Ask The Experts: What You Should Know About The Marriage Registry

Here on the blog I am very proud of the wide readership I have. The blog is read all over the world, obviously a large part of the readership is in the UK but also a large proportion spread across the US and Australia. So today I am looking at weddings in NSW (New South Wales in southeastern Australia) When you get married in a different country there are always going to be different laws and rules to follow, so today I am going to talk you through what you should know about when getting married in a NSW Marriage Registry.

What You Should Know About The NSW Marriage Registry

Getting married is a dream for many, there were 89,164 marriages in Australia in 2021 alone! As you plan to get married, there are different types of weddings that you can choose from. You can have a wedding under the NSW Marriage Registry office, a church wedding, or a kind of wedding where you look for your officiant.

With the marriage registry in NSW, you can guarantee that you’ll be saving plenty of bucks as the ceremony and the venue come in a bundle. You can compare the prices with planning for your own wedding by arranging for the ceremony venue, wherein you need to look for different suppliers and services.
The marriage registry in NSW requires a strict process that you should follow to get married on your scheduled time and date, and allow for a smooth wedding event.

Provide Your Proof of Identity

Before you’re allowed to get married through a registry wedding in NSW, you need to provide your proof of identity, enabling the office to see if you and your partner are qualified to get married. Listed below are the things that you should provide:

• Original birth certificate
• Current passport, if none, other current IDs are eligible

If either one of you and your partner has been previously married, you should also provide:

• If divorced, an original divorce certificate
• If widowed, a death certificate

It’s essential that you provide original copies to the registry office to validate your documents. Along with this, if your documents aren’t in English, you should hire a qualified interpreter to translate them.

Bring Witnesses

Before getting married, the government requires you to bring two persons to witness the ceremony and the signing of the marriage certificate. You should bring your own witnesses as the registry can’t supply them for you.
Your witness must be at least 18 years old, and must speak and understand English.

Interviews

If you’re planning to have a registry wedding outside of the NSW government, interviews aren’t mandatory. However, getting yourself interviewed would benefit you and your partner a lot.
Depending on who’s officiating the interview, the process can help you as a couple bring the spark and love alive, especially when you tell your story about how you met and why you want to get married. Plus, during the interview, you can ask any question that you need an answer for concerning the wedding, such as the date and venue.

What Happens During The Wedding Ceremony

After you’ve booked your date and venue with the marriage registry, you need to prepare for the wedding. When the special day comes, anticipate the following things to happen:

• The wedding ceremony would only happen between 15 to 20 minutes.
• You and your partner need to sign declarations stating that you’re both 18 years old or older, aren’t currently and legally married to someone else, and you’re both not directly related to each other.
• You’ll be exchanging your wedding vows in front of each other.
• After completing the vows, you’ll need to sign your marriage certificate along with your two witnesses, and they’ll present to you the marriage certificate as a married couple.

It’s important that you arrive at the wedding venue at least 15 minutes before the scheduled wedding ceremony for proper preparation and avoid going beyond your scheduled hours, especially when the next couple is waiting in the line.

Various Locations

What’s great with a registry wedding in NSW is that you don’t have to settle for the traditional wedding ceremony inside the office. Right now, there are plenty of venues that you could choose from.
If you’re planning to go to a government registry office, you can choose from the following venues:

• Chippendale
• Parramatta
• Handpicked cellar door
• Manly surf life saving club
• Taronga zoo
• Old Wollongong courthouse

However, if you’d like to widen your options, you can have a wedding that’s not under the registry office, but is legal and valid.
Apart from picking the perfect location, you should also pick the venue for your wedding reception, which should incorporate the theme you love. You can choose to have a tropical boho theme if you’re planning for a summer wedding, or a winter wonderland theme if you’re planning to get married in December. Just ensure that it goes well with the venue and fits right within your budget.

Conclusion

Getting married is magical, and while the magic and love float around the room as you get married, there are things that you should know about to qualify and be ready for the wedding.
You’re required to have two witnesses, and you have the freedom to choose if you want to get married under the government marriage registry office or hire a private company that operates legally.

THIS IS A COLLABORATIVE POST