns. A sextet at £1,600 suits a larger parish church, and a Small Choir of four at £1,150, or £1,400 with an organist, suits most churches seating up to about 200. There is no travel charge within Greater London.
Do you know the London churches and their organs?
We know St Barnabas, Ealing best: our founder, Luca Wetherall, is its Director of Music, so we know its organ and its Bösendorfer piano well. For any other church, we talk to its director of music before the day about the organ, access, and timings, and every price we quote includes a rehearsal.
Should we book the church or the choir first?
Book the church first. Fix the date with the parish, then ask its director of music whether visiting musicians may sing and play, and whether the church has a wedding choir of its own. Once the date is set, send us the church, the date, and your guest numbers, and we will suggest a choir size with a full price.
A choir for your London church
Tell us the church, the date, and about how many guests you expect. We will suggest a choir size for the building and send you a full price, with an organist included if you want one.
Text us on WhatsApp for the fastest reply, or email office@londonchoralservice.com.