Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly do you do as our Marriage Celebrant?

Ill act as your authorised Marriage Celebrant, appointed by the Federal Government,  to solemnise your marriage according to the Marriage Act 1961.  I may solemnise marriages anywhere in Australia. Each year i must continue ongoing professional development and am bound by a code of practice. When solemnising marriages, i am responsible for performing the ceremony, including ensuring the compulsory legal components are recited and witnessed; ensuring adequate sound for your guests to hear your vows clearly; and most importantly, completing and lodging all the legal paperwork with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the State or Territory where your marriage is solemnised.

What are the legal requirements for our marriage in Australia?

Marriage is regulated by the Marriage Act 1961 and the Marriage Regulations 2017 . All marriages in Australia must be conducted in accordance with this legislation. The legislation specifies the requirements for the marriage ceremony as well as matters that arise before and after the ceremony. 

You don’t have to be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident of Australia to legally marry here. To be legally married in Australia, two people must:

• not be married to someone else
• not be marrying a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother or sister
• be at least 18 years old, unless a court has approved a marriage where one party is aged between 16 and 18 years old
• lodge a Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) with their celebrant no less than one month and no more than 18 months before their ceremony
• understand what marriage means and freely consent to being married
• sign a "declaration of no legal impediment" to the marriage e.g. already married, underage, too closely related etc.
• use specific words during the ceremony i.e. the ‘monitum’ spoken by the celebrant and ‘the vows’ spoken by each party to marriage
• have two witnesses at the ceremony who are at least 18 years of age who will be required to sign the marriage certificates
• ensure their celebrant registers the marriage with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages within 14 days.

What exactly is a NOIM?

Now that your engaged and have decided to get married, the most important step in the marriage process is meeting with me to complete your Notice Of Intended Marriage (NOIM) which is to be signed, witness and lodged with me. By law, this must be done at least one month prior to the wedding date and is valid for 18 months.

And what is a "Declaration of no legal impediment"?

Each party must make a declaration before me as to your conjugal status and belief that there is no legal impediment to the marriage. The declaration form is on the reverse side of the official certificate of marriage. The declarations must be made before the marriage is solemnised and should occur as close as possible to the ceremony

What documents and identification do we need to provide you?

• Evidence of date and place of birth e.g. original birth certificate or birth extract, passport
• Photographic evidence of identity e.g. drivers license, passport, proof of age card
• Evidence of the end of any previous marriage/s e.g. divorce certificate, death certificate

Ideally these original documents should be sighted at the time of lodging your NOIM. 

Alternatively, your NOIM and original supporting documents can be lodged with me via  email (scanned) . However, the originals must be witnessed by me prior to the ceremony.

In some exceptional cases a Statutory Declaration may be acceptable If you cannot provide any of the above.

Can we use photo copies and certified copies of our legal documents?

No. All identification documents sighted by the celebrant or electronically provided must be originals.  A statutory declaration must be a signed original. However, a divorce certificate can be original or a certified copy.

What if we are overseas or interstate? Can we still lodge the NOIM?

Yes,  If your overseas or interstate until a time that is less than one month before the  marriage, you may send a copy of the NOIM and supporting documents to me by post or (scanned) email. It is not acceptable for me to accept a NOIM  and/or supporting documents via videoconferencing services such as Skype. I recommend that if the NOIM is to be posted it should be sent by some form of  registered post. 

It is a wise precaution for you to send photocopies of your supporting documents with the NOIM  when you post them from overseas or interstate. If there are any potential problems with, for  example, divorce papers or death certificates then i will be able to advise you of this before you arrive for the marriage. 

I will need to obtain from you the original NOIM and sight the  original documents relating to evidence of date and place of birth, identity and evidence of the end  of a previous marriage (if relevant) prior to solemnising the marriage. This means you will need to bring these original documents with you (if not already mailed).

By law, both parties are required to sign the NOIM, but Only one party to the marriage is legally required to sign and lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage with me and commence the legal paperwork. So if the other party to the marriage is overseas or not available at the time you wish to submit your paperwork, this does not prevent the Notice of Intended Marriage from being lodged. The second party must however sign and show relevant identification prior to the ceremony. 

What if i want to get married within a month of lodging the NOIM?

It is possible...but only if a prescribed authority approves it. Reasons for getting married in less than one month include: 

• employment-related or travel commitments
• wedding or celebration arrangements
• medical reasons
• legal proceedings
• error in giving notice

List of Prescribed Authorities

What Happens on the wedding day that will legalise our marriage ?

To officially legalise a marriage, there are only a few things actually need to take place or said on the ceremony day.

During the ceremony  i must explain the nature of the marriage relationship (Monitum) according to law in Australia. The words in the Monitum MUST be used in the ceremony, prior to exchanging your legal vows, and on the presence of two witnesses.

Secondly, you are required to say to each other, in the presence me as your celebrant and two witnesses, the legal vows that will solemnise your marriage.  These words must be included in the ceremony. They are the minimum words which must be  exchanged by you to ensure that you fully understand the nature of the ceremony and that  you are marrying each other.  

Lastly, three marriage certificates must also be signed by:

• you and your spouse
• Me as your celebrant
• And two witnesses, who must be over 18 years old

Ill present you both with a certificate of marriage on the day. This is a ceremonial certificate of your marriage. Ill then (within 14 days of the marriage) submit your marriage paperwork to the registry of BDM in the state or territory you got married in.

You may apply for a copy of your official marriage certificate from BDM. I can do this on your behalf (included in some of my packages). You will need this if you want to change your name or prove that you are married.