Legal

Your Notice of Intended Marriage

You must complete a Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) and this form must be completed and lodged at least one month and one day before your wedding. I can provide you with a copy of this form and help you complete it.

To complete the NOIM you must  supply your original birth certificates and any evidence of termination of a previous marriage, such as a divorce certificate or a death certificate.

If you were born overseas and have an overseas passport, you may use this as evidence of date and place of birth.

Creating a legal ceremony

Your ceremony wording must also comply with the Marriage Act 1961. As your celebrant I can create a unique and custom ceremony that also incorporates the required legal wording. I will also take care of the registration of the official marriage certificate and lodgement of all additional documentation.

You are required to sign three marriage certificates during the ceremony – the official Marriage Certificate, the Marriage Register and the presentation Marriage Certificate. You will also need two witnesses over the age of 18.

Waiting time

The period of time between lodging your NOIM and your wedding ceremony must be at least one calendar month. In certain circumstances, this waiting time can be shortened. Only a prescribed authority has the power to shorten this and such a request is not lightly granted. The reason for you seeking a shortening of time must fall within one of the following categories:

  • Employment related or other travel commitments;
  • Wedding or celebration arrangements, or religious considerations;
  • Medical reasons;
  • Legal proceedings; and,
  • Error in giving notice.

If you wish to make a request,  I can assist you to find the prescribed authority nearest to you and ensure that you have documentation that supports your request before beginning the process.

Participating in a marriage ceremony

There are several legal requirements of your marriage that can only be fulfilled by an authorised Marriage Celebrant (such as me!).

At the ceremony, the celebrant must:

  • Consent to be present as the responsible authorised Marriage Celebrant;
  • Take a public role in the ceremony;
  • Identify themselves to the assembled parties, witnesses and guests as the celebrant authorised to solemnise the marriage;
  • Be responsible for ensuring the validity of the marriage according to law;
  • Say the words required by Section 46 in the presence of the parties, the formal witnesses and the guests before the marriage is solemnised;
  • Be in close proximity when the vows required by Section 45(2) are exchanged because it is the exchange of vows that constitutes the marriage and the authorised Marriage Celebrant must ensure that they see and hear the vows exchanged;
  • Be available to intervene (and exercise the responsibility to intervene) if events demonstrate the need for it elsewhere in the ceremony;
  • Be part of the ceremonial group or in close proximity to it; and,
  • Sign and lodge the papers required by the Act.

The Marriage Certificate

When you get married, I will prepare three certificates of marriage. These each contain the details of your marriage and you and your witnesses will be required to sign all three certificates. These are:

  • The certificate retained by myself as your Celebrant for my records;
  • The certificate that I will forward to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the registration of your marriage; and ,
  • The certificate that you will be given as your record of the marriage.