Marlee K Bruinsma, Civil Marriage Celebrant  0437 713 575

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Phone 0437713575

Notice of intended marriage

You need to lodge your notice of intended marriage with your celebrant at least one month before your wedding. For months with less than 30 days, this can be a little tricky. Don’t worry - I’ll ensure that it is done correctly.

For example:

• a notice lodged on the 31st of January will allow you to marry from the 1st of March onwards, not the 28th of February
• a notice lodged on the 1st of January will allow you to marry on the 1st of February

As you can lodge your notice up to 18 months ahead, it is always good to get this done early on in the planning stages of your wedding.

Your can download the notice of intended marriage (PDF 124 kb) to see what information is required or get a paper copy from your celebrant.

You will need to provide:

• birth certificates (officially translated if in another language) or passports
• evidence of any change of name
• certificates showing the end of previous marriages, if applicable, and
• photographic ID, for example, dirivers’ licences.

Shortening of time for your notice of intended marriage

In some special circumstances, you can shorten the time of the notice by making an application to a prescribed authority (usually Births Deaths or Marriages or a court house).

You will need to:

• complete a Notice of Intended Marriage with your celebrant
• make a written application
• pay a fee  
• provide a letter from me as your celebrant to support your application, and
• show evidence to support the shortening of time.

There is no guarantee that a shortening of time will be granted however so it is best to lodge your notice early if possible.  

The only grounds for shortening the notice are:

• employment related or other travel commitments
• wedding or celebration arrangements, or religious considerations
• medical reasons
• legal proceedings, or
• an error in giving notice.

Witnesses

For your wedding ceremony, you need two witnesses who hear and witness the ceremony and sign your marriage certificates with you. They can be related to you or friends. They need to be over 18 and capable of understanding the legal nature of the documents they are signing.

Legal wording in your ceremony

There is some legal wording required in your ceremony in order to make your marriage legal.

These words include:

• the monitum or legal definition of marriage in Australia
• some minimum words that must be included in your vows

Declarations

Closer to your wedding day, you sign declarations under The Marriage Act 1961 that there is no legal impediment to your marriage with each other. These declarations are on the back of the certificate that is sent to the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages to register your marriage after your wedding day.

Marriage certificates

On your wedding day, you sign three marriage certificates:

• I send one of these to Births Deaths and Marriages to register your marriage
• one stays with me as a back up copy in case it’s needed in the future’
• you get a presentation marriage certificate to keep

You may also need to apply for the certified marriage certificate which the Registry can issue after your marriage is registered if you are changing your name.

Interpreters and Translations

If you or your partner cannot speak and understand English well, you will need to arrange an interpreter for your wedding ceremony. They sign declarations about their ability to interpret and afterwards, that they did interpret the wedding ceremony. You need to provide an official translation of any documents you provide to your celebrant if they are not in English.

Prospective marriage visas

If your partner is coming to Australia to marry you with the intention of staying here afterwards, you may need to apply for a prospective marriage visa. You will need to complete a Notice of Intended Marriage with me.

I provide a letter for your partner to give to the Department of Immigration as part of the visa application process, which outlines when and where you intend to marry.

You usually have 9 months to marry after the visa is granted. Once you are married, you provide a certified marriage certificate as evidence of your marriage to fulfil your visa requirements.

As a marriage celebrant, I do the legal paperwork with you to ensure you are legally married after your ceremony. I can also assist with obtaining the certified marriage certificate if you are intending to change your name afterwards.

On your wedding day, you sign three marriage certificates. One is for you to keep - the “presentation” certificate which is evidence of your marriage. It is important to keep this in a safe place as it cannot be replaced if lost or damaged. I ask you to nominate a person to keep it safe for you after the ceremony.

You also sign two other certificates. I send one of these to the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages to register your marriage after your ceremony. I am required to keep the other one as a back up copy.