Weddings at Our Church

Your Wedding at Unitarian Memorial Church

photo of ussf-wedding-bride-and-groom-smallElegant and memorable weddings are our specialty in our historic 100+ year-old English Gothic church. Receptions are held in our gorgeously appointed Parish House, suitable for up to 175 guests.

Fairhaven is a destination wedding site with historic bed and breakfast places for wedding parties and their families and convenient hotels for guests, a charming town center, and a unique whaling museum and art museum and many other sights to visit in the city next to us, New Bedford.

There is also a historic fort, Fort Phoenix for beach photos and a town beach on West Island with beach cottages for rent. Fairhaven is also attractive as a destination wedding site for its more economical prices compared to those in Boston and Providence.

A member of our ministry team will help you plan an elegant and intimate wedding with the help of our music director, Dwight Thomas, and our two wedding assistants. These services are available to both members of our congregation and non-members as well.

Receptions

The capacity of our beautiful Parish House is 175 seated guests with a small space for dancing and a stage for a band or disc jockey. We provide round tables for 8 people each and chairs.

Scheduling Your Wedding

When you know the date of your wedding, call our office administrator at 508-992-7081, or email her at . If your date and time are available, she will send you application forms and our building and photography policies.

You will be able to talk to our office administrator about preliminary arrangements and she, or a volunteer, will be able to show you the church and Parish Hall by appointment. Office hours are 9:30 am to 3:00 pm Tuesday through Friday.

A church tour by a volunteer can be arranged for a Saturday or Sunday. If you wish, you can attend a Sunday service at 10:30 am, September through June.

Minister

A member of our ministry team will work with you to create the ceremony and words that reflect your vision of your wedding. The minister may provide you with a wedding booklet of wedding words that you can use as a springboard from which you can choose most of the words, including those for your vows and ring ceremony.

You can choose traditional words or contemporary ones. If you wish, it is possible for you to mix and match and rewrite words until you are sure they are the ones that are true to your hopes for your relationship and reflective of the promises you want to make to each other.

You may meet with the minister twice: once for premarital discussion; and a second time to plan the flow of the ceremony and to finalize the precious words that will be spoken on that day.

There will be a wedding rehearsal the evening before the wedding (or at some time close to the wedding day, if needed). 

For more information call the church office at 508-992-7081.

Organist/Music Director

Dwight Thomas is an accomplished organist who will work with you to provide exactly the right music you want.

Please visit our Wedding Music Samples page to listen to samples of organ music for weddings.

You can contact Dwight at .

Wedding Assistants

Two wedding assistants organize the processional and help you with whatever you need on the day of the wedding.

Same-Sex Weddings

Since the 1970’s, Unitarian Universalists have advocated for the rights of gay and lesbian men and women.

We are now privileged to perform same-sex weddings in our church or at another venue. Please see the section on “How to schedule a wedding” for information.