Is a church wedding 'open to the public?'

[mrsklamc]

On another thread it was mentioned that the church part of a wedding is open to the public. I have never heard of such a thing. Although, there was a woman at my wedding that no one has any clue who she was. So I was just curious how common this was.

 

[tiggger1]

I live in Mass and where I got married it was open to the public. I was told it was because churches always have their doors open....I had people come to the church who were not invited... ( only because I didnt think they wanted to come)

 

[mrsklamc]

Interesting. I love my church but the doors are definitely locked when something isn't going on.

 

[kaligal]

I think the church is always available to those who need it, so, yeah, people who are in need of solace or peace or whatever could enter the church.

The event itself isn't for the public, but the church is.

But I wouldn't go crashing someone's wedding.

Not too many people want to go to some stranger's wedding, lol. Heck, many people at each wedding don't really want to be there, but go out of obligation or kindness.

 

[mrsklamc]

But I wouldn't go crashing someone's wedding.

Not too many people want to go to some stranger's wedding.

Well, in the other thread it was someone uninvited, but not a stranger. I'd just never heard of it.

 

[kaligal]

Well, in the other thread it was someone uninvited, but not a stranger. I'd just never heard of it.

Well, that is certainly odd. I didn't see the thread/post(s) you mention.

Is that a case of rude people not knowing (or not caring) whether or not they're invited?

Gotta frown on that! But I suppose there isn't much to be done.

If you want a totally private wedding, you have to rent some place and hire people to keep the uninvited out, I guess.

 

[Disney Doll]

A church is a public building.
The wedding ceremony is therefore technically open to the public.

Now, is someone who doesn't know you going to "crash" your wedding? Well, that's doubtful save for the rare little old lady who maybe just likes to see weddings. And if there were those little old ladies at my wedding, I'll be honest I didn't notice them and they didn't ruin my day in any way.

I understand that the guest list has to be cut somewhere, so I am never offended if I get "cut". But I have known people getting married where I wasn't invited to the reception but wanted to see them get married. I went to the church. I had people in church at my wedding who did not get invited but they knew me or know my parents and therefore wanted to see me get married. I assume they also understood the guest list dilemma and I was flattered that they cared enough about me to come to the church anyway.

Neither the bride nor groom "owns" the church, therefore has no veto power as to who can or cannot enter it.

 

[mrsklamc]

This is the thread I heard about it on:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2923842

 

[descovy]

Depends on the church.

At the church I was married at (ELCA Lutheran if it matters) we were told that a wedding, funeral, etc... could not be closed from the congregation.

AFAIK no one else came to the wedding, but if a member of the church had come in to attend, they could not be turned away.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

It's not unusual at all in larger cities anyway, for people to watch a wedding to which they did not receive a formal invitation.

No different than at WDW where people stop to watch all the time.

 

[mrsklamc]

A church is a public building.
The wedding ceremony is therefore technically open to the public.

Neither the bride nor groom "owns" the church, therefore has no veto power as to who can or cannot enter it.

Not at our church. If someone showed up at a wedding and was not wanted there by the couple, we would call the police and have them removed if they were not willing to leave on their own.

Our church is open to the public if there is church programming going on, but weddings are by invitation.

 

[descovy]

Interesting. I love my church but the doors are definitely locked when something isn't going on.

At my current church, the doors are locked by keypad. If you are a member, you can unlock it by entering your phone number. I have to admit, it has come in handy volunteering for events, and even when I left my purse behind.

I guess they figured in this day and age they do have to lock the doors, but still wanted a way to make it accessible to the congregation.

I've been to lots of small town country churches where the doors are never locked. Even a self-led tour of antique churches where you had a map and toured them on your own time.

 

[Andtototoo]

A church is a public building.
The wedding ceremony is therefore technically open to the public.


Neither the bride nor groom "owns" the church, therefore has no veto power as to who can or cannot enter it.

I'm not sure a church is a public building. It is not owned by the public. It is owned by a board of trustees or a diocese. Most churches are incorporated under the laws of their state as a private entity.

Just as a mall or a store or a restaurant or a bar or a movie theater are not public buildings -- you can be evicted from any of them if you do not behave according to their wishes, you cannot protest inside the them or on their property. When I worked in a church, we unfortunately had to kick people off the premises all the time (for panhandling, sleeping in the pews. peeing on the floor, etc -- which led to us locking our doors except for Sunday services).

We also did not allow just anyone to come in and use our church for their wedding -- it was not open to the public for weddings. Churches are allowed to and do make restrictions on who can use church property. In most cases you must be a church member in good standing to hold your wedding in a church -- that is very much the norm in US churches. We regularly turned down requests to use our church as if it were a public building open to all comers for events. So, again, not seeing that a church is a public building.

While the bride and groom do not "own" the church, in most cases they are required to pay a fee which is seen as a rental fee. It may be that they would have as much right to limit attendance as they would if they rented a banquet hall.

 

[Jennasis]

It is my understanding that many (most?) churches consider a wedding a worship service and worship is open to all who wish to attend. It is also my understanding that many (most?) people would find it odd/rude for those not invited to come to their wedding ceremony.

I can't imagine why a stranger would want to go watch someone get married.

 

[MIGrandma]

I'm really not sure if churches around here would be "open to the public" for weddings or not, but personally I don't think they should be. Especially if the guest list is large, I feel it wouldn't be right if an invited guest couldn't find a seat because of people just walking in off the street and sitting down to watch.

DH and I were married in a college chapel and there were empty pews in the back, and the doors were not locked so I suppose people could come in if they would have wanted to. There was a woman who came and before the wedding started she was in the vestibule and asked my aunt if "so and so" was there and my aunt said she didn't think the person had been invited, so the woman turned, and with her gift still in her hands, she walked out. To this day we have no idea who it was.

 

[Pixiedust34]

Interesting question. Ideally, churches would be open 24/7 for those who would like to visit. Realstically, crime rates in some neighborhoods (mine included) dictate locked doors when not in use is a wise policy.

That said......although a wedding is a religious ceremony, I think it should be a private ceremony and and invitation should be secured from the bride and groom to attend.

I have heard of church weddings open to the whole church, usually followed by a cookie and punch reception in the church itself.

 

[declansdad]

A church is a public building.
The wedding ceremony is therefore technically open to the public.

A church is not a public building, it is a private building that is open to the public on certain occasions.

Here when you have a church wedding, you are renting the church. Therefore, it is not open to the public during the wedding.

 

[Planogirl]

What kind of individual would want to sit through a stranger's wedding? I don't think that a church should just be open to anyone at any time particularly since the wedding party pays for the use.

 

[Chelley00]

I work for a church, and many times fill in for the wedding liason. A church is not a public building. It is considered private property because they are owned not by the state, but by (and this depends on the denomination) trustees, administrative council, conference etc. We can have people thrown off the property or out of the building at any time (not that we have ever or would ever out of the building, but we have had to have "campers" leave leave the wooded property before)

The church is usually open, however, not all rooms at all times. If there is something going on (class, wedding, funeral etc) and someone uninvited shows up, there are other rooms in the building they are invited to use.

 

[Coconut36]

Our church (as do several (but not all) Catholic church here) has a small sanctuary/chapel area you could go to pray if you wanted. It would be to the side or closed off (depending on the church set up). The other part of the church would be used for something like a wedding.

I think it is rude and wrong to crash a wedding or attending something you are not invited to. I do not believe because it is held at a church it means anyone is free to attend the service. The intent is that it is for invited guests only.

Churches as I understand it are not public buildings..they are private buildings and private property.