FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’s)

Firstly “Congratulations”!!! This is such a truly amazing time in your life. The next step is to determine whether you will have a church wedding or a civil ceremony in a location of your choice. If you choose to have a church ceremony then you will need to contact the church that you wish to get married in and they will let you know what you need to do from there.

If you choose to have a civil ceremony then the next thing you need to do is to decided on a celebrant.

Strangely enough this is often one of the last things people do when planning their wedding. Maybe I’m biased, but I believe it should be one of the first things. Firstly, the celebrant is the only legal requirement for a wedding – without one, it’s just one big expensive party, so is it really something you want to leave until the last minute?

Secondly, this is a very personal moment and I believe it’s important to have a celebrant that you connect with and communicate freely with, and one that makes you feel completely comfortable during the ceremony, not just someone who happens to be available at short notice.

So my advice is to seek a few local celebrants, talk to them on the phone and if possible, meet with them. Don’t ask what they charge – at the end of the day the difference between their fees is only going to be marginal in comparison to the overall cost of the day. Choose someone that you like, someone that you click with, someone that can help to make your day perfect for you.

I believe that the fun should start at the ceremony! Getting your ceremony right is a great way to set the scene for what is to come for the rest of the evening and a ceremony that is done well is something that you and your guests will be talking about for many years to come.

Every celebrant is different, but the way I work is that I have a single fee which covers absolutely everything – no hidden extras for meetings, rehearsals etc.

My typical celebrant package includes the following:

– completion and lodgement of the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM)

– unlimited phone and email communication

– at least two face to face meetings

– a resource folder filled with loads of ideas and examples for the vows, readings and other ceremony ideas- 

– a wedding rehearsal

– conducting the ceremony on the day, including arrival at least 30 minutes prior to your scheduled ceremony time

– a decorative copy of your marriage certificate

– a hard copy of your ceremony presented in a keepsake folder

– a quality PA system including separate hand held microphone to use during the vows/readings etc

– all my travel (within the local area) to and from meetings, rehearsals and the ceremony. For larger distances, additional travel fees may apply

– signing table, table cloth and two white americano chairs

– final lodgement of all signed documents with Births Deaths and Marriages

– assistance with the completion and lodgment of your application for your official marriage certificate (Note that the fee for your official certificate is not included in my fee but is payable separately by you to Births Deaths and Marriages on application for your certificate).

You will need to lodge a Notice of Intended Marriage with your celebrant. This can be done in person or by email if you are not going to see your celebrant before the required lodgment date.

A Notice of Intended Marriage, or NOIM, is a document that is required to be lodged with your chosen celebrant at least one calendar month, and no more than 18 months before your wedding date. It is kept by your celebrant until the wedding is completed and then sent, along with the official wedding documents, to Births Deaths and Marriages.

That’s fine. Chat to your celebrant and they will let you know exactly how you can go about lodging the NOIM from a distance.

The following original documents must be sighted by the celebrant before they can conduct your marriage ceremony:

* If you are born in Australia – your original birth certificate

* If you are born Overseas – your original birth certificate (translated if required) or your overseas passport (again, translated where required).

* If you have been married before then you must also provide your celebrant with the original documentation showing how the previous marriage was dissolved eg divorce decree or death certificate.

No, your celebrant is simply required to be provided with proof of the most recent dissolution.

This is different for every celebrant, but as far as I am concerned, you get as much say as you want. This is your ceremony, your day and I will do everything I can to make sure you get exactly what it is you want for your wedding ceremony. I work really closely with my couples, providing them with a series of questions that helps me get to know them, their story, and be able to share exactly what they want to share with their guests during their wedding ceremony.

The monitum is the legal wording that must be said during every wedding ceremony to ensure that the marriage is legal and valid. The wording is as follows:

As a civil celebrant, I am duly authorized by law to solemnize marriage according to law in Australia. 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 a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.”

Absolutely, and I highly encourage couples to do this. So long as you say the legal vow, which says ;

”I call upon the persons here present to witness that I _________ take you _______ to be my lawful wedded husband/wife”

then you can add whatever you wish to this to make it perfect for you.

This is completely dependent on the local council rules and regulations, but usually most councils will require you to submit an application to use a public area for your wedding ceremony. Fees vary from council to council – check with the local council for current requirements and fees.

This is a really common question and the answer is that you will sign all paperwork regarding the wedding using your maiden name.

If only there was a short answer for this one! The first step is to acquire the official copy of your marriage certificate. All celebrants work differently on this one but I always assist my couples in applying for this at the same time as I lodge their marriage paperwork.

Once you have your official certificate then you will need to contact all the places/institutions that you currently have accounts etc with that are in your maiden name and go through the individual process with each and every one of them.

There is a great website called www.easynamechange.com/au which provides a pretty good list of all those places that you may have not thought about and as you select them all they will send you the required documentations to begin the process of changing your name. There fees vary depending on which kit you purchase but it can be a great way to save you loads of time.

Absolutely! You can choose between having live performers or if you prefer then I can play anything you wish through my amplifier before, during and immediately the ceremony.
Couples usually provide the music either on an ipod or phone, in a playlist, or they burn it to CD. Both options can be played through my amplifier and provide great quality music for your ceremony, no matter where it is.

My fee is no secret, I am more than happy to provide a quote to anybody who asks. But for me, selecting a celebrant shouldn’t be based solely on price. The variance in fees between celebrants is usually nominal and so I highly recommend that you choose your celebrant based on who is the best fit for you – who do you really “click” with.

Everybody offers something different and as such, we charge accordingly. I always try to go above and beyond for my clients and this is something that they all really appreciate.

Ask yourself – do you really just want any old celebrant or do you want someone that really makes your ceremony fun, personal, unique and all about you? In the years to come you won’t remember the differences in price, but you will remember who did, or didn’t make your day and your ceremony really special for you.

If you’re not happy with the service that your celebrant is providing, then my first suggestion is to talk to them about it. Try to resolve the issue face to face.

If this doesn’t work then there is an official complaints procedure that you can follow through the attorney general’s department by following this link:

http://www.ag.gov.au/FamiliesAndMarriage/Marriage/Pages/Complaintagainstamarriagecelebrant.aspx