Ceremony

Please be assured that my wedding ceremonies comply with all required legalities under Australian Law.

Your wedding is your very special day and it should be as perfect as it can be. No two wedding ceremonies are alike because no two couples are the same - you have your own special magic. Your wedding ceremony should be about yourselves, your beliefs, your relationships with family, your traditions and your hopes for the future.

I will work with you to create your wedding ceremony that will touch your hearts and create for you the most beautiful memories. Your unique, personalised wedding ceremony will reflect your love, beliefs and values, a ceremony with the utmost significance that will live in your hearts forever. We will meet and spend time sharing ideas on how to make YOUR wedding an unforgettable magical time – a celebration of love. I will ask you many questions to get to know you, your history and your hopes and dreams. Your initial consultation is free. A booklet of all the words spoken in your ceremony is my gift to you.

Marriage Vows

Your vows are the heart of your ceremony. This is your opportunity to express to your partner all the feelings that you hold in your heart and your commitment to a shared future. You can choose from my large collection of both traditional and modern marriage vows or we can work together to write your very own.

Readings

The readings you can include in your wedding ceremony can be poetry or prose.  They can be read by family members or friends of your choosing or I am happy to present your readings. If you or a member of your family feel more comfortable with a religious base verse there is no problem to include this if it is your wish. Again, I have a large collection of readings or we can include any special verse you may have. Your readings should continue the theme of your ceremony.

Wedding Locations

You can choose any location you wish - park or garden - beach or bay side. But remember, if your first choice is outside, do have an alternate location worked out in case of bad weather. Keep in mind whether you will have sun or shade at the time you wish to marry and any other environmental conditions that may apply. Also consider access for friends and family especially the very young and older people who may need to park close by.

Music

You can have any music you like included in your ceremony, playing both before and after the formalities. Carefully chosen music adds to the atmosphere and ambience and you may like to consider appointing someone responsible for the coordination of the music to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Legalities of Getting Married

To begin the legalities of your marriage you will need to complete and lodge with your chosen celebrant a Notice of Intention to Marry form and if you were born in Australia you will need to provide your Birth Certificate. If you were NOT born in Australia other forms of identification will be required.

If you have been married before you will also need either a Death Certificate of your former spouse or, if you have been divorced you will need a copy of your Decree Absolute. The NOIM (Notice of Intention to Marry) must be signed and lodged with your celebrant 'not less than one month and one day' and 'not more than 18 months' before your ceremony. There are other documents to be signed including Signing the Register and Certificates as part of your ceremony.

I will guide you through the paperwork before and on the day to make it as easy as possible.

Looking for something REALLY different?

Did you 'LOVE" the wedding in "GLEE"? You really can have a wedding with all that excitement! Not the Sue Sylvester one - the OTHER one!

I have many ideas for different ceremonies so just call me or email me and we can chat about creating a ceremony for you that is absolutely unique.

Immigration

If you are intending to apply for  a spouse visa application the prescribed steps are quite simple.
 
We will need to meet and fill out a “Notice of Intended Marriage” form provided by me. You will need to provide appropriate identification.
 
As your celebrant, I will give you a letter addressed to  the Immigration Department, stating that I have accepted  the “Notice of Intended Marriage” form from you and  the date and place you and your fiancé intend to marry. When your fiancé or intended spouse is granted the Spouse Visa, we then meet again and discuss your wedding plans.
 
I have conducted the weddings of many couples from overseas. It is always a privilege to be able to assist, to bring couples together and to celebrate their wedding.

I am happy to go through all of your questions at our first meeting.  To arrange a no-obligation, free appointment, please call me on 07 3348 8985 or 0438 417 066 or email me on ja.crawford@abeautifulservice.com.au
 

Name Changes and Certificates

Short answer to the question "does a bride have to change her name" – is "NO" IT IS A CHOICE FOR A BRIDE TO CHANGE HER NAME AND THERE IS NO LEGAL REQUIREMENT TO DO SO. However, most brides do, and the explanation below is to assist you in that process.

A Marriage comes under a Federal (Commonwealth ) Act of Parliament . The wedding legalities and documents are the same no matter which state or Territory of Australia you live, or are married in.

Some couples never request a Registered Marriage Certificate although I do recommend that you do so. If the bride wants to change her name on her Drivers Licence or Passport (and usually Bank Accounts) she needs a Registered Marriage Certificate to do this .

However, the State Parliaments have control of keeping the Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages and can have some slight differences the way the Registered Marriage Certificate is supplied if one is requested.

Let me outline this aspect of your Queensland wedding.

At the end of your ceremony, after your celebrant has declared you to be husband & wife, the certificates are signed.

I ask my couples to sign my register first (this is a legal requirement on the part of the celebrant to keep a Register of all marriages she has performed). I then ask that the newly married husband & wife – in turn – sign the Certificate of Marriage and then the Presentation Certificate. The signatures are all witnessed by the same two people (over the age of 18 years) chosen to be the official witnesses who, of course, add their signatures.

The Presentation Certificate – which is a legal document and carries an individual registered number on the back, and is often written in a calligraphied font, is usually handed to the bride & groom as the celebrant introduces them as ‘husband & wife.’

After the wedding the celebrant completes her paperwork and the Certificate of Marriage is then sent by the celebrant along with the Notice of Intended Marriage (the very first form you completed) to the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages in Brisbane, where the marriage is registered.

Your celebrant will most probably have discussed with you if you require a registered copy of your Certificate of Marriage and may even have provided the form for you to complete. This is the easiest way for you to obtain your registered copy as the celebrant sends your request form to BDM with the other paperwork and you then receive a registered copy in the mail approximately 20 working days later. (This time can vary greatly depending on the time of year and the number of weddings being performed).

If you decide not to complete the Request Form to receive a registered copy of your Certificate of Marriage then you can make your request at a later date. You will however need to provide 100 points of identification to prove you are a person who is entitled to obtain the certificate. So, although a bride can call herself ‘Mrs’ immediately after her wedding for a bride to change her name with Government departments and institutions like banks or building societies and credit unions, you will need to provide the registered copy of your Certificate of Marriage.

So, to summarise, if the Bride or Groom do not want a Registered Certificate of Marriage then they do not have to do anything. But if you do require a registered Certificate of Marriage, as there are significant differences in this procedure from State to State in Australia, check with your celebrant, minister or Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages in the state in which you will be married.