Weddings at St Ursula's Church Berne, Switzerland A Church of the Anglican Communion, welcoming all who seek the Lord Jesus Christ
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St Ursula's Church in Berne is the English-speaking Anglican (Church of England) church for Berne and the surrounding area, which includes quite a lot of Switzerland and even a small part of France. We conduct weddings in and beyond our surrounding area, in English or, provided a bilingual minister is available, in English and German (and, at least in theory, in English and French).

Before conducting a wedding, we need to have a completed booking form with full details about the couple concerned. Whenever possible, we would expect to meet the couple beforehand to talk about marriage and about the wedding ceremony. (Exceptionally, this might be possible by email.)

Only civil weddings are recognized in Switzerland, that is to say that only a civil registrar can register a wedding at a Register Office (Zivilstandsamt/Office de l'État Civil); however, many couples have a religious ceremony afterwards, not necessarily on the same day, or even in the same month. Most people regard the religious ceremony as their 'wedding day', and see the Zivilstandsamt only as a necessary civil preliminary. It is of course possible to have the civil ceremony in England, and then come to Switzerland for the 'church wedding'.

Any 'wedding' we do in Switzerland is technically a 'blessing of a civil marriage' according to Church of England rules, but this has no real significance as Swiss churches make no distinction between a 'church wedding' and a 'blessing of a civil marriage', unlike the situation in England. We normally use the marriage service from Common Worship (omitting only the legal bit in the first paragraph on p.106).

There are no parish boundary rules in Switzerland (at least as far as weddings are concerned) and it is normal for couples to select their church and, to a lesser extent, their officiating minister/priest. The minister would normally come from the same denomination as the chosen church, but it is not essential, although it is probable that the minister should come from a Swiss based church that is part of the Swiss Council of Churches (as we are). The usual procedure is that the couple book the church, and ask permission to have a visiting minister. The church then sends a form (in French or German as the case may be) to the couple, or sometimes to the chosen minister, which has to be filled out and returned to the church concerned.

The Civil Ceremony must be booked with the local register office. A directory of Zivilstandsämter in the Canton of Berne can be found here.

Couples must ascertain what the Cantonal residence requirements are, and comply with them. Unless both have good German (French in the Romandie) the services of a registered interpreter would be needed for the civil ceremony. (Some register offices will accept someone with good translation ability who is not registered; and occasionally registrars who pride themselves on their ability to speak English may translate for themselves.)

The chosen Church must be booked locally (email St Ursula's). There are English Churches at Wengen and Zermatt that can be used for weddings (details from the Intercontinental Church Society). It may be possible for weddings at these churches to be taken by a seasonal chaplain, when there is one in residence.