Getting Married?
An ABC Overview

Getting married is an exciting step in life and we at Atascadero Bible Church are here to help you build a Christ-centered foundation for your marriage and to help you become the husband and wife God intends for you to be.

To get you started in the marriage process, we have provided an overview of the procedures for getting married at or through ABC.  We recommend that you allow a minimum of six months to allow time for approval, premarital counseling, and for scheduling your desired date/room and pastor/elder for your wedding.

As you begin your new life together as a couple, we also invite you to take advantage of the communities, events, resources, and seminars geared toward engaged and married couples.  Our desire is to help you grow, connect, be equipped, and mobilized in your marriage.

We have outlined several steps to help you build a satisfying, love and grace-filled marriage that will honor God and last a lifetime.  Through the years we have seen God’s best come from solid, intentional preparation for marriage.  The time you spend during your engagement should be viewed as an investment in the life you will live together.

If you have questions about any of our policies or procedures after reading through ABC's Policies, please contact the Children and Family Pastor at 805 466-2051 or jay@abcchurch.org.  

Step 1: Obtain Pastoral Recommendation for Marriage

Before scheduling the church building for your wedding, or requesting an ABC pastor or elder to officiate, you must be approved to be married by our church.  The 2-B-1 Registration Forms are used as a tool for the ABC pastoral staff to assess your relationship based upon ABC’s Marriage Policy found on pages 5-6 of this same packet.  Please provide as much detail as possible on these forms.

Once we have received all your completed forms (see Pastoral Approval Form for list of required forms), it will be reviewed by a pastor.  The pastor will contact you to set up an appointment to go over the packet and ask any additional questions he might have.  In addition, you can use the meeting as an opportunity to ask questions regarding getting married at ABC.  The process for a pastor to review your application and recommend that you proceed in the premarital program can take 2-3 weeks.  Once the process is completed, you will receive an email from the church confirming your 2-B-1 program registration (Step 2, below) and other information.  Please note that this recommendation is not a commitment to perform the wedding, only to move forward in preparing the couple for marriage.

Step 2: Premarital Counseling (ABC’s 2-B-1 Program)

The elders of ABC have designed a marriage preparatory program for engaged couples called 2-B-1 for the purpose of teaching God's principles regarding marriage and encouraging couples to glorify God in their marriage.   Couples who wish to be married in our church or by one of our pastors or elders are required to complete this program.  Please note that you are not required to complete the program prior to obtaining ABC wedding approval.
The 2-B-1 program includes three components: meeting with an ABC pastor (to determine readiness and to plan ceremony details), attending the 2-B-1 premarital classes (taught over two weekends), and regular meetings with a mentor couple.  The pastor will request periodic feedback from the mentor couple and may schedule subsequent meetings with the engaged couple. 
If you have completed or will complete a premarital counseling course at another church, please provide information regarding the content, format, and duration of the class on the 2-B-1 Registration Form along with contact information for the leader/counselor of the premarital counseling program.  If you have questions or scheduling concerns, please contact Jay Ables at 805 466-2051.

Requesting an ABC Pastor or Elder for Your Wedding

1.  Please indicate on your 2-B-1 Form that you would like an ABC pastor or elder to officiate and the name of the pastor or elder you would like to officiate your wedding.  (If you do not have a preference regarding which pastor or elder performs your marriage, simply note that on your 2-B-1 Registration Form and the officiating pastor will be determined at a later date.)

The recommended honorarium is $300 for non-members and $200 for members, payable directly to the pastor or elder no later than 2 weeks prior to the wedding unless other arrangements have been made.  Please note that due to Sunday pastoral responsibilities, many pastors will be unable to officiate weddings on a Sunday or Saturday for out-of-town weddings.

2.  Whenever possible, the ABC pastor or elder you request will be the one to review your completed application and will then approve you to be married at our church in accordance with our Marriage Policies.  (If you do not specify a particular pastor or elder or if the one you request is not available, your application will be reviewed by the Children and Family Pastor.)  As noted above, the process for a pastor or elder to review your application and approve you to be married by our church can take 2-3 weeks.   

3.  Once you are approved to be married at ABC, you will be notified via email.  At this point, you can contact your preferred pastor or elder regarding the specifics of your ceremony.  If you did not designate a pastor or elder, contact Jay Ables at 805 466-2051 or jay@abcchurch.org for assistance in scheduling the pastor or elder. 

4.  We cannot guarantee that an ABC pastor or elder will be available on the date you request, but scheduling far in advance will help. 

Out-of-Town Weddings

ABC pastors and elders are willing to consider performing out-of-town weddings.  When weddings are more than 30 miles from ABC, it is customary for the engaged couple to cover the following expenses for the pastor/elder (in addition to the customary honorarium):

• Airfare and car rental/transportation if the wedding is not within driving distance.
• Hotel accommodations for himself and spouse, if necessary, if the event requires an overnight stay.
• Mileage reimbursement at a rate of $0.50 per mile beyond the 30 mile radius of ABC for the rehearsal and wedding ceremony.   

Requesting the Church for Your Wedding and or Reception

1.  Before reserving the church for your ceremony and/or reception, you must be approved to be married at ABC.   This involves completing the 2-B-1 Forms and having a pastor or elder review them (see above).  

2.  Please indicate on your 2-B-1 Registration Forms that you would like to reserve the church.   Also, to provide further details about getting married on-site at ABC, please review the ABC On-Site Wedding Policies and complete the On-site Wedding Application.

3.  Once you are approved to be married at ABC, and you have submitted the ABC On-site Wedding Application, then you will be assisted with scheduling the church for your ceremony and/or reception.  Please note ABC’s policies regarding weddings and receptions located in the On-Site Wedding documents. 

4.  After you are officially on the church calendar, the ABC Church Wedding Coordinator will contact you for further assistance in planning your ceremony.

5.  The process for reserving the church may take a few weeks and the church calendar fills quickly.  Please plan at least 6 months ahead (or more) when requesting the church for your wedding.

6.  We will allow a non-ABC pastor to officiate a wedding in our building as long as that pastor is in agreement with our policies and beliefs about marriage.  An ABC pastor will need to talk with the outside pastor before you are allowed to schedule the church for your wedding.  Please provide the outside pastor’s name, church affiliation, and contact information where prompted on the 2-B-1 Registration Form.  In addition, the pastor will need to sign the Statement of Doctrinal Agreement.

As the church building fills up quickly with events, we do not guarantee the church will be available for your wedding on the date you request.  Please submit your 2-B-1 Registration Form as soon as possible to aid in the process of securing a room on one of your desired dates.

Again, if you have questions about the processes listed above, please contact Jay Ables at 805 466-2051 or jay@abcchurch.org.

ABC Wedding Singers & Players
As we often receive requests for recommendations of singers and players for wedding ceremonies, you can contact Bryan Baldwin at Bryanbaldwin@abcchurch.org.  Please note that your agreement with the singer/player is with that individual directly, and not with Atascadero Bible Church.