FAQs
FAQs
Couples and Legal Requirements:
Marriage, according to law in Australia is the union of two people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.
If you were born in Australia, you can obtain a copy of your birth certificate from Births, Deaths and Marriages, in the state in which you were born.
This service with Birth, Deaths and Marriages incurs a fee and the application can take a couple of weeks to be processed.
If you have divorced and need a copy of your divorce certificate or decree absolute, then this can be obtained from the family law court in the state in which the marriage was dissolved.
The marriage ceremony cannot proceed unless all the required documentation has been produced.
Once the booking date of the marriage has been confirmed, we then sit in for our first meeting together.
During the first meeting we complete the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) form. I witness the signatures and ensure the identification and/or certificates are current and correct.
The Notice of Intended Marriage NOIM form must be submitted at least one month prior to the date of your intended marriage and up to 18 months prior to the wedding.
I can provide you with the NOIM at our first meeting together.
The following words must be used in a civil marriage:
“I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, A.B. (or C.D.), take thee, C.D. (or A.B.), to be my lawful wedded wife/husband/spouse.”
In accordance to Australian Law of Marriage, the NOIM form must be submitted at least one month prior to the date of your intended marriage. Only when the NOIM form is completed, dated and signed the one-month period begins.
The Notice of Intended Marriage form can be downloaded https://www.ag.gov.au
The NOIM forms include a list of authorised individuals who are permitted to sign the document.
My preference is to have both people at the first interview for preliminary discussions please.
However, it is possible that only one person is available to visit me to complete the NOIM form and the other partner may sign the NOIM later before the marriage ceremony.
The two witnesses are the official legal witnesses to the marriage under law and their presence serves a legal purpose. That purpose is to be able to swear in court, or elsewhere, as to the identity of the parties or to testify to the circumstances in which the ceremony was performed, including the date and place.
Two witnesses are required and must be over the age of 18, preferably known to you. Your children most certainly can be witnesses if they are over 18 years of age.
Ceremony Logistics:
Yes!
Your wedding ceremony can have your own style and be as long or short as you both are comfortable with.
There are legal components that I, as your Civil Marriage Celebrant must ensure are met before, during & after your ceremony. All these components are set in accordance to the Marriage Law in Australia.
The length of your ceremony can be as long or and short as you wish, depending on what you would like to include or leave out. On average most ceremony’s last about 25-30 minutes.
An elopement or micro wedding is usually around 20 minutes.
A legals only style is around 5 minutes.
One aisle song is usually more than enough to get you down to meet us.
Two songs is a safe option for when we are signing the legal documents as the photographer usually comes in to take pictures once we are done also.
Just Married exit song! After this your DJ or venue music will play what you have chosen as I start to pack away.
Having a pre-ceremony playlist is great for creating an atmosphere to set the tone of your wedding as soon as your guests start arriving.
Once your ceremony is complete, I start to pack away my paperwork and any other gear I have brought with me. You are normally kept very busy being congratulated by your family and loved ones. I will leave your marriage certificate with whoever we have discussed to leave it with, a trusted loved one or a wedding co-ordinator.