Weddings
Alice the Celebrant for your wedding.
I’m Alice the Celebrant. And you’re getting married! Taking the vow! Tying the knot!
Big congrats to you! This is very exciting x
For such a meaningful event, it's only natural that you want to celebrate in the way that’s unique and personal. Choosing a civil celebrant gives you the freedom to do just that, by allowing you to design a ceremony that is the best reflection of you and your relationship. I’m here to guide you through the process and work with you to create a personalised ceremony that is fun, poignant, stress-free, memorable, and whatever else you want it to be! Building around a few core legalities, your ceremony can be as traditional or contemporary, elaborate or minimal, long or short as you like.
It can include readings, rituals, guest involvement, religious/cultural/spiritual elements, music, and any other personal touches you see fit. I use information gathered from our meetings and correspondence to write your ceremony with as much or as little input from you as you like.
I’m here to celebrate all kinds of love across the big, wide beautiful gender and sexuality spectrum!! Themed weddings are welcome, weird weddings, traditional weddings, funny weddings, long weddings, short ones. I once did a wedding once where the groomsmen legged it dramatically down the aisle to Eye of the Tiger being played on a lone cello. It was awesome.
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS TO BE MARRIED IN AUSTRALIA
If, after an obligation free meeting, you choose me as your celebrant, I’ll provide you with all the information you need about legally-required ceremony elements and documentation procedures (we’ll cover this during our first official consultation).
For now, here is a general outline:
The first item to consider is The Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM), which must be completed, signed, witnessed and received by your celebrant at least one month before the intended ceremony. it’s then valid for 18 months. I usually complete the NOIM with couples during our first official meeting, but if circumstance doesn’t permit us to complete it together, you can sign the NOIM in front of an authority listed on the form (ie. Police officer, doctor, chemist, JP) and send or email it to me.
Before the wedding (as close as possible to, but at least a day before) we will complete a Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marriage which states that there are no circumstances apparent to either party to the NOIM that would prevent them from entering into a legally valid marriage, and that both parties are entering of their own free will.
Both parties must provide valid proof of ID/country of birth, and if either party to the marriage has been previously married, they must provide proof of divorce or death of previous spouse.
If one or both parties to the marriage do not speak English, a qualified interpreter must be present for the ceremony.
For further information about marrying and the civil wedding process in Australia, please see the links below:
LEGALLY REQUIRED CEREMONY ELEMENTS
The legal requirements that must be included in the ceremony are as follows:
There must be 2 witnesses over the age of 18 present
The full names of both parties must be stated at least once during the ceremony
The celebrant must state their name and title in full
The celebrant must recite these words (The Monitum):
‘Before you are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these witnesses, I am to remind you of the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are now about to enter. Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of two people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life’
The couple must exchange vows, including the minimum legal wording:
‘I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, A.B. (or C.D.), take thee, C. D. (or A.B.), to be my lawful wedded wife / husband / spouse’
Three certificates must be signed, by the couple, celebrant and witnesses. You will keep one, the celebrant will keep one and the third will go to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages to register your marriage. These documents don’t necessarily need to be signed during the ceremony; they can be signed directly after if preferred.
After the ceremony, your celebrant will then lodge your Certificate of Marriage with the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages in the state in which you were married within 14 days to formally register the marriage.
The other thing we’ll do at the rehearsal is sign the last pre-ceremony bit of paperwork, the declaration of no legal impediment to marriage. This document needs to be signed as close to the day (but not on the day) as possible, which is another reason it’s good to have the rehearsal not too far from the ceremony.
CEREMONY
It’s happening! I’ll arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the ceremony to set up, everyone will take their seats and we’ll be ready to go. We’ll go through the ceremony including all minimum legal requirements, I’ll pronounce you married and… OMG you’ll be married!
You’ll go off into the arms of friends and family to soak up the love before popping off for photos. After the ceremony I’ll stick around briefly to wish you all the best then I’ll head off feeling awesome, because it’s a lovely thing to do and such a nice moment to share with people. We’ve usually gotten pretty chummy by then too x
MARRIAGE ADMINISTRATION
After the wedding, I lodge the paperwork with the BDM in the state in which you were married within 14 days. The marriage is usually registered within 14 days after that, and then you’re able to apply for a copy of your legal marriage certificate (the one you take home on the day is a decorative one, you do need to order the legal one from the BDM).
OTHER QUESTIONS
FEES
My fees for civil wedding services are $1300.00. This fee includes ongoing consultation and ceremony development (including two face-to-face meetings and unlimited correspondence), rehearsal, solemnisation of marriage, administration of all marriage documents and use of PA and signing table and chairs where required.
A travel fee is included for distances over 50km one way, and a booking fee (included in overall fee) of $300 is due at time of booking, with the remainder of fees due no less than a fortnight prior to wedding.
PA AND TABLE
I have a great battery powered portable PA to amplify the ceremony where necessary. Music can also be played through phone or iPod through the PA. I also provide a gorgeous wooden signing table and chairs.
THE WHOLE PROCESS…
BOOKING
After we’ve signed a Celebrant Service Agreement/Booking Form and a booking fee has been paid (included in over-all fee), we’ll be all locked in for your date! I’ll then send you a ceremony resource package with a number of sample ceremony elements to get some ideas underway, and we’ll schedule our first wedding consultation.
FIRST CONSULTATION
During our first wedding consultation we’ll have a good old chat, i’ll get to know you and your relationship, and we’ll begin discussing what YOU WANT for your ceremony. We’ll talk about tone and style, which ceremony elements YOU’D LIKE to include (readings rituals etc) and discuss vows and music.
For vows and other wording in the ceremony such as the introduction, ring exchange and declaration, you can choose from samples I provide, modify them or create your own.
It’s also during this meeting that we’ll complete and sign the notice of intended marriage and I’ll sight your ID and any proof of cessation of prior marriage documents.
CEREMONY CREATION
Now that we’ve got the ball rolling and you guys have got a clearer understanding of what your ceremony can be, we’ll continue to correspond via email, phone and Zoom/Skype until we know exactly how you want it to go. I’ll have a first draft to you no later than six weeks prior to the day, then we’ll then keep editing and refining until you’re stoked with it.
You can have as much or as little input into the writing of the ceremony as you like, or leave it all up to me. Then onto the rehearsal!
REHEARSAL
A rehearsal isn’t mandatory but it’s definitely recommended, especially if you’re not working with a wedding co-ordinator. It’s best to have the rehearsal at the ceremony site, but it’s OK if this isn’t possible. We can do it in your home or somewhere else convenient for you and the wedding party.
It’s during the rehearsal that we get comfy with choreography and timing, practice with the mic, check what the sun and shade are going to be doing and make any adjustments necessary. In terms of checking out weather elements, it’s best to do the rehearsal around the same time of day as the ceremony if possible. It’s also a good idea to do the rehearsal close to the day so it’s fresh in your mind.
