How to: Choosing Your Marriage Celebrant
During the past months, the Australian government has been working very hard to change some aspects round the celebrant’s status, responsibilities and legal standing. If you are planning a wedding, it is vital that you visit their web page and read about all the changes and proposed changes as it will affect you.
Pay particular attention to the one month notice period policy. In Australia you need to give one calendar month notice to a celebrant about your marriage. The new law changed the day count by re calculating the thirty day notice. Have a look and be sure to discuss it with your celebrant way in advance of the month notice period so that you know when to give your notice.
Keep in mind that celebrants deliver a vital service as they act as legal officers and apart from the service, they also help you fill in and sign very important legal papers. Where there are legal documents involved, it is advisable that you remove those ‘in love spectacles’ and read all documents you are going to sign at least twice. Once you sign those wedding documents, they become a legal contract between you and your partner and to change it will cost you time and money.
Points to look out for on the paperwork include the correct spelling of all names and that the correct addresses are listed. Weddings do bring about quite a few changes and sometimes it is difficult to put down an address, so use the address where you live permanently on the day of your wedding. Also keep a tight eye on birth dates.
Some couples have quite a lot of paperwork to complete prior to a wedding as they deal with complex arrangements that deal with possessions before the marriage, first wife, children and other complicating factors. Best thing to do is to get your lawyers to set up a meeting and get all of this sorted at once. Do it long before the wedding to avoid any emotional problems that may arise.
If you do run into emotional objections to paperwork and legal matters, you need to sort them out to the satisfaction of both parties. This is one of those nigglers that sit in the back of the minds of people and come out when you least expect it, so deal with it now.
Brides that want to marry non Australian citizens will be glad to hear that the celebrants and government are working at present to see what can be done to make this process less stressful. If this affects you, have your say and read what was proposed during March 2012. The government website has all the information you will need to make the best choices, so do consult it regularly in the build-up to your wedding.
