If I was going to put in writing all the “must-do’s” for having a Civil Marriage Ceremony this is what it would look like.
Below is a series of dot points that show the paperwork required to be legally married within Australia, the legal ceremony inclusions, the paperwork signed on the actual day and of course what happens afterwards.
I’ll add this to my downloads section as well so you can print this off as a quick reference:-
Before The Wedding
- Complete the Notice of Intended Marriage
- Must be completed by one month before the wedding
- Must be completed in front of an appropriate witness
- youtube tutorial on how to complete this form is here
- Show the celebrant your original documents
- Must be originals [not photocopies]
- Sign the Statutory Declarations [provided by the Celebrant]
- Should be signed within a few days of the actual ceremony
Your ceremony must [legally] include:
- Your full names
- Yes, even including embarrassing middle names
- Vows defined by the Marriage Act 1961
- You can also include personal vows to each other
- Must be completed in front of an appropriate witness
- youtube tutorial on how to complete this form is here
- The Monitum [read by the Celebrant]
- This defines marriage under Australian Law
- Two witnesses over the age of 18
Paperwork for the ceremony:
- The Marriage Register
- Celebrant Big Red Book – kept as a record of all marriage they perform
- The Marriage Certificate
- Sent to Births, Deaths and Marriage with your other paperwork
- Commemorative Marriage Certificate
- Yours to keep after the ceremony
- Cannot be replaced as it has a serial number [so don’t lose it!]
- Is not proof that the marriage has been registered [can’t be used to change your name]
After the Wedding:
- Apply for your Marriage Certificate from Births, Deaths and Marriages
- This is a registered copy of your Marriage Certificate
- Begin the process of changing your name
- Completely optional and up to the individual
Kez is a Newcastle Marriage Celebrant, servicing Newcastle, Hunter, Central Coast and Port Stephens. Stalk her on facebook facebook.com/NewcastleCelebrant or Twitter twitter.com/wedbykez