Alumni Weddings

Have Your Wedding at Peace

Peace College is pleased to make available the James Dinwiddie Chapel for weddings. Alumnae, former students who have attended Peace for at least one semester, and current students receive priority usage of the Chapel. The College will consider requests for weddings of children of alumnae and female siblings of alumnae. Please read and observe the guidelines below carefully.

Contact Director of Visitor Services, Rebecca Leggett, at (919) 508-2044 or rleggett@peace.edu, to schedule your wedding at the Dinwiddie Chapel or with any visitor related questions.

Guidelines for use of Dinwiddie Chapel

1. Dates

Wedding dates are arranged in writing through the Office of Visitor Services with the following included in the written request:

The bride’s address
Daytime/office phone number
Home phone number
Cell phone number for you and for your groom
Year of graduation or attendance (or graduation year of alumnae who is sponsoring the wedding, if not the bride),
Date and time of wedding,
Date and time of wedding rehearsal, and
The groom’s formal as well as familiar name.
If you move between the issuance of the contract letter and the date of the wedding, please provide updated contact information as soon as available.

Weddings are scheduled and confirmed on the calendar once a written request is received, and may be sent via e-mail, fax or postal service. A confirming letter and contract will be mailed to you once your written request is received. Please return the contract, signed, within thirty days, acknowledging that you agree to the requirements noted below, and dates by which we need certain information and payments.

2. Fees

The fee for alumnae and current students to use the Chapel and ancillary facilities is $350, plus a $500 refundable security fee/damage deposit. The rental fee for weddings of children and siblings of alumnae is $500 with a $500 refundable security deposit. Please return the payment for the rental and deposit with your signed contract. The deposit amount will be refunded by Peace College within 10 days following the wedding, and upon satisfactory inspection of the Chapel.

3. Facility and Services

The rental fee includes the services of our departments of 1) Environmental Services to clean the facilities before and after both the rehearsal and wedding; 2) Maintenance to provide appropriate climate control to the season and facility maintenance needs; 3) Security to provide access to the facilities, and assist wedding party members and guests with directions to and use of the Chapel; and 4) Visitor Services to reserve the facilities, communicate your wedding information to Peace staff members, and assist with questions and needs by the wedding party prior to the wedding day. The College does not provide staff assistance or supervision on the day of the wedding nor the rehearsal, thus we recommend that you hire a wedding planner or coordinator to assist you and your family & guests. We also recommend that your wedding coordinator contact the Office of Visitor Services several weeks prior to the ceremony to review questions about these guidelines and the facility.

Other facility information: The capacity of the Chapel is 250. The aisle is 66 feet long and there are 10 windows in the Chapel. There are twenty pew rows, divided by a five foot wide center aisle.

4. Climate Control

The heat or air conditioning is turned on, as appropriate to the season, prior to the ceremony and rehearsal. Every attempt will be made to insure your comfort, recognizing the limitations of an historic structure such as Main Building and its systems. Security officers on duty will assist with unlocking and locking facilities as needed.

5. Access

To insure prompt access to the facility at your arrival times for the rehearsal and wedding, and for any other planning purpose visits, we suggest that you call Security at (919) 833-2277 before reaching campus, especially during campus holidays, summer, and weekend hours. Facilities are not unlocked until the first wedding party member or service provider arrives. Also, if emergencies occur during your visit, please call this number to ask for assistance with any facility-related or other need. A telephone is provided in the Faculty/Staff lounge on first floor Main for guests’ use (dial “9” to obtain a line before dialing local or 1-800 numbers), or if a receptionist is on duty, she may help you with questions or needs, or assistance calling Security.

6. Decorations

Decorations in the Chapel must not cause any damage or leave debris.

Confetti and rice are not permitted in the building.
Drip-free candles only, not wax, may be used and lighted in the chancel only and must be extinguished immediately following the ceremony.
No candles of any kind may be carried into the sanctuary, down the aisles, attached to pew ends, or placed in the windowsills.
Fresh candles are provided on the communion table candleholders for each wedding. The bridal couple may feel free to take these candles as a gift and token of their ceremony, if desired.
Battery-operated candles are recommended if candlelight is preferred in windows.
No items may be taped or wired to pews or other furniture.
Whenever necessary to change the paraments from the seasonal color to white for weddings, please replace existing paraments and any other liturgical items which were in place in when you arrived, following your wedding.
If hymnals are removed from pews or furniture moved temporarily, please return these items to their original location.
The College can provide a kneeling bench and podium for the guest registry, if requested in advance.
Please alert your florist that the College does not provide any items such as candelabra, plant stands, candle lighters, or other furniture or accessory items to supplement the existing Chapel decor.
If floral decorations are placed on the communion table, they should be constructed so as to provide the organist a clear view of the Chapel aisle.

Failure to return any items which have been moved, including furniture, back to their original location will result in forfeiture of the security deposit.

7. Dressing

It is recommended that wedding party members arrive on campus already attired for the wedding as much as possible, as spacious facilities for dressing are unavailable. If dressing facilities are desired, however, they include (ON MAIN FIRST FLOOR) a small women’s restroom on the west office wing (located directly underneath the Chapel), the Faculty/Staff lounge and the second floor Main long hall restroom and hallway.

Male members of the wedding party will find small men’s restrooms available on the first floor of Main Building as well as the first floor Frazier Hall, adjacent to Main on the east side; however, due to the small size of the space available, male members of the wedding party especially are advised to arrive attired for the wedding. No offices are available for dressing and assembly; please do not ask Security to open offices for any purpose. Use of the Blue Parlor or Williams Board Room for dressing purposes will result in forfeiture of the security deposit and additional charges assessed if damages occur. Please notify your wedding party IN ADVANCE of this policy.

8. Assembly

As noted above, Blue Parlor, directly adjacent to the Chapel may be used for assembly of the bridal party and for photography only, and is not available for dressing, dining, or for supervision of children during the ceremony. Blue Parlor will be unlocked approximately one-two hours prior to the wedding, unless an earlier access time is requested in advance. The Board Room adjacent to the Parlor will remain locked at all times and is not available for any use. Male members of the bridal party (groom, best man and minister) may use Main Parlor as an assembly site prior to entering the Chapel from the east side fire escape stairwell.

9. Officiant

The College welcomes clergy of your choosing to officiate your wedding.

10. Wedding Music

Contact the Office of Visitor Services should you wish to have organ music as part of your ceremony. A list of those approved to play the historic instrument will be provided.

11. Marriage License

Please provide a copy of your State of North Carolina marriage license thirty days prior to your wedding.

12. Alcohol/Refreshments

Peace College policy prohibits guests from consumption and storage of alcoholic beverages on campus. Please inform wedding party members of this policy in advance of your ceremony. The use of alcoholic beverages on campus before, during or after the ceremony will result in forfeiture of the damage deposit.

If you wish to provide light, non-perishable snacks for wedding party members prior to the wedding, please utilize the Faculty/Staff lounge on Main Building, first floor, if not being used for dressing purposes. Please do not provide any food or beverages in the Main Parlor, Blue Parlor or Chapel. Providing refreshments in these areas will result in forfeiture of the damage deposit, and additional charges for cleaning.

13. Tobacco-Free Campus

Effective January 1, 2009, Peace College became a tobacco-free campus, thus taking a further step to support the health and wellness of our campus community and our guests. In addition to the interior of buildings, smoking and any other uses of tobacco are not permitted in any exterior area on campus including grounds, parking lots, vehicles, and perimeter sidewalks, (out of respect for our neighbors’ health and wellness). Please ensure that all family members and members of your wedding party who may be smokers are aware of this new policy. Signage will be posted around campus to alert your wedding guests of our new policy, as well.

14. Cancellation

Should there be a need to cancel or change any aspect of the ceremony, please notify the Office of Visitor Services as soon as you are aware of the cancellation or change. Should you decide to cancel your wedding, your rental and deposit fee payments will be returned to you, if you cancel sixty (60) business days prior to the wedding date. Less than sixty business days’ notice, your damage deposit only will be refunded.

Other Services

15. Receptions

The College offers rental of Main Parlor for receptions involving 75 or fewer guests, and if coordinated in advance on the College calendar, and by separate contract. The caterer for receptions is ARAMARK-Peace College Dining Services, exclusively, except for wedding cakes, which you may provide. In your request letter, please indicate if you are interested in renting Main Parlor for this part of your ceremony. Receptions will be scheduled based upon and in coordination with the College calendar, and thus all requests may not be able to be accommodated.

The College does not permit outdoor receptions.

16. Rehearsal Dinners

The College offers rental of the President’s Dining Room for rehearsal dinners involving 45 or fewer guests, if coordinated in advance on College calendar, and by separate contract. The caterer for dinners is ARAMARK-Peace College Dining Services, exclusively; i.e., outside catering is not permitted, except for specialty cakes. In your request letter, please indicate if you are interested in renting the President’s Dining Room for this aspect of your ceremony. Dinners will be scheduled based upon and in coordination with the College calendar, and thus all requests may not be able to be accommodated.

We are delighted that you have chosen Dinwiddie Chapel as the location for this special moment in your life.