WELCOME INTRODUCTION WHY MARRY IN CHURCH? WHICH CHURCH? NEW RULES PLANNING A CHURCH WEDDING MARRIAGE PREPARATION	INTRODUCTION The BISHOP of READING is STEPHEN COTTRELL. He writes: “Marriage is a mystery. It is not a mystery without meaning, but a mystery where the meaning lies too deep for mere words to explain. “That is why wedding days are so full of rituals and symbols - rings, registers, best man, bridesmaids, cakes and confetti - such things add to the mystery and help to explain it. “But it is the ceremony itself that conveys and expresses the mystery of God's love, and the way in which our love for each other is the mirror image of God's love for the World. We shall be an enormous help in the planning of your wedding, because when you know that everything has been planned with the benefit of the best advice, you can relax and enjoy the day, and all that it means to you and those who are there for you. “Of course, the mystery does not end with the honeymoon! The mystery lies in our sense of being bound together in a life-long relationship of love and mutual respect. “Like all good mysteries, it unfolds in often unexpected ways, with many joys and some sorrows - and if we are wise we learn even from the setbacks, so that our love grows and deepens with the passing of the years.”