THE NECESSITY OF THE MONITUM
More and more couples question the wording
of the Celebrant’s Monitum. For a civil
wedding ceremony to be legal and valid, the Monitum must be included and is
gender specific. It points to present
legislation in the following sentence:
“Marriage
according to the law in Australia, is the union of a man and a woman to the
exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life”.
Some couples object to this portion
of the Monitum and ask if I can omit or leave it out of the ceremony. At present the law allows only men and women
to marry and if you have objection to this wording, I can include dialogue to
inform your guests of your objections.
As an authorized and professional celebrant, I must include this wording
to ensure that I deliver a legal and valid wedding ceremony. However,
before delivering the Monitum in a ceremony, I can make presentation to
the guests that (the bride and groom) do not agree with present laws and I
would include wording along the following lines:
“Bride and Groom understand that Australian law currently only recognises marriage between a man and a woman, and not between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman. Bride and Groom would like those present to know that for them, this is the law as it is; not as it should be”.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any wedding queries.
