When should I contact a celebrant? 

Most will tell you the earlier the better, especially if you don’t have a wedding planner, we can offer some insights to help you with the planning process. A more specific answer is that in order to be legally married in Australia you have to complete a Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) at least 30 days before the ceremony. So ideally, start contacting celebrants at least 2 months before your ceremony date to ensure they are available and to allow enough time to meet in person and sign the NOIM. 

But my wedding is in less than 30 days, what do I do?

You technically can apply for a shortening of time if you require less than 30 days notice, however this is subject to the approval of the Attorney General’s office and isn’t necessarily guaranteed. If it’s not approved then there are still options! You can do a commitment ceremony instead, which is just a wedding ceremony without the legal bits and then your celebrant can do a no frills legal ceremony once the appropriate 30 day window has passed and for that you only need two witnesses present.

What does a celebrant actually do?

Great question! The very basics are that a celebrant will complete all the legal documentation for your wedding ceremony. There are 3 main documents involved in this process:

• The Notice of Intended Marriage, this is submitted at least 30 days before the wedding 

• The Declaration of No Legal Impediment, a one page declaration signed just before your ceremony that says you are legally allowed to marry each other 

• The Certificate of Marriage, the certificate you sign on your wedding day to say your are officially married!

The common links between all celebrants is that in Australia you have to be registered with the Attorney-General’s department, so we all have done some form of qualification to prepare us in understanding the legal requirements and basics of writing a ceremony. In most cases, that’s a Certificate IV in Celebrancy, which is what I have. 

They will also write a script for your ceremony. 

Celebrants range in skill and style, just like how finding a partner that suits you is unique, so is finding a celebrant that matches you as a couple. Some celebrants are super high energy, get the party going types, some are really conservative and low key. It’s important to find one that matches you. 

I cater my style to a couple as much as possible. However I will always do a more relaxed style of ceremony, I want the couple to be the stars of the show and I see my role as enhancing that. The ways I will adapt the ceremony will be the types of stories I tell, the humour I use in the script and then overall tone of the writing. Check out my testimonials to see what couples I’ve married say about my style. 

So in a nutshell, as a celebrant I will prepare all of the legal paperwork, write out a script for the ceremony, assist with your vows, and oversee the running of a smooth ceremony on the day. There’s lot of little extras I do as well, and you can find out about that in my packages.

Can a friend or family member do my wedding ceremony?

Absolutely! Not many celebrants will allow this, which is why I consider it my specialty. If you know my story you’ll know how amazing I think it is to be there to marry your best friend, parent, sibling or whoever. I want to help as many people as possible to also experience this. 

Now in saying this, a friend or family member cannot legally marry you. This is where I come in. My ‘Personal Touch’ package is exactly what you’d be looking for. I bring my experience with writing ceremonies, officiating weddings, and qualifications to legally marry you. Then I work with your chosen person to craft a ceremony that ticks all of the boxes, sounds super professional but most importantly sounds like someone you love telling your love story. I’ll be there on the day to quietly step in and conduct the legal parts, and oversee that everything runs smoothly by having all of your materials prepped. And if anything goes wrong – stage fright, a few too many drinks with the groom beforehand or any other hiccups – then I’m there to step in and get everything back on track. 

Why does a ‘Bring Your Own Celebrant’ ceremony cost more when you are speaking less?

So although I’m speaking less, the speaking is actually one of the easiest parts of the celebrant job! The extra cost is because I do a little more work behind the scenes working with your speaker to review the script and make sure it’s not only suitable for you as a couple, but for the person reading it as well. This extra time has a big payoff on the day when your friend is able to confidently deliver all aspects of the ceremony outside of the legals.

Contact me if you have any further questions or are ready to get started!