Tim Kelly - Marriage Celebrant + MC

Tim Kelly - Marriage Celebrant + MC

This almost sounds like a 'surprise' wedding, which are illegal. The most important take-away here is that the Notice of Intended must be signed by at least one party and submitted to their Celebrant no later than 'one month prior to the wedding'. I tell my couples 31 days, just to be on the safe side.

The NOIM can be signed on the wedding day, but only if it already has one partner's signature on it, made on the day that the NOIM was submitted to their Celebrant, no later than one month prior to the wedding. A Celebrant can accept a Notice of Intended Marriage with only one signature on it, as long as that signature is obtained before the oe month cut-off, and that the outstanding signature is obtained prior to the ceremony.

As the Declaration of No Legal Impediment is required to be signed 'as close to the wedding as possible' (the BDM suggests the day before), it is possible to get the outstanding signature at that point. The missing signature MUST be obtained before the ceremony begins.

Also, how recently were they married? The Celebrant should, at some point prior to the ceremony, have spoken to each party, separately, and in private, to ask them if they were:

• 100% consensual to the wedding.
• 100% cognisant of the ramifications of their actions.

This requirement was made law last year.

I hope this helps.

Tim Kelly - Marriage Celebrant + MC

Hi there Bride (or, rather, mother of).

I've read replies from other Celebrants and they cast quite a dark, pessimistic shadow over the whole affair.

The answer is yes, honey. It is definitely do-able. Either in a class room or, like me, online, because there were no physical courses in my region. Took me 7 months, whilst working part-time and experiencing some pretty heavy personal trauma. I'm neurodivergent, hun (ADHD if we must use labels??), and if I did it, well....

Approach any local Celebrants and see if they require witnesses from time to time. I often get couples who elope without anyone to witness, and that is the perfect way to see a ceremony that is about love and commitment and not about bling.

I hope this helps. It will be such a special day for your daughter if you do it, and you can carry on doing it afterwards. It's a lovely excuse to get out of the house on a sunny Saturday afternoon to, literally, be surrounded by nothing but love and laughter. It's also a fun way to put a little extra in the bank for rainy days and holidays and create beautiful memories for people while you do it

Tim Kelly - Marriage Celebrant + MC

You can have two ceremonies, but only one will be allowed to be the legal one. You could have the 'Katb al kitab' as the legal ceremony out of respect for your partner's religion and have the second as a commitment ceremony. Multi-faith relationships can be challenging in this regard, so it is essential that you find a balance that you, and your future mother-in-law, are all happy with. You mention that on the day of the reception you will have a civil ceremony but there is no mention of a Catholic ceremony. A Muslim wedding is obviously recognised as a legal union so my suggestion would be to have the religious ceremony as the legal one and have a commitment ceremony on the day of the reception. This is obvioulsy causing you more than a little concern and I hope that my advice helps.