Radical Inclusivity, Thoughtful Spirituality, Caring Community
Wedding Policies
The Church at Ponce & Highland
Wedding Policies and Procedures
To the couple
We are honored to have the opportunity of sharing this event with you and we will do all we can to have each phase – from planning through rehearsal and ceremony – remembered with deep satisfaction.
In the excitement of planning a church wedding, many questions will arise. These policies are intended as a guide in answering questions regarding your site, making appropriate decisions and creating an atmosphere conducive to a harmonious wedding experience.
The Church at Ponce & Highland has established the following policies and procedures regarding wedding ceremonies and receptions held in our facilities. They have been tested and proven both workable and wise over hundreds of weddings, and we ask your cooperation in these areas.
GENERAL RENTAL POLICIES
- No drugs or firearms are allowed on the premises at any time.
- No alcohol is allowed on the premises at any time.
- No smoking is allowed inside any part of the church’s buildings.
- Any smoking done outside on church property must be disposed of properly.
- Point of note for all weddings – it is recommended, but not required, that all couples undergo pre-marriage counseling before the event is held.
- Under Georgia law, six hours of pre-marriage counseling by a licensed professional results in a significant reduction of the fee for a marriage license.
- All events held on the church property must use our security service at the rate of $20.00 per hour, with a $60.00 minimum.
- The church cannot be responsible for personal items.
- The building is normally opened 3 hours before the wedding. Earlier opening can be arranged for an additional fee of $50.00 an hour. Please share this information with your florist and caterer.
- NO RICE, BIRDSEED, OR CONFETTI shall be thrown inside or outside the church building.
- No food or drinks are allowed in the Sanctuary at any time.
- Members of the wedding party should be duly respectful of the Sanctuary, and attentive to the instructions of the Facilities Director and the Pastor.
- A contract outlining the agreement between the church and the rental party must be signed prior to the event occurring.
THE PRESIDING MINISTER
STAFF MINISTER: When a minister of our church is conducting the service, a Christian ceremony will be used. All aspects of the wedding ceremony are subject to the approval of the presiding clergy. The Church at Ponce & Highland Minister will hold premarital meetings with both bride and groom present to discuss any details. When you book your wedding with a staff minister, set up your first premarital appointment through the Facilities Director or by calling our office number (404) 874-5721.
GUEST MINISTER: Any guest minister may conduct the ceremony.
WEDDING LICENSE: The bride or groom shall present the license before the ceremony to the presiding minister. NO CEREMONY CAN BE PERFORMED WITHOUT THE LICENSE.
THE WEDDING REHEARSAL
The bride and groom must be present when the rehearsal begins. Evening traffic is a real problem, so plan plenty of travel time for your wedding party. Be sure they receive clear directions to the church. Insist that they arrive on time. The rehearsal must start at the scheduled time.
All members of the wedding party are requested to be at the church and ready for the rehearsal at the appointed time. Our staff providing support at your rehearsal and wedding will expect the professional courtesy of your punctuality. The rehearsal time is limited to one (1) hour. Any time over that must be arranged with the Facilities Director, and additional charges will apply on an hourly rate.
DAY OF THE WEDDING
The day of the wedding the spaces will be available for up to three (3) hours prior to the time of the wedding for decoration, dressing, photographs, etc. In addition it is understood that less than one (1) hour of time is devoted to the actual wedding ceremony. Decorators will be allowed one (1) hour after a wedding to do their clean-up. Five (5) hours in total. Any time that is needed beyond the time allotted for a wedding is to be cleared with the Facilities Director prior to the wedding date and will be subject to the charge of $50 for each additional hour used.
SUNDAY WEDDINGS
Weddings on Sunday are allowed, but the allotted time for the wedding including service, setup, decoration, and breakdown cannot begin before 2pm at the earliest.
PARKING
The Church has a surface lot available and is suggested for use by the wedding party and handicapped or elderly the day of the wedding. In addition to the lot the Church has access to the adjacent parking deck which grants an additional 122 spaces. Guests will either need to pay the parking deck fee for their usage, or an additional fee (request current fee or see wedding application) may be payed by the wedding party for their guests. Note that all fees for the parking deck are subject to the owners of that property, and The Church at Ponce & Highland has no jurisdiction over the rules and fees set for the parking deck.
Guest and Party limit
Due to restrictions on parking and space logistics, the guest limit for the Sanctuary is 300 people, including children, and the number of people allowed on the Sanctuary stage at one time is 17 including the couple and minister(s).
The Selah Center is limited to 50 people in total.
DECORATIONS
All of our worship spaces have a beauty of their own that does not require elaborate decoration. During certain seasons of the year, especially in the month of December, the church will often have decorations of its own set up in the worship spaces. These decorations are to remain in the space and will not be removed for any reason. This does not apply to the floral arrangements on the stage.
As the spaces of The Church at Ponce & Highland are historic and can be easily damaged without proper consideration, the following rules will apply to any decorations, and decorators will be expected to follow them:
- No pins, tacks, tape or other sticky adhesives may be used to secure anything.
- No decorations of any kind may be taped to walls and woodwork of the worship spaces.
- Live flowers and plants are allowed. To protect our floors, however, we request that flower girls use ONLY silk petals without any additional confetti or glitter.
- ONLY DRIP-LESS CANDLES are allowed in our worship spaces, and only if within a container so as to avoid any fire hazard or dripping. The church can supply drip-less candles for an additional fee, or you may bring your own. Such notes do not apply to battery operated candles.
- The church has a kneeling bench. Arrangements must be made in advance.
- Decorators should completely remove all decorating materials and clean up all decorating debris within ONE HOUR after the wedding. Any deviation of this time limit will be added as an additional fee on an hourly basis.
- Prior arrangements should be made for all deliveries, so as to ensure that the church will be open.
- Stage items such as the table, chairs, and stands may be used in the wedding ceremony at an additional cost of $30 per item. Use of any stage item must be approved by the Facilities Director prior to the wedding date.
WEDDING MUSIC
Our piano may be used by your musician(s). The organ is approved for use by Church musicians or professional pipe organists only. The Church organist and pianist are available at an additional fee which is at their discretion. Contact information can be obtained from the church wedding contact.
All music requiring special setup or occasion (guitar amps, acoustic instruments that may require amplification through the sound system, drums, etc) must be notified to the church wedding contact no less than 2 weeks prior to the wedding for approval and logistical coordination.
Soloists or additional instrumentalists are welcome and the wedding party may use their own, or the church can give a referral.
Music on mp3 can be played over the sound system, but only be used for house music before or after the ceremony as guests seat/leave; not during the ceremony. This is due to the difficulty in logistics and timing. The wedding party will be responsible for the providence of music and a device to play it from (headphone plug-in connection required). Notice 2 weeks prior required.
Note that the Selah Center does not have an installed sound system, and only natural acoustics can be used unless the wedding party provides their own setup.
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Photographers may take flash pictures before, during, and after the ceremony from spaces approved by the Church wedding contact. The Sanctuary (or Selah Center), bridal room, grooms room, and front stairs of the sanctuary are open for photography. No other sections of the building or grounds are open to the photographer without approval from the church wedding contact.
Video photography may be made from the balcony of the Sanctuary or from the choir loft. Only Sanctuary lighting and lighting equipment of low voltage may be used unless the equipment has its own power supply. If a separate power supply is used, the Facilities Director must approve. If the videographer wishes to have a feed from the Sanctuary sound system the church wedding contact must be informed prior to the wedding rehearsal date. Should that not occur the church makes no guarantee of this connection being made or being satisfactory.
DRESSING ROOMS
Commonly the Parlor will be used for the Bridal party and Conference room for the Groom party, but should those be unavailable for any reason the Facilities Director will assign the Bride’s Room and the Groom’s Room.
RECEPTIONS
The Church at Ponce & Highland is unable to offer any reception space. If space is needed there are many establishments in the local area that may be able to accommodate.
LIABILITY
The Church at Ponce & Highland cannot be held responsible for conditions beyond its control, including but not limited to: Acts of nature, sudden equipment failure, power failure, or any other condition created by forces beyond which the church or its staff has control.
DEPOSIT AND PAYMENT
The deposit of $300 will be expected upon signing of the Wedding Application. This deposit is to reserve the space and to pay some upfront fees the church will incur, therefore if the wedding is canceled for any reason upon the decision of the wedding party, the Church will not refund the deposit, and may retain any other payments made or a portion thereof to meet costs incurred by the Church for your wedding. If there have been payments made which the church will not require to meet its costs, these payments can be refunded. All refunds will be made by check only.
Payment of the deposit or other wedding payments can be made online or by check made out to the church. The church wedding contact can give details for mailing.
CANCELATION
Should the occasion arise prior or during the wedding that there is a dispute of these policies or the requests of the church wedding contact, or should any member of the wedding party choose to ignore the policy guidelines or requests, the matter will be considered by the Facilities Director and may constitute necessity of termination of the usage of Church property for the wedding. All members of the wedding party are to be aware that the Facilities Director of Church at Ponce & Highland has the right to terminate any contract, including wedding contracts, at any time should issues arise which cannot be tolerated or resolved. If the issue is stemming from the Church itself (catastrophic damages, acts of nature, lack of primary systems, etc) some or all fees may be refunded. If the issue causing cancellation is stemming from the Wedding Party, refunds will be at the discretion of the Facilities Director.
Please rest assured that termination will only happen should insurmountable issues arise, and the church will do its best to accommodate your special day.