FAQs

What you’re all dying to know!

Quite a bit, actually! Which is why they make celebrants do a Cert IV – marrying people is not to be taken lightly, folks!

There is an entire piece of legislation that governs the marriage process in Australia called the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) (side note - this is what was amended in 2017 when Australia legalised same sex marriage.)

To be legally married in Australia, a person must:

1.     Not be married to someone else (i.e., never married before, divorced or widowed)

2.     Not be marrying a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or sibling (yup, that means cousins are ok…)

3.     Be at least 18 years old, unless a court has approved a marriage where one party is aged between sixteen and eighteen years old

4.     Understand what marriage means and freely consent to marrying

5.     Use specific words during the ceremony

6.     Give written notice of their intention to marry to their celebrant within the required timeframe

Before the ceremony:

Notice of Intended  Marriage – must be lodged with a celebrant one month before the ceremony. We can fill this in together when we meet or you can get it done and send to me! I will need to see your ID at this stage also.

Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marriage – signed as close to the ceremony date as possible. Chances are we will sign this on the day of your wedding, a great chance for me to take a sneak peak at your wedding attire before the rest of the guests get to (a real perk of being a celebrant! 😜

At the ceremony:

Two Official Certificates of Marriage – I send one copy to the Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages and keep one for my records.

Certificate of Marriage - your souvenir to take with you post ceremony, take photos with and hang in the pool room! Note this is not your Official Certificate of Marriage. Biths Deaths & Marriages will need to create one of these once I have registered your marriage with them. Post ceremony - I will send you a link where you can request an Official Certificate of Marriage (it costs about $65). This is what you can use to change your name.

At the ceremony, all documents need to be signed by two witnesses who are both over the age of 18.

My ceremonies are relaxed, heartfelt and personal. I'm by no means a comedian… however, your ceremony will be dotted with humorous quips to keep your guests on their toes and balanced with the sincerity and sense of occasion that your big day deserves. Ultimately, I take the lead from my couples around the overall tone and vibe of the ceremony. From our very first meeting, and through all the information you provide me along the way, I will be paying attention to what your values are, and what kind of ceremony suits you and your partner's personalities best.

In my books, if your guests ask me how long we have been friends for after the ceremony and/or I get nan’s tick of approval, then I have done my job right!

Once you have booked me (for The Whole Shebang), I will send through a list of all the things you need to do before the ceremony, which you can complete within any timeframe you like (I'll also send out some reminders along the way too to keep you on track!).

I aim to make the process as simple as possible and minimise any admin headaches - you’ve got enough on your plate!

Generally, the process is as follows:

1. You will complete an initial questionnaire (a Google form) - which helps me to gather all the information I need to prepare your initial paperwork and get an initial sense of your ceremony requirements. Your initial paperwork is a form called a Notice of Intention to be Married (NOIM) which must be lodged with your celebrant at least 1 month prior to your ceremony, and no more than 18 months before your ceremony.

2. You will book in a time for us to catch up to sign your NOIM and provide me with some ID (another legal requirement!). Usually this is over a wine or a meal and its an opportunity for me to get to know you better and chat about all your fun wedding plans!

3. You'll complete another Google form, called my 'ceremony questionnaire', which includes all the little logistical questions to help the ceremony to run smoothly and stress free! (like ceremony start time, who your vendors are, wet weather plans etc!)

4. My FAVOURITE part - you will complete my 'getting to know you questions' which get to the heart of who you and your partner are, your love story, what you love about each other most, what your hopes are for the future and how your family and friends have supported you both throughout your relationship.

5. If you plan on writing personalised vows to one another on top of the legal vows you are required to say, you can use my vow guidance (which have some STELLER examples of beautiful vows I've heard over the years and some questions/prompts to get you going!). You'll be able to send these to me for feedback or further guidance and I will usually print and bring them along for you on the day too :)

6. I'll send you a run sheet and (if requested!) a copy of your script!

7. We'll catch up either in person or for a phone call to run through the finer details a couple days out from your wedding.

8. On the day of your wedding, if the run sheet allows I'll usually stop by where the wedding party is getting ready to sign some pre ceremony paperwork and for a little pre ceremony pow wow (making sure everyone knows where to stand, when to hit play on the music etc!)

9. YOU'LL GET MARRIED!!!!! And I will be there with you every step of the way, working with your other vendors to ensure everything runs smoothly and making sure you guests feel relaxed, at ease, and ready to hear the Rom Com that is your love story.

10. I'll send you confirmation that your marriage has been registered with Births Deaths and Marriages, and some follow up information about how to change your name (if that's something you have decided to do!)

11. I'll stalk you and your photographer on Instagram, GUSH over your amazing photos and get a real kick out of re-living your day!!

Yes!!! I LOVE elopements! And yes SOMETIMES they will be cheaper than my ‘full shebang’ package.

My pricing is largely based on how many hours I will spend working on your wedding along the way (including all our meetings, drafting your legal paperwork, reading your questionnaires, crafting your ceremony and thats’s all BEFORE I travel to perform your ceremony!)

So - your elopement might be cheaper if you want a standard script with minimal personalisation OR just a shorter personal ceremony.

The best way to find out is to get in touch and tell me as much about your plans as you can!

Yes! I am a Newcastle local (a Novocastrian if you will) but I regularly perform marriage ceremonies in the Hunter Valley, Port Stephens and the Mid North Coast.

For ceremonies further than 1 hour outside of Newcastle, I will charge a reasonable travel fee to account for petty and my time.

The furthest I have travelled for a ceremony (as at the date of writing this!) is Canberra, and the least I have travelled is to 48 Watt Street, Newcastle (I live in Merewether). I challenge you to beat these records!!