Is the priest conducting Pippa's lavish wedding making a sly dig? Reverend's online 'Thought For The Week' is a line from the bible on materialism

  • Parish where Pippa Middleton will get married posts thought of the week
  • It appears to reference perils of materialism ahead of the £330,000 wedding
  • Post on St Mark's Church website asks if those who 'have it all' are happy 

The extravagance of Pippa Middleton’s wedding is already the subject of much debate.

And it seems it may have even raised eyebrows at St Mark’s Church in Englefield, Berkshire, where she is to be married on Saturday by the vicar, the Rev Nick Wynne-Jones.

On the parish website’s Thought For The Week page is an excerpt from John 10.1-10: ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’ – with what appears to be a rather pointed reference to the perils of materialism.

The article asks whether those who appear to ‘have it all’ turn out to be miserable.

Rev Nick Wynne Jones, pictured with the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte at St Mark's Church in Berkshire last Christmas, has raised eyebrows after his parish posted a 'thought for the week' referencing the perils of materialism, days before he marries Pippa Middleton and James Matthews in a wedding day set to cost more than £330,000

Rev Nick Wynne Jones, pictured with the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte at St Mark's Church in Berkshire last Christmas, has raised eyebrows after his parish posted a 'thought for the week' referencing the perils of materialism, days before he marries Pippa Middleton and James Matthews in a wedding day set to cost more than £330,000

With just days to go until their big day, Pippa Middleton and her fiance  have been spotted out and about making some final preparations

With just days to go until their big day, Pippa Middleton and her fiance have been spotted out and about making some final preparations

It reads: ‘With these words, Jesus attacks the very heart of the lie that society (and not just modern society) puts forward about the Christian faith...

‘Jesus exposes this lie for what it is. He has come, not to constrain or limit our freedom, but to set us free from the shackles of sin.

‘The very things that the world thinks of as freedom turn out to be fetters, dominating us and preventing us from really enjoying life to the full.

‘How many of those who “have it all” turn out to be miserable?

‘In contrast, Jesus sets us free to be the people we were meant to be. It is the testimony of many down through the years that it is only by following him that we can have life to the full.’

Pippa and her fiance James Matthews have been undergoing Christian pre-marital counselling sessions in the run-up to their wedding with Mr Wynne-Jones and his wife, Harriet.

Bespoke toilet 'throne rooms', pictured, are being provided for Pippa Middleton's wedding

Bespoke toilet 'throne rooms', pictured, are being provided for Pippa Middleton's wedding

Miss Middleton has also had a £100,000 glass marquee, pictured, for the glitzy event this weekend

Miss Middleton has also had a £100,000 glass marquee, pictured, for the glitzy event this weekend

On the recommendation of Pippa’s mother, Carole, the vicar has had five meetings with the couple.

The Church of England offers what it calls voluntary marriage preparation – or marriage prep – for couples preparing to enter holy matrimony.

According to its official guidance, the sessions are to help brides and grooms to consider the vows they make together.

Topics covered include ‘in-laws and family issues’ – hopefully not a problem for Pippa, 33, and James, 41 – sex, communication, children, coping with conflict and money.

PIPPA'S EYE-WATERING WEDDING IN NUMBERS 

MARQUEE £100,000 - The  glass conservatory-style structure that she is having installed in the garden of her family home is for Saturday’s celebrations. The bespoke glass orangery was shipped from Belgium to her family home in Berkshire. The process is being overseen by Peppers Marquees, which holds the only royal warrant for supplying marquees to the Prince of Wales. 

DRESS £10,000 - 'Giles Deacon is rumoured to be the designer of Pippa’s bespoke designer dress,' says Bridebook founder Hamish Shephard. 'Giles previously designed Abbey Clancy’s stunning wedding dress for her marriage to England footballer Peter Crouch which cost £10,000.'  

WEDDING HAIR £300 - The Duchess of Cambridge's royal hairdresser  Amanda Cook Tucker was seen arriving at the home of the bride-to-be on Tuesday. It is predicted that she will style Pippa on her big day with her wedding price said to be £300.

CATERING £70,000 -  Experts from The Bride Book predict that top luxury London caterers will charge over £170 per guest for catering including all food, chefs and staffing, glassware and crockery hire, and linen hire. 

A marquee wedding requires an extra level of staffing compared to a permanent venue, which will increase Pippa’s catering costs to around £200 per guest, and will comprise the largest cost of the wedding. 

DRINKS £17,720 - 'We expect around 233 bottles of champagne alone will be drunk to keep the guests topped up during the drinks reception and speeches,' says Hamish. 'This champagne will cost around £9,320, on top of which will be fine wines for the wedding breakfast and open-bar cocktails for the evening.' 

FLORISTRY £16,000 - Hamish says: 'Marquees always require a lot more floristry and decoration than a venue, so luxury florists Lavender Green, the florists for the day, will have their work cut out. On top of this, the wedding florist will include the flowers for the church, plus the bouquet and more.

'With the wedding hosted in the Middletons' rustic garden, with wild flower meadows and in-bloom purple rhododendrons, expect tall overflowing centrepieces fusing the marquee with the garden. Elaborate table-centres can cost £300 each alone, so with 35 round tables for the guests, the cost can easily stack up.' 

PHOTOGRAPHY £3,500 - 'Hiring one of the top wedding photographers, including a gorgeous album, will cost around £3,500. Dorset-based Millie Pilkington, the private wedding photographer for William and Kate’s wedding, is most likely to be the person behind the lens.'

VIDEOGRAPHY £4,000 - 'Without the world’s media filming every moment like her sister’s wedding, Pippa will likely have a videographer there to capture the day’s special moments. Luxury videographers have teams of cameramen to capture all angles, plus usually a drone or two.'

CAKE £2,600 - 'A stunningly-decorated cake from a top cake maker will start from £2,600 and need to be six-tiers to give a slice to each of the 350 guests. The cake-maker is thought to be luxury London-based Domino Purchas or local-Berkshire based top baker Rosalind Miller.'

STATIONARY £5,125 -'The wedding will require a number of stationery elements including save-the-dates, the invitation, the Order of Service, the menus, and the stamps! Invitations from a top stationer will cost around £11 each before the other items are included. Mount Street Printers are said to be the chosen stationer.' 

GYM MEMBERSHIP £55,000- Pippa has been hitting the gym hard and has joined Grace Belgravia, an exclusive club that promises to create the perfect ‘Hollywood’ pins - at a cost of £55,000 for a lifetime membership. 

FACIALS £100 - Pippa has been making trips to a spa in South Kensington offering such treatments as £100 sugar cane facials.  

MUSIC £6,750 - 'From bell ringers and the organist and choirs in the church, to relaxed acoustic musicians for the drinks reception and a top wedding band and DJ for the party, music will be the centre of the entertainment. A top London 6-piece wedding band will cost over £4,250 with everyone else on top.'

WEDDING RINGS £19,900 -'Rumoured best man Spencer Matthews better not make the expensive mistake of forgetting the rings. With their wedding rings said to be from Cartier, a diamond encrusted wedding ring for Pippa will cost £15,500 whilst a platinum band for James would be £1,440.'

BRIDESMAIDS' OUTFITS £2,250 - 'Whilst the bridesmaid’s dress Pippa shone in at the Royal wedding cost over £2,000, the average cost of a designer bridesmaids dress is £750. The average number of bridesmaids a bride in the UK has is 3.4, so we are assuming Pippa will have 3 bridesmaids.'

CHARLOTTE AND GEORGE'S OUTFITS £1,698 - 'With Prince George and Princess Charlotte due to be centre stage as flower girls and page boys, Nicki Macfarlane, who provided the flower girl outfits for the Royal wedding, will likely be back on hand. A page boy outfit will cost around £226 each, and flower girl dresses £340.' 

CHURCH FEES £456 - 'Pippa and James will need to pay the church their marriage fees, but whilst this is the most important part of the marriage, it has one of the smallest price tags.'

DECORATION AND PRODUCTION £6,000 -'For spectacular lighting and production throughout the grounds surrounding the marquee and inside the marquee itself, a top London agency will likely be taking on the job of adding the absolute wow-factor. From bar hire to amazing dance floors, production is key to transforming the blank-canvas of a marquee into something truly jaw-dropping.'

GROOMSWEAR £6,050 - 'Dashing groom-to-be James Matthews is likely to be wearing a bespoke tailor made tailcoat, waistcoat and trousers from one of London’s top Saville Row tailors. A bespoke tailcoat from a top tailor will cost around £4400 alone.'

MAKEUP UP TO £1,400 - 'No doubt a top team will be on hand to ensure Pippa and the whole bridal party will be looking absolutely radiant. Hannah Martin of Bobbi Brown, who also did Kate’s wedding makeup  for the Royal Wedding, is the top choice.

WEDDING FAVOURS £700 - 'These lovely little gifts for every wedding guest should not break the bank. We expect something low-key and personal, such as a small jar of local honey considering the wild flower meadows that fill the Middletons’ garden.' 

LUXURY LOOS £4,000 - 'Don’t forget the toilets! With this marquee wedding the luxury toilets that will need to be on hand are unlikely to be the plastic boxes we are used to seeing at festivals. Imagine luxurious bathrooms with gorgeous soaps and fresh linen hand towels. For 350 guests, top end mobile toilets will cost £4000.' 

VEIL £2,000 -'Celebrity milliner Stephen Jones is rumoured to be the designer of Pippa’s bespoke veil, which will doubtlessly have incredible attention to detail.' 

ENTERTAINERS £1,500 -'Whilst guests taking photos is expected to not be allowed at the wedding, a photobooth will be an ideal opportunity to capture the guests at their best. Luxury children’s entertainers, like London’s based Sharky+George who did the Royal wedding, are expected to be on hand to give parents, like William and Kate, the night off.'

TOTAL ESTIMATED SPEND: £337,049  

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