Legal Requirements

The Notice Of Intended Marriage must be lodged with a celebrant no later than one month before the wedding date, signed by an authorised person. (click here for a list of authorised persons FAQ's).

Provide the appropriate photo identification and proof of date and place of birth (eg: birth certificate and drivers licence or passport). For more information regarding identification and required paperwork check the FAQ's.

If either party has previously been married, you will need divorce certificate, a death certificate or proof of the dissolution of the marriage.

Under the law in Australia, Marriage Act 1961, Section 45(2), legal vows must be said, along with any personal vows that you may wish to say.

I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, A.B. (or C.D.), take thee, C.D. (or A.B.), to be my lawful wedded wife (or husband, or spouse).

Under the law in Australia, Marriage Act 1961, Section 46(1), the Monitum must be said in front of your witnesses and guests, and consists of the following words.

"I am duly authorised by law to solemnise marriages according to law. Before you are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these witnesses, I am to remind you of the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are now about to enter. Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of two people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life."