Weddings
Marriage is a calling and a ministry. It’s also an expression of the ministry of the Body of Christ at Highrock Church. A wedding here is akin to a commissioning of Christian marriage, a ceremony that is a family experience and occurs in community, both in location at 735 Massachusetts Avenue and with your Highrock family. A wedding at Highrock is also a worship service. As such, your officiating pastor looks forward to working with you to ensure that your wedding retains the special character of worship. We’re so excited to celebrate this beautiful union with you, your family, your friends, and your church body!
Highrock welcomes the use of its facilities only for those who are regular attendees of the church, whether members or non-members. However, official members do receive a preferential financial discount.
If needed, couples are invited to view the sanctuary during the Church Administrator’s regular office hours or you may join us for worship on Sunday.
This web page serves as a guide to help you in your wedding planning. Please make a note of the important policies and procedures listed below. If you have any further questions, please direct them to our Church Administrator, Myca Wehrli, at .
Initial Arrangements
An appointment to reserve the use of church facilities should be made at the earliest possible date. (Non-member weddings cannot be booked more than six months in advance.) In order to make the reservation, the Wedding Information Sheet should be completed and a nonrefundable deposit made to Highrock via the Church Administrator (see contact info below). Dates are subject to church availability. The date and time selected should be also agreeable to the wedding party, the officiating minister, accompanying musicians and any others involved. The date will not be put on the church calendar until the Wedding Information Sheet is received and the deposit is made.
Ministers
Several Highrock pastors are currently available to perform your wedding. If you have a relative or family friend who is a pastor, you may have them officiate. The officiating pastor traditionally receives an honorarium for his or her services. Please contact the Church Administrator, Myca Wehrli at , for a schedule of suggested honorariums for Highrock pastors. The officiating pastor will be available for both the rehearsal and the ceremony, but typically is not expected to attend the rehearsal dinner or reception – although you may certainly invite the pastor to both.
Wedding Coordinator
Highrock does not provide someone who can act in the capacity of “Wedding Coordinator” on the day of your wedding, so we ask that you provide one. Your Wedding Coordinator can be a volunteer and would ideally be another member of Highrock. His or her job will be to coordinate the general flow of the wedding ceremony.
Pre-Marital Counseling
Our desire is for your marriage to flourish after the honeymoon is over! For this reason, pre-marital counseling is required for marriages at Highrock. Three counseling sessions two weeks apart are required and will be held in the pastor’s office. If Pastor Dave will be your officiating pastor, you must meet with him for pre-marital counseling between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Highrock’s other pastors will have different schedules for counseling and may be more flexible. Before sessions begin, you will sign up and pay the $30 fee online for the PREPARE/ENRICH inventory, which you will take online. The results will be used in counseling. Sessions are to be scheduled directly with the pastor two months or more before the wedding.
Facility & Labor Costs
MEMBERS: $600, which includes a non-refundable deposit of $200 payable upon booking to Highrock Church. Fee for the lighting and sound technician is included. Use of fellowship hall and kitchen (by a properly certified person) is an additional $300. Balance is due one week prior to the wedding.
NON-MEMBERS: $900, which includes a non-refundable deposit of $300 payable upon booking to Highrock Church. Fee for lighting and sound technician is included. Use of fellowship hall and kitchen (by a properly certified person) is an additional $400. Balance is due one week prior to the wedding.
Rehearsal
It’s important to do a quick run through of your big day! Rehearsals should be one hour and the building must be vacated by 6:45 pm because the building is typically in use for church functions after that time. The officiating pastor can guide the rehearsal.
Decorations
Decorations cannot typically be put up on the day before the wedding for the rehearsal; you should plan on decorating on the day of the wedding. Highrock does not officially provide any décor or floral services. You should plan to arrange for those privately.
Facility Guidelines
1) Time for setting up the sanctuary will be coordinated with the Church Administrator the week before the ceremony.
2) No permanent fixtures are to be moved, including the church’s artwork displayed in the sanctuary.
3) No nails, tacks or pins may be used in decorating.
4) No rice is to be used at all. Birdseed may be thrown outside.
5) All decorations, flowers, etc., must be removed immediately following the ceremony.
6) If you’d like to use a runner, our center aisle measures 48 inches by 40 feet.
7) Please contact us before the wedding about any other questions, concerns, or preferences you have about set-up or the use of the facility and the various properties of the church.
Vows and Scripture Reading
One month prior to the wedding you may submit a suggested Scripture and the pastor will try to work it into the sermon. If you have any concerns regarding the ceremony, e.g., if you expect many unsaved guests and want them to hear the gospel, communicate that to the pastor at the same time. If you write your own vows, they must be submitted to the officiating pastor for review one month in advance.
Out-of-State Weddings
Because out-of-state celebrations take so much of their limited time away from their families and work, the officiating pastor will make a decision on a case-by-case basis.
Please contact:
Myca Wehrli
Highrock Church Administrator
731 Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington, MA 02476
Phone: (781) 652-9859