The Wedding Ceremony

Legal Requirements
There are a number of things which you are required to include in your wedding ceremony for your marriage to be legal.

1. You must have a Registered Marriage Celebrant perform the ceremony.

There was recently a wedding horror story about a couple who had gotten married by their celebrant only to find out a few months later that their celebrant had let her licence lapse, therefore any marriages she had performed since her licence lapsed were not technically legal! How would you feel knowing that you weren’t legally married? Always check your celebrants references and choose a someone reputable.

The good news was after a lengthy battle with the courts the couple were allowed to keep their wedding date and were “legally” declared married over six months after their wedding day.

2. You must have obtained a marriage licence from the registry office prior to your wedding date.

Contact your nearest registry office for information on obtaining a marriage licence. It currently takes three days for your application to be processed so don’t leave it to the last minute! Once you have your marriage licence it is valid for three months.

The marriage licence is signed on your wedding day by the officiating celebrant, the bride, the groom and two witnesses (usually members of the bridal party or close family). There is no age specifications so your witnesses can be your children, just as long as they’re at the age that they can understand what they are witnessing (no very young children). This can be a great way to bond “mixed families”, having a child from a previous marriage be a witness for you.

3. You must hold the wedding ceremony at a specified venue

When you apply for your marriage licence you must stipulate two addresses where your wedding ceremony could take place. The first of these venues is your church, garden or other ceremony venue. The second is usually your wet weather option. Make sure you get the addresses right on your application. If your actual ceremony isn’t at one of the specified addresses you will run into legal issues.

As previously mentioned there are certain things that must be said during your wedding ceremony. The following is a basic format; your celebrant will have suggested words, readings and formats that will assist you to put together your ceremony.

1. Welcome to the guests
2. A Reading or Prayer can be read here
3. Declaration of intent by bride and groom
4. A Reading can be read here
5. Vows
6. Exchange or Giving of Rings
7. Pronouncement
8. Kiss the Bride
9. Signing of the Register
10. Congratulations

There are other things to consider if you are having an outdoor wedding ceremony such as, will your wedding guests be able to hear the bride and groom reciting their vows? You may need to use a microphone and speaker system. Most wedding celebrants usually have a small system which may be including in their fee.