WHEN SHOULD I BOOK A WEDDING?

By law, you must give at least ONE months notice to be married, and that waiting period starts when we get the Notice of Intended Marriage form, duly witnessed by a police officer, a doctor, lawyer, JP or us as your celebrant. We can watch you signing the NOIM form on Zoom or Facetime. You do not need a wedding date straight away, you can submit the NOIM form and then advise us of a wedding date later….it helps to get the waiting period started now.

Who can the witnesses on the wedding be?

The two required witnesses DO NOT have to be Australian citizens or residents. Anyone, even 2 strangers we can hire in for you, can be the witnesses. They just need to be over 18, and understand English. We do not need identification from them.

What documents do we need to supply?

It is very important that the correct documents are supplied before the wedding or the marriage cannot be conducted. We must sight Australian or International passports (expired is okay), OR Birth Certificates, (translated into English by NAATI) and drivers licences or photo ID, as well as the certificate showing how the previous marriage ended, if previously married. The Divorce or Death certificate for example.

How many guests can we have?

For the Legals only ceremony, 2 witnesses, for the Legals Only PLUS ceremony, 6 guests or for an additional fee, up to 12 guests, and for the Registry Wedding, 20 guests.

How do I pay?

We email an invoice which allows you to pay by credit/debit card online, but do not worry, you can make a booking and then pay the $150 booking fee within 7 days, or please discuss with us any financial issues and we can work with you. I prefer we get the NOIM form completed and then worry about the payment.

How long does the ceremony go for?

Generally a legals only ceremony with the 2 witnesses will be completed within 15 minutes. A Legals Only Plus ceremony will go for about 12 minutes and you have a 30 minute booking in the chapel to allow plenty of time with your guests for photos. A longer Registry Style Wedding, with up to 20 guests allows you a 60 minute booking so that if you wanted, we can tell a story about how you met, the proposal etc.

What do we need to bring on the wedding day?

Just bring a drivers licence/photo ID. We do not need the original NOIM form or your passports.

Can a religious component be included in the ceremony even if the ceremony is not held in a church?

Of course, this is one of the beauties of a civil ceremony, you can tailor it to your needs, and you can have as much or as little religious component as you wish. Remember there will no religious component if you do not want any. Our wedding chapel is non-religious and open for all to use for their wedding.

Can we say personal vows?

Of course, just bring them with you on the wedding day.

What do we wear to the ceremony?

We always say to wear whatever you feel comfortable in. You do not have to wear a wedding dress and a suit, especially if having a small legals only wedding.

Many couples do dress up in the full wedding day bridal dress and suit, that is completely up to you.

We also have many couples coming in casual wear if having a ceremony overseas for example.

If you don't know what to wear, a good suggestion is to wear what you wear if going out to a nice restaurant for dinner.

Do we need wedding rings?

The exchanging of rings are a personal choice and not a compulsory part of the wedding ceremony. It is your choice if you want to exchange rings.

Can I have a bridal party?

We love you want to have a bridal party and they of course can make the entrance down the aisle and either stand at the front or they can take a seat.

What if I need to postpone/cancel the ceremony?

Cancellation 10 days or more before the wedding.

If the wedding is cancelled at least 10 days before the ceremony, the fee paid will be refunded less a payment of $150 as we will have already dealt with Births Deaths and Marriages as well as starting the preparation of your marriage legal work and this covers our staff time. If the legal work has been approved and printed then there is a refundable fee of $225 due wiht the balance refunded.

Cancellation less than 10 days before the wedding.

If the wedding is cancelled within 10 days, there is no refund as we have done a lot of work to that point and declined other weddings. If your ceremony payment was not made and you cancel the wedding, please understand that we will invoice for the $225 fee as we have already done legal work and prepared the ceremony. This was agreed by you in the Terms and Conditions of your booking.

Rescheduling of the wedding date.

Included in your ceremony fee is ONE free date change, if rescheduled at least 10 days before your existing wedding date. Subsequent changes to the wedding date will incur a $40 fee as we have to deal with Births Deaths and Marriages and redo legal documents.

If you reschedule the date once the legal documents have been signed off for printing, there will be a $75 fee as we need to reproduce and print all the ceremony and legal documents and this takes a considerable amount of time.

Can I bring cake or champagne?

As we are set up for simple intimate ceremonies we do not have glasses or plates to serve champagne or cake.

Also, as we do multiple weddings in a day we do not want the red carpet to be stained with cake or champagne. You are welcome to use the tables outside the building on the ground floor after the ceremony.

Can I bring a pet in?

Whilst we prefer pets do not come in to the ceremony chapel, we do allow SMALL pets as long as they are looked after.

Please understand that there are often weddings after yours and we do not want the red carpet to be stained. Please contact us to discuss bringing your pet.

What is parking like?

Our address is The St Kilda Road Towers, 1 Queens Road, Melbourne. We are near the corner of the St Kilda Road and Toorak Road intersection.

There is often paid street parking ($4ph) out the front of the building or on Albert Road, which is free after 6pm weekdays and all weekend.

If street parking is not available there is a paid parking option in the building, but at times there are limited spaces available.

Monday-Friday till 7pm you can use our building, the St Kilda Road Towers, 1 Queens Road building car park. Cost is $6 for 30 mins and $16 for 1 hour.

On weekends you will need to use the free street parking.

My fiancé is coming on the Partner Visa.

If your fiancé is based overseas and you require the “Letter for Immigration”, please contact me so I can explain the requirements to ensure that your fiancé has the letter from us for immigration to apply for their visa.