Perth Registry Style and Elopement Office

The Couples who just want to get married, but without all the fuss.

Couples who want the focus to be on the commitment they are making, with just their nearest and dearest.

Couples who are all about the elopement vibes.

Couples having an overseas or destination wedding (eg: Bali or Thailand) but would prefer their legal marriage be registered in Western Australia.

Couples applying for a Fiancé Visa through the Department of Immigration.

Couples applying for a Prospective Marriage Visa.

To be legally married in Australia you must engage a marriage celebrant (civil or religious) who is authorised to perform marriages in Australia.

By law, in accordance with the Commonwealth Marriage Act 1961, on the day of the wedding the authorised marriage celebrant must be present to conduct the marriage ceremony where vows are exchanged in the presence of two witnesses over the age of 18 years and other guests.

The Certificate of Marriage must also be signed by the authorised marriage celebrant, yourselves and your witnesses at the marriage ceremony.

Marriages in Australia cannot be solemnised by video link or by proxy.

To be married in Australia couples must:

not be married to someone else

not be marrying a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or sibling

be at least eighteen years old, unless a court has approved a marriage where one party is aged between sixteen and eighteen years old

understand what marriage means and freely consent to marrying

lodge a Notice of Intended Marriage form with an authorised marriage celebrant or minister of religion at least one month prior to the intended date of marriage

provide their original birth certificate or passport

provide two witnesses over the age of 18 years to witness their marriage ceremony.

If either party has been previously married, a divorce certificate or death certificate of the previous spouse is required. All foreign language documents must be officially translated to English.

To get married in Australia, the first thing you need to do is lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage with an authorised Celebrant.

When lodging the Notice of Intended Marriage, you'll will also select a date for your marriage. The Notice of Intended Marriage can be lodged by one party living in Australia.

Although both parties to the marriage are required to sign the Notice of Intended Marriage prior to the marriage taking place, if one person is unavailable at the time of lodgement, the other party can lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage on their behalf .

Book an appointment here to come and meet our Celebrant and lodge your Notice of Intended Marriage.

Book an appointment by clicking here, we will send you a questionnaire to complete, that will help us to complete your NOIM for you ahead of your meeting with us.

Alternatively, if you’d like to complete the NOIM yourself and then email to us to witness and lodge, you can do that by downloading a NOIM (Notice of Intended Marriage) here, completing it, and then email to houseofvows.au

Absolutely!

If you would like us to provide witnesses, this can be arranged, at a cost of $50 per witness.

Please let us know at time of booking your service.

A passport, or birth certificate and driver’s licence.

If relevant, any Divorce Certificates

Please note there is a mandatory one month notice period for all marriages in Australia, your Notice of Intended Marriage must be signed and lodged with one whole month of notice given.

Only one party to the marriage is legally required to sign and lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage with the House of Vows (WA) Celebrant.

So if the other party to the marriage is overseas or not available at the time you wish to submit your paperwork, this does not prevent the Notice of Intended Marriage from being lodged. Ideally, both persons signatures are preferred, if both parties are available.

If either party to the marriage has been married previously, evidence of the termination of the last marriage must be produced prior to your marriage taking place. A divorce certificate or decree nisi of dissolution of marriage that has become absolute or a full death certificate.

If a divorce is pending or if the divorce certificate is not immediately available, this does not prevent you from lodging your Notice of Intended Marriage. However, the divorce certificate must be provided at any time prior to your marriage.

On 7 December 2017, the Australian Parliament passed the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 to change the definition of marriage and provide for marriage equality in Australia. The right to marry in Australia is not defined by sex or gender.

If you marry overseas your marriage will be registered in that country, unless the legal formalities are completed in Australia before having your ceremony in the country of your choice, (e.g. Indonesia, Bali, Thailand etc)

If you wish to take your partner’s name on return to Australia, you will need to do this via Deed Poll rather than using your overseas Marriage Certificate.

By having a legal marriage ceremony in Australia, before having a civil ceremony in the country of your choice, will mean your marriage can be registered in Australia.

On your wedding day, three marriage certificates must be signed by:

you and your spouse

your authorised marriage celebrant

two witnesses, who must be over 18 years old

Your authorised marriage celebrant will give you a certificate of marriage on the day. This is a ceremonial certificate of your marriage.

Your celebrant must then (within 14 days of the marriage) submit your marriage paperwork to the registry of births, deaths and marriages in the state or territory you got married in.

You can apply for a copy of your official marriage certificate from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages

Download a NOIM (Notice of Intended Marriage) here, complete the document, and email to houseofvows.au