WHAT TO EXPECT

Once we have connected via phone or email, we can talk about your wedding and what you are hoping for on the day, and if you feel comfortable, we can arrange to meet.

When you are happy to book me as your celebrant, you can secure the date by making a deposit when you complete and sign the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) form which we can fill in together or you can download it online from the Attorney General's Department (www.ago.vic.au/FamiliesandMarriage/Marriage/Pages/Forms).

You will need to provide the celebrant with some form of identity like a birth certificate or a passport.

The NOIM needs to be received by the celebrant at least one month prior to the date of the wedding, and no longer than 18 months beforehand.

I will also send you some samples of vows and wedding ceremonies to give you a starting point that we can work from, along with a brochure entitled Happily Ever Before and After which must be given to all marrying couples before their wedding as stipulated on the NOIM (subsection 42(5A) of the Marriage Act). 

You will also need to nominate two witnesses to sign the official marriage certificates.

The two witnesses must be 18 years of age or over.

Then we can begin the fun part; creating your ceremony. 

We can talk over the phone, email each other and meet in person to discuss your ideas and what you like and don't like. 

The most important thing is that the ceremony has meaning for you and that it reflects you as a couple. 

You can include family, friends, children, rituals, symbols and music. 

Or not! 

I can create a first draft and then you can continue to make adjustments until you both feel happy that the ceremony conveys a sense of who you are as people.

It's always a good idea to have a rehearsal in the week running up to the wedding so everyone has a chance to get comfortable with their roles and to understand the order of the ceremony. 

It also gives us the opportunity to complete the No Legal Impediment to Marriage declaration which needs to be signed before the wedding can take place. 

On the day of your wedding, I will arrive an hour beforehand to set up and liaise with you and the wedding party, the photographer and the venue management to make sure everything is in place for the ceremony.

I will greet your family and friends along with other guests and make everyone feel welcome.

I'll also check in with you both before we go ahead and begin the ceremony.

Then it's time to get married.

Once you've said "I do", we'll sign all the marriage certificates to make sure everything's legal.

And then... you are married!

Time to celebrate.

I will send all the necessary legal documentation to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages within fourteen days of the date of your wedding.

Then it's for real, for keeps and forever.

Can't wait to hear from you. 

I'd love to help you create a lasting memory of love and happiness on your wedding day.