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One of the most important decisions you will make for your wedding day will be where to hold your wedding ceremony. Although you will be primarily guided by your religious affiliation, your choice of a church will set the tone for the kind of wedding you desire. Will yours be an intimate wedding or a grand one?

What kind of ambiance would you like you and your guests to experience? Such questions should come to mind before you make your choice. Here are some practical considerations before you decide.

Location

A church must be readily accessible not just to you and your would-be groom but to majority of both your families and guests. If possible, the church must be easy to locate, have ample parking space, and is near the venue of your wedding reception. If your church happens to be far away, do include directions to it in your invitation so that your guests won't get lost!

 Ambiance

 A day wedding has a different ambiance from a night wedding. And even then, an early morning wedding would still differ from a late morning or afternoon wedding. Similarly, a formal wedding would exude a far different ambiance compared to a less formal one. In all cases, the choice of church will set the tone for the kind of wedding you desire. For example, some Catholic or Anglican churches, with their baroque design and ornate chandeliers, is a perfect venue for elegant weddings. If you want a simple, family-members-only wedding, then a simple chapel would be perfect.

 Number Of Guests

 This is a major consideration for choosing a church, especially if yours will be a big wedding. In Nigeria, it is not uncommon to have as guests not only the couples friends, but their respective parents and guests as well. More so if the parents are politicians or public figures with a whole battalion of compadres and comadres. Cathedrals  are very suitable for such weddings. Make sure the church you choose can accommodate the number of guests in your list.

Budget

Many churches, especially the big ones, charge a fee for weddings. So check this out and compare it to the budget you are willing to allot for it. Keep in mind, too, that the bigger the church, the more flowers you may require, thus adding to your budget. There are churches which provide flowers for weddings, so you can consider if this will be more convenient for you than buying flowers yourselves.

Other Considerations

When choosing a church, be aware of the rules and regulations followed in that church. For example, some pastors are strict about the kind of songs that can be sung inside their church, the outfits which the bride and her entourage may wear (i.e., no showing cleavage, etc.), as well as the decorations that may be set up inside. One of my friends had a decoration set up by the entrance to the church aisle, and had hung adornments on the chandeliers, only to be told that those were not allowed after he had already done so.  So please, do check out such details before you proceed.

 But Most Of All...

 Sometimes, we may be too caught up in wedding preparations including choosing a church and attending to all the details that we tend to forget that a wedding is first and foremost a sacrament. Hence, a couple must prepare themselves for this very holy event with far more zeal than attending to all the other wedding details.

 For what is the point of choosing the "best" church and having the "right" ambiance without first being spiritually prepared? A wedding is not a spectacle or just for fun; it is a holy event.