Choosing a celebrant can be hard. You are choosing the person to join you with your loved one. Finding the right one is important.
If you are meeting with a celebrant to simply decide if you want to engage this person’s services, then simply bring yourself. Try to have an idea of what you want from your celebrant – do you want all the bells and whistles, someone willing to parachute from a plane with you and your beloved and marry you wherever you land? (Spoiler – that’s not me). Do you want a cookie cutter pre-planned ceremony where you only have to change the names. (I can do that if that’s really what you are after.) Or do you want someone who will get to know you, personalise your ceremony and make you the priority on your day? (This is my favourite type!)
If you have already decided on a celebrant, and you just want to get the ball rolling, here’s what you need to know for the initial meeting:
You must compete a Notice of Intent to Marry (NOIM) at least one calendar month before your wedding and lodge it with your celebrant. Usually they will do this with you, but sometimes this isn’t possible and you may need to arrange an alternative with your celebrant. If you haven’t fixed a date yet, that’s ok, this form is valid for 18 months after you lodge it with your celebrant.
You need to bring with you:
- Your birth certificates
- Photo ID – E.G. Passport, Driver’s licence
- Change of name documentation if your name is different to the one on your birth certificate – this might include previous marriage certificates, name change certificates, deed poll etc.
- Evidence of Divorce, Death or Nullity of any previous marriages.
- All documents must be accompanied with an accredited translation if not in English.
If you have any poems or songs you want to include in the ceremony, bring them along. You can choose to write your own vows to go along with the legal ones, but you do not have to write the ceremony! This is our job, and we will have plenty of suggestions for you.
Bring anything you want to show your celebrant – but do remember that they are there for the ceremony and to make sure it’s all legal. They will likely have contacts within the wedding industry if you would like recommendations, but they are not trained wedding planners!
Your celebrant may require a deposit, or in some cases full payment to secure your date. Check with them in advance.
Lastly, do allow an hour or more for the NOIM meeting. There’s paperwork to do and stories to tell. However, don’t expect to walk out of that meeting with a fully written ceremony. Most celebrants will spend anywhere from 6-12 hours (or more!) writing your personalised ceremony. Check with them as to what sort of time frame you can expect the first draft, and be upfront about how much input you want to have.
