Together With Jo - Bilingual English & Vietnamese

The following legal requirements are a must for a marriage conducted by a registered marriage celebrant to be considered legal in Australia:

• You are required to have two witnesses at the ceremony who are at least 18 years of age to sign the certificates and register with you.
• Both parties must be at least 18 years of age. (With the exception of Section 12 from The Marriage Act 1961).
• You must sign a declaration to state that there are no legal impediments to the marriage, (for example, being married to someone else with no divorce finalised, the bride and groom being too closely related etc.)
• A Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) must be lodged with your celebrant no less than one month and no earlier than 18 months before your ceremony. (With the exception of Section 42 (5) of The Marriage Act 1961 - A ‘Shortening of Time’ may be applied for under the right circumstances and must be approved by a Prescribed Authority. Ask me how.)
• There are also 4 things that MUST be said during the ceremony: I must always introduce myself, the couple’s full names must be said at least once, the Monitum must be said, and the legal vows must be recited.

• You must show your original (not photocopied) birth certificate, extract of birth OR Passport.
• If you have been married previously, you must show your Divorce Decree Absolute or Death Certificate of your previous spouse.

For full details and all the info for couples who are about to get married, I recommend visiting the Attorney General's Department website.

YES! I strongly recommend this for the couple, the bridal party and whoever else is involved in the ceremony (doing a reading etc) to attend a rehearsal 1 week before the wedding, at the venue (if feasible) at the time of the ceremony. This is to check weather, ie if the sun will be in anyone eyes at the time of ceremony or for any last minute changes. This helps with nerves big time – even just to feel more confident about the choreography for the bridal party so there’s nothing left to do on the big day but to enjoy yourselves!

Ah yes, a mistake often made. It’s sad how many couples look back and wish they had someone more full of life, spoke clearer, was warmer to your guests, or even knew the options they had for a ceremony before it’s too late.

I don’t just ‘stand up the front and talk for 20 minutes’, when we sign on together, an average of 20 hours is spent per wedding. The legal paperwork, face to face meetings, the creative writing for your ceremony and the hours of communication with you all adds up.

I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure you have the BEST, bespoke ceremony and experience, engaging with all of your guests, sharing with you all the possibilities and you’ll know then, that you don’t ‘just want the cheap one’ :)

I always make every effort to co-ordinate as best I can to your bridal colours and styles, so tell me what colours your bridesmaids are wearing, what flowers you will carry, and the theme of your wedding, so I can fit in as best I can.