Church Fees - Proper Perspective

I'm trying to make sense of the changes to fees that the measure passed in May will make and despite the fact that some claim that the CofE is still a cheap place for weddings, seems to me that the majority are thinking that what we have before us is a negative step.

One view:
"We have always scrupulously stuck to the statutory fee, plus £25 for a verger, and adding a small amount for heating in the winter months, the new wedding fee will represent a huge hike for us. At the moment the basic charge before organ, choir etc. is £312.50, so it will be a big leap up to £425. I am very concerned about the fact that this will come in in Jan 2012. We already have six weddings booked for next year - couples often book well over a year in advance. I always warn them that the fees go up a bit in Jan each year and that the fee is that payable at the time of the wedding not at the time of booking - couples are quite happy with this, since it has never gone up by more than about £10. There is no way I am going to be charging those who have already booked (and in some cases paid), an extra sum of over £100 for their wedding, though - it seems to me to be blatantly unfair and unreasonable."

I note that one of the Wedding magazines puts the estimated average cost of a wedding for 2011 at something approaching £19,000:

This leads many to make the observation that even if the cost of the church wedding was £600, this would be small beer when considered in the overall figures (I see the magazine sets the cost at £520)

The reality is that many of the couples I have met spend around two thousand pounds for the wedding and all that it involves and where I am, the last wedding we did saw the money for the service donated by members and the church did the catering whilst another got his Dad's vintage car and chauffeured the couple round town whilst we changed the building into a venue for the reception. Mind you, I did one a few years back where they had a crystal coach and a £5k reception in a package that (Mum proudly informed me) was going to cost about £20k! Sadly, the repayments will be going on for longer than the wedding as I understand they split last year :(

Clayboy makes for interesting reading on the subject of the fees issue.

I'd be grateful for any other links on the Ecclesiastical Fees (Amendment) Measure 2011 and of the ways that this affects churches and how the diocesan money managers are going to implement this.

I hear horror stories of fees being paid directly to the diocese and the like but beyond the froth there seems to be little substance at the moment. In the text I actually see some good things (no funeral cost for those sixteen years and below and the opportunity to waive wedding fees in cases of pecuniary disadvantage - I like that term :) ).

So please, tell me the realities . . .

Pax