Legal words to be said by the Authorised Marriage Celebrant:
Authorised Marriage Celebrants are required to ensure that the guests understand that the marriage ceremony is a legal one, which is why surprise weddings (where one party is surprising the other) are not allowed, nor can the celebrant pretend that your 2nd ceremony is legal if you were married overseas.
If the marriage ceremony is a civil one, Section 46 of the Marriage Act requires the marriage celebrant, before 2 witnesses, to say the Monitum:
Legal words to be said by the celebrant:
Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of two people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.”
or words to that effect.
Legal words to be said by the marrying couple:
There are specific words that must be communicated by the couple to ensure the marriage is legal.
The following words must be used in a civil marriage:
“I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, A.B. (or C.D.), take thee, C.D. (or A.B.), to be my lawful wedded wife/husband/spouse.”
or words to that effect.
Couples may wish to personalise the minimum vows. However, it is important to be aware that legally there is limited capacity to change the vows. The safest course of action is to use the wording in the Marriage Act. Marrying couples can make a personal choice about the terms to be used in their marriage vows that best reflect their relationship. The following wording substitutions and changes are acceptable given the inclusion of ‘words to that effect’ are :
- ‘husband’, or ‘wife’ or ‘spouse’ may be changed to ‘partner in marriage’
- ‘call upon’ may be changed to ‘ask’
- ‘persons’ may be changed to ‘people’
- ‘thee’ may be changed to ‘you’
- ‘persons here present’ may be changed to ‘everyone here’ or ‘everybody here’ or ‘everyone present here’ or ‘everybody present here’, or
- the couple may leave out either ‘lawful’ or ‘wedded’, but not both.
The following changes to the minimum words are not acceptable:
- ‘family and friends’ cannot replace ‘persons here present’ or ‘everyone here’.
As an example, the vows could read: ‘I ask everyone here to witness that I, A.B., take you, C.D., to be my wedded wife (husband or spouse).’
Couples wishing to personalise their vows further are able to lengthen their vows by adding their chosen wording after saying the minimum words (so long as any material added does not contradict the minimum vows). In this sense, the minimum words are the starting point from which personalised vows can be constructed.
Under Australian law, the point at which you are married is when you will take each other as husband/wife/spouse, in front of two adult witnesses and a registered marriage celebrant.
Your TCN marriage celebrant has been trained to ensure that your marriage ceremony includes the necessary components of a legal marriage as well as the personal elements that make your ceremony special for you and your guests