Keeping it legal
Let’s look at the least exciting part, but the most important part; getting you legally married. Here are some critical elements.
The Notice of Intended Marriage
The very first thing to attend to is your Notice of Intended Marriage (or NOIM). I’ll need to have it completed at least 1 month prior to your wedding day (except under really exceptional circumstances) and not sooner than 18 months before your wedding day. To complete the NOIM I’ll need you to provide evidence of the following for both of you:
· Date and place of birth
· Identity
· The end of any previous marriages.
The gold standard for evidence of birth is an official passport with a photo or an official Birth Certificate or Extract of Entry. If none of these is available, I’ll talk you through what steps you’ll need to take.
In terms of identity evidence, again an official passport with photo is a winner, as is a driver’s licence or proof of age card that includes a photo. There are some alternative ways we can attend to evidence identity if required, but let’s start with the ideal.
If you have been in a previous marriage that has ended, I’ll need to see official documentation of either death, annulment or dissolution (divorce).
Full Consent
At some point I will need to meet with each of you, independently and in-person to establish that you are entering the marriage with your full consent. This can be a brief meeting, often when we’re signing the DONLI and even on the day of the ceremony, but it must take place before the ceremony.
In the event that I believe either of you is being coerced into the marriage or does not fully comprehend the commitment you are making, I am legally prohibited from solemnising your marriage. Penalties apply for us all if we proceed without full consent from both parties.
The Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marriage
In my world, we refer to this document as the “DONLI” and you’ll both need to sign it. The DONLI attests that:
· Neither of you is currently married to another person, and
· Neither of you is in a prohibited relationship (essentially related to each other in a way that disallows you marrying) and
· Both of you are of marriageable age and
· There is no other circumstance that would be a legal impediment to your marriage.
I’ll talk you through all the requirements and ask you a series of questions that will establish that you can make this declaration honestly.
Further to the idea of “no legal impediment”, I need to be sure that you are able to give informed consent when you conduct your vows and sign your documents. That means I need to be sure you’re not adversely affected by drugs, alcohol, illness or injury on your wedding day. So, while a glass of bubbles before the ceremony is fine, let’s keep things nice. If you’re still in bad shape from the night before or have had a little too much “Dutch courage” the morning of the ceremony, we won’t be able to proceed with a legal marriage.
Legal Vows
During your wedding ceremony you will be obliged to exchange legal vows. These are prescribed by the Attorney General’s Department and there’s almost no wiggle room in terms of their wording. A wedding ceremony is essentially the execution of a verbal contract, and your vows are the contract bit.
Marriage Certificates
After I’ve solemnised your marriage, I’ll ask you both to sign three official marriage documents. You keep one (the Commonwealth Commemorative Certificate), I keep one under lock and key for 6 years and the final one goes to Births Death and Marriages in the state in which your ceremony is conducted.
You’ll also need to arrange for two witnesses to sign the certificates on the day. Your witnesses must be 18 years or over and ideally, well known to you.
