Please note that Christ Church Montebello is not a marriage chapel, it is a parish church serving Anglicans in the Montebello area as well as guests of the hotel.  That means that the weddings performed in the Church must be done in accordance with the rules and practices of the Anglican Church of Canada.

• A minimum of 60 days notice before the wedding is required.  Please note that this is a legal minimum - actually the process of preparation and planning takes far longer.  If you want to be married in Christ Church, please contact the Rector as soon as possible - preferably before finalizing other arrangements.
• The Church requires couples to engage in a process of marriage preparation.  Normally this involves several meetings with the minister as well as a marriage education seminar.  Seminars are offered in Montreal and Ottawa in weeknight and weekend format.  They take a workshop approach, and their primary purpose is to help you identify possible areas of conflict or difficulty in married life, and to identify the strengths and communication skills you'll need to deal with them. 
• A Church wedding is more than just a pretty setting.  It is a religious event that has meaning only as part of a longer journey of faith in the Church.  Part of the preparation will challenge you to look at the role of the Church in your past and in your future life together.  Often a wedding can be an opportunity to find a new relationship with a church community, a relationship that can accompany and support you in the years to come.  We expect a willingness to explore this topic, and ask that couples without an active connection to the Church make contact with a parish in their home community.  
• In case where one party is divorced, the Matrimonial Commission of the Diocese of Montreal must give approval for remarriage.  You will be asked to go through a process of reflection with the Rector of the parish regarding your first marriage and your present relationship.  The purpose is not to pass judgment, but to help you identify the particular strengths and possible dangers to your relationship as you prepare to make a new commitment.  Again, it is important to start the process early, a delay of one to three months can be expected before the Commission has an answer. 
• Couples of other denominations may be permitted to use the Church building for a marriage performed by a minister of their own denomination.  The church can extend this hospitality only to recognized Christian denominations and to ministers licensed to perform marriages in the Province of Quebec.  In this case the church would ask the minister to enter the marriage into the registers in his or her keeping.  
• There is a fee of $250.00 CAD for the use of the church, to help defray the costs of upkeep.  Clergy remuneration is $150.00 CAD.

I hope the information will be of help to you in planning your wedding.  Should you wish to explore further the possibility of being married at Christ Church, Montebello, please call:  Reverend Kay Richardson at (613)632-2329.