To add structure to your event and hold it together with an opening and a closing?To formalize the occasion?To move it at an appropriate pace?To pave the way for food, laughter & song?To set the tone from which the future will flow?To give thanks for what has been and hope for what will be?To facilitate the communication of meaning & intention?To assist with designing the type of ceremony intended?To advise with readings, poems, music choice & other resources?To demonstrate the respect required for persons being celebrated?To listen to values ?To edify?To remind people to stop and smell the roses and that their grass is just as green as everyone else’s?To provide opportunity to do something special for someone you love?To help you move on and start again?To stimulate & facilitate the hidden energies of support?To make memory with ritual?To give a gift.

You cannot have a legal wedding without an authorized celebrant, They are familiar with the law and all the legal documentation. Knowing the Marriage Act they will be able to guide you through legal relationship issues that impact on your ability to enter a marriage contract. In addition to this the celebrant can (and usually does) write your ceremony after consultation with you, gives you ideas, makes adjustments, plans thoroughly, arranges a rehearsal, performs the ceremony, takes responsibility for the marriage certificates, communicates with the Dept of Births, Deaths & Marriages and generally makes sure the ceremony runs smoothly and to your expectation. Celebrants are obliged to do ongoing professional development each year and the Attorney General’s Department is extremely concerned that all Celebrants give their clients the quality of service that is expected and there is a particular process for complaint should this be necessary

Once you have decided on a date and a venue you should find a Celebrant. You will need to know if the one you would like is free to do the wedding that day and there are documents to be completed. The Celebrant will ask for a non refundable deposit to secure the day for you.

Look for the sort of person who has the qualities that attract you in friendship because this is probably the Celebrant who will give you the ceremony that will leave you with happy memories. The price will not answer this question for you.

t is in your interest to have a rehearsal. Not only is it an opportunity to iron out any queries, it is often an opportunity for the wedding party to relax together in fun before the big event. It need not necessarily be at the venue. From the Celebrant’s point of view it is a good time to complete another document that will need to be signed before the wedding and also to receive full payment rather than on the wedding day when there are other things on our minds.

No. Anyone may marry in Australia providing you are both over the age of 18 and not legally married. If one or both of you is between 16 and 18,you are required to obtain parents consent on the required form and a court order under Section 12 of the Marriage Act.

At least 1 month and 1 day. (In exceptional circumstances the Registrar may approve a shortening of time for the ‘Notice’)

No. You can marry the day that you arrive from overseas if you wish. However, by law Celebrants must receive the Notice of Intended Marriage form from you at least 1 month and 1 day before the wedding. To be on the safe side, send it early.

Yes. You should confirm this with your own government agency which records marriages in your country.

Yes. An Authorised Civil Marriage Celebrant is permitted to perform a wedding ceremony anywhere in Australia that includes some of our beautiful remote islands, rainforests, aeroplanes, boats, hot air balloons etc. Please be aware that if the Celebrant has to travel interstate etc., the intended bride and groom must pay for the travel costs and in some instances the accommodation.

No. The only type of ceremony you would be able to have would be either a Renewal Ceremony or a Commitment Ceremony

No. Same sex marriages are not performed in Australia. However, you can have a Commitment Ceremony to express your feelings for one another.

You need two witnesses present at your Marriage Ceremony who are over the age of 18. Any person can act as a witness, even your parents. The Celebrant, however, cannot act as a witness.

No. All documents must be originals

No. Before you can submit it, your paperwork will need to be translated into the English language by a recognised/registered translator.

If you require a translator or interpreter within Australia, please visit NAATI website?

The Attorney-General’s Department has responsibility for developing policy about issues relating to family law and marriage, including who can get married, who can perform marriage ceremonies and the validity of overseas marriages. The rules governing whether or not a marriage is valid under Australian law are to be found in the Commonwealth Marriage Act 1961.
There are currently no Australian diplomatic or consular officers appointed to solemnise marriages overseas under Australian law.
Marriages entered into overseas are generally recognised as valid in Australia

• if the marriage was recognised as valid under the law of the country in which it was entered into, at the time when it was entered into, and
• providing the marriage would have been recognised as being legal under Australian law if the marriage had taken place in Australia.

There is no requirement to register a marriage in Australia which takes place overseas. The foreign marriage certificate is prima facie evidence in Australia of the occurrence and validity of the marriage.
Marriage to an Australian citizen does not automatically guarantee entry of a citizen of another country to Australia. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) can advise on immigration to Australia.
You should consult a legal practitioner if you need advice on whether a marriage which has taken place overseas is recognised as being legal in Australia. ^
The basic rule of recognising foreign marriages is subject to a number of exceptions including:

• where one of the parties was already married to someone else;
• where one of the parties was under marriageable age (i.e. under 18 years of age) and either of the parties was domiciled in Australia at the time of the wedding under Australian law, exceptions to the requirement that both parties be 18 or older can only be authorised by a judge of magistrate, and then only in respect of a marriage between a person aged 16 or 17 and a particular person aged 18 or over. An Australian court order only has effect in Australia for the purposes of the recognition of the marriage in Australia;
• where the parties are too closely related under Australian law (including relationships traced through adoption) i.e. either as ancestor and descendant, or as brother and sister (including half-brother and half-sister);
• where parties to the marriage are both of the same sex;
• where the consent of one of the parties was not a real consent due to duress or fraud, mistake, or mental incapacity;
• where a persons overseas divorce is not recognised in Australia.
• (Parties should consult a solicitor if unsure as to whether their marriage will be recognised in Australia, including if there is doubt about an overseas divorce being recognised by Australian authorities.)

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade cannot advise on the specific requirements which may need to be met in order for a marriage to be legal in a particular country. However, as a general guide only, the following information may be of assistance.

An Australian celebrant cannot marry you in an overseas country. We recommend that, before you leave, you have your legal wedding in Australia, conducted by one of our authorised celebrants. Then you are free to enjoy your destination wedding celebration without the complications of organising a legal wedding in a foreign jurisdiction.
Your Australian celebrant can also help you with your destination wedding celebration. He or she will help you create a high quality and memorable commitment ceremony for you to use overseas.
If you are sure you want a legal wedding overseas, you will need to contact the embassy, consulate or local representative of the country where you plan to marry, for information about that country’s legal requirements for marriage.
In some countries, you can book the entire wedding package through a tourist resort, but the ceremony itself is likely to be “off the shelf” and not designed around your individual needs.

Certificates of No Impediment to Marriage are issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through overseas missions and state and territory offices to Australian citizens seeking to marry overseas. Certificates of No Impediment to Marriage are not a requirement of Australian law. They are issued purely at the request of overseas countries seeking to ensure that a marriage involving one or two Australian citizens, celebrated in that overseas country, will also be recognised as a valid marriage by Australian authorities.
The forms are also available from any state or territory office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Some countries will only accept Certificates of No Impediment issued by the local Australian Embassy or Consulate in the country in which the marriage is to take place. However, if authorities of the country in which the marriage is to take place have advised that they will accept a Certificate of No Impediment issued in Australia, you should complete the applicable application form for a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage and return it to your state or territory office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Consular Fee for a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage is $90.
In addition to the Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade can provide general advice on the requirements which may need to be met in order for a marriage to be legal in a particular country. For exact details of what requirements will need to be met, persons wishing to marry overseas should contact the embassy or consulate of the country in which they would like to marry. The following general information may be of assistance.
Overseas marriage authorities often require evidence that the party is free to marry. Such evidence may be a statement from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages that there is no record of the person having been previously married. Authorities may also require divorce papers/death certificate of a former spouse in the case of being divorced or widowed. Overseas marriage authorities generally will also want to sight an original birth certificate and the person’s passport. Foreign marriage authorities may have further additional requirements e.g. a requirement to reside for a length of time in a country prior to a marriage taking place in that country.