Tag Archives: Kangaroo Valley Celebrant Wedding Paperwork

Family Relationship Services – why does your celebrant tell you about this?

07 Jul 2015
Posted in: Celebrant, Legal Requirements, Relationship Support 0

You are happily planning your wedding and looking forward to a wonderful future of blissful married life together.

So why is your celebrant telling you about family relationship services or counselling or pre-marriage education – can they predict something about your relationship or are they just being pessimistic about the future of any marrying couple?

The reality is that each Celebrant must comply with the Marriage Act, which specifies that they must conduct themselves in accordance with a Code of Practice (contained as Schedule 1A of the Regulations).  Specifically, Item 6 of the Code states:  “Knowledge and understanding of family relationships services.  A marriage celebrant must: 1. maintain an up‑to‑date knowledge about appropriate family relationships services in the community; and 2. inform parties about the range of information and services available to them to enhance, and sustain them throughout, their relationship.”

Your celebrant will be able to provide you with details of services specific to your region, and will also provide you with a copy of the Government issued booklet “Happily Ever … Before and After”.  This booklet specifically discusses Family Relationships Online, which is an Australian Government Initiative.

Family Relationships Online provides all families with access to information about family relationship issues, ranging from building better relationships to dispute resolution. It also allows families to find out about a range of services that can assist them to manage relationship issues.

You can contact Family Relationships Online at: http://www.familyrelationships.gov.au or by phone on 1899 050 321.

So your celebrant is not being negative by providing you with this information, they are meeting their legal obligations and also providing you with details of a service that could help your relationship should you ever need it.

Who Will Be Your Witnesses?

13 Nov 2014
Posted in: Ceremony Tips, Legal Requirements 0

Why do you need witnesses at your marriage ceremony?

A legal requirement for a marriage ceremony is that two people over the age of 18 shall be present at the ceremony and be witnesses to the marriage.  They are also required, along with the bride, the groom and the celebrant, to sign each of the marriage certificates immediately after the marriage is solemnised.

The purpose of having witnesses is to be able to establish the identity of the bride and groom, and for this reason it is preferred that the witnesses know the bride and/or groom.  If necessary, the witnesses are also able to confirm details about how and when the ceremony was performed.

So who can be your witnesses?

If you have a bridal party, the witnesses are often the chief bridesmaid and the best man.  However, this is not mandatory, and not all marrying couples have attendants or a bridal party.

The witnesses do not have to be gender specific – you might choose to have the traditional one female and one male, or you may choose to have two females or two males as your witnesses.

You might like to have the mothers or fathers of the bride and groom as witnesses, or other family members or close friends that you would like to include in the ceremony.

Children of the marrying couple are able to be legal witnesses to the marriage, but only if they are 18 years of age or older.

Witnesses would ideally be able to attend your wedding rehearsal, so they know in advance when they will be called upon during the ceremony and what documents they will be signing.

So as part of your wedding planning, you do have another decision to make – who will be your two witnesses?

Testimonials

  • Our written ceremony was perfect – it was clear that Rosemary understood what we wanted and delivered. On the day, the ceremony was above and beyond what we expected. We would definitely recommend Rosemary’s services to other couples planning their wedding.

    K and B

  • Rosemary was a friendly, helpful, thoughtful and professional celebrant who helped us create a ceremony that was perfectly suited to us. She was helpful throughout the whole process of planning and went over and above at the rehearsal and ceremony to make sure everything went smoothly.

    Anisa

  • Rosemary is a very calm, personable and professional celebrant. She helped us continuously in the lead-up to our outdoor wedding, ensuring our ceremony was wonderfully smooth. Of the many highlights of our wedding day, the ceremony was definitely one of them!

    Jaime and Nigel

  • For us, the ceremony was the most important aspect of our day and Rosemary helped us to find the right words to express our love and commitment to each other. Many people commented on how moving they found the ceremony and how well it reflected us as both individuals and as a couple. We would highly recommend Rosemary to anyone seeking a celebrant sensitive to and able to respond to the clients requirements.

    Karen and Grant

  • We’ve had great feedback about how lovely our ceremony was. Thank you for making this memorable not only for us but for our families and friends as well.

    Ruby and Mike

  • We really appreciated the work that you put into making the service just right for us – a great way to start our life together as husband and wife.

    Mark and Anna

  • Thanks for making our day so special for us. The ceremony was absolutely what we wanted and meant so much to us.

    Sandra and Terry

  • Rosemary was always very friendly and most helpful in providing suggestions. We were very happy and everyone commented on how wonderful the ceremony was.

    Laura and Tim

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