“Old Christ Church has become one of the most 

popular spots to host a wedding ceremony in the 
state and certainly in Pensacola,” says Shannon 
Reeves, Wedding Coordinator at Great Southern 
Management, which serves as the management 
company for a number of popular event venues 
in downtown Pensacola, including Old Christ 
Church. “With its location in the heart of Historic 
Downtown Pensacola, the church really does 
offer the best of both worlds, it has such a quaint 
little white chapel look and feel, but it’s still able 
to accommodate quite an impressive number of 
guests. When engaged couples are looking for 
the perfect place to have their ceremonies, they 
come here and are immediately charmed by the 
church’s rich history, its beautifully manicured 
lawns, the antique wooden pews and the beautiful 
stained glass window,” she explains. The number of 
ceremonies booked each weekend speaks for itself—
in fact, the church averages nearly half a dozen 
weddings every weekend.

It’s a boast-worthy number, to say the least, for 

any church—much more so for one standing in the 
shadow of so many mega-churches. But it is this 
very detail that makes it that much more desirable, 
its time-tested foundations bearing reminder of 
the need, not for grandeur or showiness, but for 
strength and integrity in the face of hardship. In 
a world where marriages are so often faced with 
stresses that test their ability to survive, Old Christ 
Church is a beautiful illustration of endurance, a 
testament to loveliness that has grown only greater 
with the passage of time. 

In total, the church has hosted more than 1,000 

weddings over the course of its long life, one 
which began when the Protestant Association in 
the City of Pensacola came to an agreement that 
the small city needed an Episcopalian church. In a 
time so affected by changes of religious tides and 
a desire to establish the spiritual landscape of a 
newly burgeoning area, the small structure served 
great importance, imbuing the Protestant faith 
into the growing community. The Norman Gothic 
architecture of the structure serve as an outward 
reminder of the times, an era in history when the 
nations of Europe reigned supreme and the Roman 
Catholic Church was losing its strong grip. 

Even now, Old Christ Church stands as 

a testament to the tenacity, dedication and 
determination of people who dreamed of more…
more life, more opportunity and more freedom. 
And for the couples who marry within the walls of 
this charming little piece of history, it’s the perfect 
place to speak words of their own desires for more, 
and their willingness to embark on the journey of a 
lifetime to get it.   

January 2017   |   51  

“When engaged couples are looking for the 

perfect place to have their ceremonies, they 

come here and are immediately charmed 

by the church’s rich history, its beautifully 

manicured lawns, the antique wooden pews 

and the beautiful stained glass window.” 

- Shannon Reeves, Wedding Coordinator

Great Southern Management

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