Legal Requirements for an Australian Wedding

 What are the legal requirements for an Australian Wedding?

Marriage of any person under 18 years without an order of a Judge or Magistrate is invalid. Under no circumstances an 2 persons under 18 years marry each other.

Lodgement Of ‘Notice of Intended Marriage
Once you have booked the date and time for the ceremony, the next step is to complete and lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage with your chosen celebrant.

The Notice must be completed and signed by both parties to the marriage and the signatures witnessed by an authorised celebrant or other suitable person as nominated on the form.

One person can lodge the Notice but the other party to the marriage must sign the form prior to the marriage.

The Notice must be lodged with the celebrant not less than ‘one calendar month’ and not more than eighteen (18) calendar months before the ceremony date.


Documents
Prior to the ceremony both of you must provide to the celebrant proof of birth, for example; a Birth Certificate, or an extract of your Birth Certificate, Picture ID and if applicable, Decree Absolute of Divorce or Death Certificate of previous spouse if applicable. Other documents may be required. If either of you is a not an Australian Citizen a current Passport will have to be produced.

Marriage Certificates
There are three documents to sign at the wedding ceremony. These are the Official Marriage Certificate, the Marriage Register and the Couples Certificate. The Bride signs in her maiden or former name. You are required to nominate to the Celebrant the names in full of two witnesses who must be over the age of 18 years.

The Declarations
Before the wedding day, if possible, you will be required to sign the declarations on the Official Wedding Certificate.

Your Ceremony
By law your chosen celebrant is required to discuss your ceremony at a mutually agreeable time and place. Further interviews may be required. Your celebrant will then compose and offer you a personalised & legal  sample ceremony based on your discussions. You may use it as is, or as a basic outline for your personally composed ceremony. All ceremonies are personalised to suit your needs.

NOTE: Wedding Coordinators, Wedding Planners, Resorts and Wedding Venues, are not permitted by law to have anything to do with the written content of the ceremony except for advice on staging. If you use a ceremony from these sources you may not be legally married. Only Autralian registered celebrants are authorised to compose and offer you a legal ceremony in Australia. 

 Your Celebrant will be happy to provide further information.