There are a handful of legal words that have to be said during the ceremony but apart from that your ceremony is a blank canvas.  I can guide you in structure, the wording etc but really you can do almost anything you like!

Two people, over the age of eighteen can be your witnesses.  They should be able to speak and understand English.  & that’s it.  You can literally have anyone you want as your witness, as long as they fit these two requirements. Some people choose best man and maid of honour, others choose their mums or dads, or it can be anyone else you choose. The witnesses, both of you and me – we all sign two wedding certificates to make the wedding legally legit.

The only bit ‘you have to do’ is the legal vows, where you would both repeat after me, as below:

‘I (state full name here), call on the people here to witness that I take you (state full name here) to be my lawfully wedded wife/husband/partner …’

A lot of couples also choose to do personal vows in addition to the legal vows.

They can often be the highlight of a ceremony.

I have lots of tips and advise on writing them and guidelines on the structure that I can share with you.

You need to have lodged (i.e. have filled in and then been witnessed signing) the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) a minimum of a month before your wedding can take place.

A ‘Legals Only’ ceremony can take 5-10 minutes and generally an ‘All the Frills’ ceremony takes about 20-30 minutes.

You can obtain a marriage certificate after the wedding from the office of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) in the state in which you were married.  You then apply to banks, passport office, ATO, etc individually to have your name changed to a new married one.  Most of them will just ask to see your BDM marriage certificate.

A surprise wedding ceremony is a ceremony whereby most guests, if not all, only learn that a marriage ceremony is to take place moments beforehand. Often guests arrive believing they are attending an engagement or birthday party. The surprise element can’t extend to any party to the marriage. In other words, no matter how romantic or appropriate the gesture may seem you can’t surprise your partner with a marriage ceremony.

I become the familiar face for your wedding guests through the whole day, who they build trust with right from the start. It means your aunty or friend enjoy the wedding, while I run around keeping an eye on time and helping update all your suppliers.