If the idea of getting marriage in a church sounds is too old fashioned or traditional, then you may choose to be married by a civil celebrant.

A civil or marriage celebrant is a person who has been appointed by the Australian Attorney-General’s department to legally perform marriages in Australia. Civil celebrants often work outside of traditional religious settings, and are able to perform civil ceremonies anywhere in the country.

What does a marriage celebrant do?
A marriage celebrant will work with you to create beautiful ceremony for your wedding day. As well as performing the service on the day, a marriage celebrant will assist to you file all the legal paperwork before marriage and advise you on how best to conduct a marriage ceremony, help choose readings and music, provide guidance on writing vows and, where appropriate, advice on how to integrate religious customs or beliefs into your ceremony.

Legal requirements for marriage
Your civil celebrant must prepare the legal paperwork for your wedding. He or she will help you lodge a Notice of Intended Marriage, which must be done at least one month and one day prior to your wedding. After your wedding, your marriage celebrant will issue a Certificate of Marriage and provide you with a copy as well as sending the official version to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Before your marriage celebrant can issue you with a marriage license or Notice of Intended Marriage, he or she will need to see copies of you and your partner’s birth certificates, any applicable divorce or death certificate documents (in the case of a second marriage), and, if you or your partner were born overseas, a copy of your current passport.

Finding a civil celebrant
There are a number of professional organisations across Australia that provide directories of qualified marriage celebrants. It is always a good idea to check that your celebrant is a member of a professional organisation and has previous experience performing marriage ceremonies before you make any payments.

Most celebrants will require you to pay a non-refundable deposit when you lodge your Notice of Intended Marriage. This secures a firm booking with the celebrant. The remainder of the celebrant’s fee is then payable before the wedding day, normally at the final meeting prior to your wedding day.
Celebrant fees will vary depending on the type of involvement you expect from your celebrant on the day and their level of experience.
 

Categories:

One Response so far.

  1. XO Bali says:

    Will you be hiring a celebrant for your wedding or will you go the traditional way?

Leave a Reply