There are a number of aspects to your ceremony which must be adhered to, in order to satisfy the legal requirements. A marriage must be performed by an Authorised Marriage Celebrant (also known as a 'Civil Marriage Celebrant') or a Religious Marriage Celebrant. The Attorney-General’s Department oversees all Marriage Celebrants and provides a code of practice, to which all celebrants must adhere (a copy of this will be provided in the clients’ resource directory).

A Notice of Intended Marriage, (NOIM) must be completed no more than 18 months and no less than one calendar month prior to the marriage. Therefore, if you plan to have your wedding on the 15th of October, you must lodge your NOIM with your celebrant on the 14th of September, at the very latest. I am occasionally asked by couples how they should go about applying for a "marriage license". This is not required - all you need to do is submit the NOIM to your celebrant by the appropriate time.

The signing of the NOIM must be witnessed by an authorised person, usually the celebrant. (If you are interstate or overseas, you will find a list of authorised persons able to witness your signatures on the NOIM itself.)

The celebrant must sight your original (or official extract) birth certificates. Those born overseas or travelling to Australia for their wedding may show either their original overseas birth certificate and/or their overseas passport.

Marriage, according to Australian law, is " the union of a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life".

Both the bride and the groom must be over 18. While it is possible for one of the parties to be be aged 16 or 17, consent must be given by a parent and a judge.

Two witnesses must be present during the ceremony, both over 18. The bride, groom and both witnesses must not be intoxicated during the ceremony.

During your ceremony, the celebrant must make it known to all present that they are duly authorised by law to perform the marriage ceremony. This is called the “Celebrant Authority”, also known as the “monitum”. Australian law also requires that you say specific vows, although you are most welcome to add to these vows with your own personal vows. Other than the Celebrant Authority and the official vows, you can personalise your ceremony as much as you like.