What goes into creating your ceremony

Ever wondered what goes into the preparation and time taken to create a bespoke wedding ceremony for you for your special day ?

As a professional and committed Celebrant, I carefully explain what personal documentation must be submitted by you, what ceremony components are necessary to ensure the validity of your ceremony,  and lastly, preparation and lodgement of all marriage certificates and legal documentation.

Your wedding ceremony is the vehicle that proclaims your new status as husband and wife and you instantly become each other’s next of kin.  Remember, marriage is a legal state and entering your matrimonial status has laws that apply, with legal consequences.  As a professional celebrant, I ensure your wedding ceremony includes all the requirements set out by the Attorney General’s Department,  and the office of Births, Deaths and Marriages.  It is also my duty to ensure that your ceremony components comply with the Marriage Act 1961 because failing to do so may render your wedding ceremony invalid.

Unfortunately, not all celebrants are compliant and I urge you to choose your celebrant very carefully. 

When you decide to engage me as your celebrant, we set up an appointment to cover all the legals, including  your preferences and  ceremony ideas, and what you envisage your ceremony to be.  A deposit is paid and you will leave our meeting with a DVD which is in effect a library of resources.  After you have had time to browse the resources, we set up another consultation which is for “Planning your Ceremony” and I gather information from you so I can draft a ceremony.   At this meeting we discuss the “choreography” of the Processional, the Recessional including attendants and participants and after completing the draft,  I email or post it to you for review and discussion.  From this discussion, I prepare the blueprint and we rehearse the ceremony a week or so before the wedding date.  Before the rehearsal, I prepare two official marriage certificates, a Section 14 Declaration and a Commemorative marriage Certificate.  If your ceremony is outdoors, a second set of documents may be required if your contingency venue is different to the planned outdoor venue, should the weather be inclement.

At the rehearsal, the ceremony  and choreography is streamlined and Marriage Certificates are reviewed and Section 14 Statutory Declarations are signed and I witness them for you.

It is no surprise to learn that my preparation time, travel and conducting your ceremony, post-wedding documentation and marriage registration for most wedding ceremonies takes approximately 15 to 20 hours.

Some couples may have special needs. Many come to Australia especially to marry, or are moving overseas and require an Apostille or require support documentation for Visa purposes.  I am able to provide advice and assistance to enable you to navigate your way through these requirements.