Couples opt for a simple legal ceremony or ‘quickie’ wedding for a range of reasons. These include wanting to be legally married before having a religious ceremony, a celebration overseas or travelling to countries where couples need to be married to settle there.
Occasionally couples want an elopement style wedding without family fuss. Sometimes people find that getting married in that exotic tropical paradise is actually quite tricky. They need to apply months in advance, they may need a period of residency or other legal requirements. So, they opt for a legal wedding here and are still able to have a big marriage celebration which has everything they want for their special day, later on, without the ceremony needing to be a legal one.
Of course the Australian marriage, while being a simple legal one or ‘quickie’, must still conform to the requirements of the Marriage Act 1961. You will still need to submit the Notice of Intended Marriage one month before the ceremony takes place.
I endeavour to make simple legal ceremonies just as special as the lavish ones by providing a pretty location in the garden for the ceremony or, in cold weather, having flowers and a lovely inside space. I’m very happy to play music and serve some bubbly afterwards.
Below: celebrating with Jackie and Martin after their mid winter ceremony. They ‘surprised’ the family with the news of their wedding at a big family birthday celebration the next weekend.
A few shots of my little courtyard garden ready for a ceremony:
