Wedding Policy // Member

MEMBER

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CHURCH WEDDINGS

North Cleveland Baptist Church

Cleveland, Tennessee

Because the buildings and grounds of the North Cleveland Baptist Church exist for the glory and worship of God, the policies and procedures listed here have been adopted by the membership of the church to seek to eliminate any misunderstanding and to seek to insure that all things will be pleasing in God’s sight. It is the belief of the North Cleveland Baptist Church that a church wedding is a sacred worship service as much as any other worship service conducted in the facilities of the church.

These policies and procedures are given in order that the church might be of maximum service to the bride, groom and their families and friends.

I. GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS

A. Any church member or a member of their immediate family (parents, children, step-children, or grandchildren) desiring to use our sanctuary and/or other facilities for a wedding or wedding reception shall first get a copy of these policies and procedures along with a “Wedding Application Form” from the church office. Upon completion of this form, it will be returned to the church office and if there is no conflict on the church calendar for either the wedding date or the rehearsal, the requested dates will be entered into the calendar following approval of the Wedding Committee.

B. In the event that damage is done to church facilities or equipment, the parties making the reservations for the use of the facilities will be responsible. A damage deposit of $50 will be paid to the church office one week prior to the wedding. If no damage occurs, the money will be refunded.

C. The bride or her family shall be responsible for making these policies and procedures known to a visiting minister, florist, photographer, caterer and all members of the bridal party.

II. CATERING

The bride shall be responsible to arrange for the caterer, dishwasher and any other help necessary and shall be responsible to pay these directly for their services.

The caterer or person in charge of the reception shall be responsible to restore all kitchen facilities to a clean and orderly state immediately after use.

III. DECORATIONS

» Arrangements for moving any pulpit furniture can be made with the church custodian during his normal working hours. Any other changes or adjustments concerning the physical facilities of the sanctuary besides the pulpit furniture will need to be cleared through the Building and Grounds Committee.
» During the Christmas and Easter seasons, none of the decorations shall be moved or rearranged. One exception: the communion table can be moved if the steps are being placed in the sanctuary.
» When pew candles and or candelabras are used, a designated family member will be responsible for the setting up and taking down of the equipment. They must contact a member of the Flower Committee for instructions.
» When the church owned tablecloths are used, it is the responsibility of the bride or her family to have them laundered by a laundry facility designated by the church. The tablecloths must be returned to the church within one week of the wedding.

E. No nails, pins or tacks shall be used in furniture equipment or finish trim. Only dripless candles shall be used. There will be a fee to cover the cost of the candle fillers. However, since most unity candles are not dripless, the floor should be protected from wax. If wax does get on the carpet, the family using the facility will be responsible for paying professional carpet cleaners to remove the wax. Any tape used should be of the kind that would not damage any paint or finish.

» Air conditioning and heating will be turned on only at a reasonable time and temperature before the scheduled event. Florist should take this into consideration when planning delivery time for floral arrangements.

IV. MISCELLANEOUS

A. Arrangements for having the church open for the rehearsal shall be made with the church office in the event that a member of the church staff is not participating in the wedding.

B. Any switches, thermostats or control mechanism must be seen after by the custodian, member of the church staff or authorized operator. Organist will be responsible for turning the organ off.

C. Any adjustments or special arrangements regarding sound equipment will be cleared through a member of the church staff or authorized operator. If a sound technician is needed, it must be one from North Cleveland Baptist Church who is trained on the church’s equipment. No microphones, stands, or cables shall be moved except by sound technician. See FEES schedule

D. The wedding custodian shall be paid an honorarium for her/his part in seeing that the buildings are cleaned and locked following the ceremony and reception. See FEES schedule

E. Because of the reverence of the wedding service, no flash photography shall occur during the ceremony and all video recorders shall remain stationary.

F. While realizing that throwing rice and decorating a car are traditional parts of a wedding, we ask that bird seed and/or bubbles be used and only OUTSIDE the building.

» Conduct should always be fitting a church environment, therefore, we ask that there be no inappropriate behavior such as: cursing, dancing, smoking, or drinking of alcoholic beverages in any of the facilities of the church. No rehearsal or wedding will be conducted when any member of the wedding party is under the influence of alcoholic beverages.

» Children should be supervised at all times and are expected to treat the buildings and musical instruments with respect.

» Because your wedding is considered a Worship Service, you are strongly encouraged to select music featuring the sacredness of marriage. If you have a favorite song that is meaningful to you but not appropriate for Christian worship, then you may want to use it at the rehearsal dinner or the reception.

» If an organist is used for the wedding ceremony, they must be approved by the North Cleveland Baptist Church Minister of Worship.

» The sanctuary will comfortably seat 300. With the balcony utilized it will seat approximately 350. When the annex is used for the reception, one or both sides of the moveable walls may be opened.

» No weddings that utilize the sanctuary and any other church building are to be scheduled after 5:00 PM. Weddings using the Sanctuary only may be scheduled no later than 6:00 PM. This will allow adequate clean up time necessary to prepare for Sunday activities.

V. FEES FOR USE OF FACILITIES

FEE SCHEDULE

Sanctuary - - - - - - - - - - No Charge

Annex & Hall - - - - - - - No Charge

Wedding Custodian - - - $200.00 (there will be an extra $50 charge

if choir chairs are moved)

Sound Technician - - - - $125.00

The Sound Technician will be responsible for securing the sanctuary following the rehearsal.

* The fees for the wedding custodian and the sound technician should be made payable to the ones performing the service and must be given to the financial secretary at least one week prior to the wedding.