How do we pick the perfect celebrant for us?

This is your big day! You want all of the right vendors involved in the day. You must vibe with them. It’s super important that you get along with your celebrant, feel comfortable in their presence and can see yourself enjoying the planning stages and your wedding day with them as part of it.

Don’t be afraid to ask to meet them to see if you ‘click’ and remember, if you ain’t vibing you don’t have to book them.

Kate, what do you actually do?

• Fill in and lodge all legal paperwork
• Lodge your wedding with births, deaths and marriages and arrange for the official marriage certificate to be delivered to your door.
• Guide you effortlessly through the planning stages of the wedding ceremony
• Support you in writing your vows
• Have a wealth of knowledge about wedding, local vendors and cool things that could be included in your day
• Walk you through the logistics of the wedding ceremony at a rehearsal (if needed)
• Turn up on the day, early, greet guests, keep you calm and co-ordinate the ceremony

What are the legal requirements?

Lodgement of the Notice of Intended Marriage at least one calendar month before your ceremony. Each party must show proof of identify, date and place of birth and termination of any previous marriages. Declaration of no legal impediment to marry must be signed prior to the wedding ceremony. Three marriage certificates signed after the marriage has taken place.

What is the required timing required for the legal documents?

The Notice of Intended Marriage needs to be lodged with me at least one calendar month prior to your wedding.

We don’t have one month, is there a way to get married sooner?

Yes, the parties must apply for a shortening of time. They must present to a prescribed authority with the Notice of Intent to Marry and any other documents they may need as evidence to support their reasoning for a required shortening of time.

5 circumstances in which parties may apply for a shortening:

• Employment related or other travel commitments
• Wedding or celebration arrangements or religious commitments
• Medical reasons
• Legal proceedings
• An error giving notice

*NOTE: not all shortenings will be approved.

**A list of prescribe authorities is available on the Attorney-General’s Department’s website.

How far ahead of time do we need to book you?

You can lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage up to 18 months prior to your date so I suggest you get in touch as soon as you have made plans to get married to avoid disappointment.

Popular wedding dates, in particular Saturdays in October - March will book out up to 12 months in advance.

Can we choose the details of our ceremony?

You sure can! If you have any special people you would like involved, any particular readings/poems or any out there ideas for something you would like included in your ceremony let me know. I will do my absolute best to make sure we can work whatever it is you like into your ceremony so that your day is exactly as you want it- as long as we include all of the required legal aspects.

Do you bring your own equipment?

PA - Yes! I do all I can to keep my PA in tip top shape with an annual service and regular charging to ensure that it works seamlessly on the day.

Signing Table - if you are being married at a venue you will need to contact them to see if they have anything appropriate otherwise you will need to organise something.

Have a tall friend with broad shoulders? Their back may make the perfect table.

We have no idea what’s included in a ceremony, where do we even start?

That’s a-okay! I’m your girl and have your back.

I have an extensive resource catalogue and also a bit of a ceremony structure cheat sheet that helps you with the basis of what can be included in your ceremony and will help you through this process.

How long does a ceremony generally go for?

Roughly 20-30 minutes.

It is dependent on what you choose to include in your ceremony such as readings, poems or rituals.

Do you travel?

I sure do! I LOVE TO TRAVEL! Around the corner, 3 hours away, interstate or you guessed it, overseas!

* There will be an additional travel cost for ceremonies more than a 100km round trip from my postcode.

What do you wear?

I always do my best to dress appropriately for each wedding I perform! My regular wedding attire tends to be lots of fun, bright and patterned dresses.

If you are interested in a theme wedding I do love a dress up and would be more than happy to chat about how I can accommodate this.

Check out my socials for some of the awesome dresses I love to wear.

Can we elope?

Absolutely! Why not get away to an awesome location, just the two of you and two witnesses if you would like them there.

Want to elope without anyone knowing? Lucky for you, I work with two awesome photographers that can also double as your witnesses.

Contact me and we can give you more information about the awesomeness that we can offer.

Check out our Instagram @elopementsbythesea

Do we need a permit for where we want to get married?

Well that depends! Some native reserves, parks or beaches will require you to obtain a permit from the local council. This is up to you to organise and cover the cost on however I can let you know how to go about this.

Can we have a surprise wedding?

For your guests yes! However, both parties of the marriage need to be fully aware of the wedding and give consent to get married.