What are the legal requirements to get married in Australia?

In Australia according to the Marriage Act 1961 there are legal requirements to be carried out by a Authorised Civil Celebrant such as paperwork and being cited and completed to be legally married. There are a few additional legal requirements listed below:

❥ both parties required to be at least 18 years old

❥ a Notice Of Intended Marriage that is completed and received by an Authorised Civil Celebrant within the time frame of no earlier than 18 months and no later than 1 month before the allocated wedding date. Before meeting with you to complete this, I will let you know what identification to bring along with you

❥ the two of you will be required to sign the Declaration Of No Legal Impediment for the marriage that is planned. For example, this will confirm that no party is currently legally married to someone else, not of legal age or too closely related

❥ you need two witnesses that are 18 years of age or older to witness the ceremony on your wedding day, and sign the certificate and register along side you

❥ there are a few legal statements that are required to be included in your ceremony

When do we need to book a celebrant? 

I would recommend booking your celebrant anywhere from 12-18 months in advance from your wedding date. This is to get in early, and to ensure that you date is available for the celebrant you are  after. This will give you plenty of time to get together and complete the first part of your legal paperwork. 

What type of celebrant do we book? 

This is completely up to you! Find someone that you vibe well with and think ‘this celebrant would be amazing to have on our wedding day’. Each celebrant may have a different style on how they perform their ceremonies so take that into consideration too. 

Are you LGBTIQA+ friendly?

ABSOLUTELY. I support all love and am a loyal ally. I support marriage equality and will always respect your identity. Please let me know your preferred pronouns when you contact me so I can get it right. 

We booked you! Now what do we do?

Woohoo! I am so excited we have locked in your wedding date. Depending on the type of service your have selected what we do next can vary. 

After booking any service you will receive a questionnaire so I can get to know everything about you two - what you do for a living, whether tomato sauce lives in the pantry or fridge in your household and most importantly your story. This way I can create a f**king amazing ceremony. 

You will have access to the Lovebook which has many resources on my recommended wedding songs, ceremony ideas, how to write your vow guides and much more. 

I want to meet you! Whether it is a zoom call or in person - this will give me a chance to get to know you a lot more as a couple. This will also give us a moment to complete the Notice of Intended Marriage. 

A week or two out from the big day we would either meet up or zoom to have a quick run through, or have a ceremony rehearsal which is where you will also sign the next lot of paperwork, The Declaration of No Legal Impediment. 

In addition of this you will have unlimited correspondence so I can always be there to help you. 

Then is your WEDDING DAY!