The Marriage Act (which applies Australia-wide) has been recently and permanently amended to provide couples with the option to have their Notice of Intended Marriage signed live, and witnessed by their celebrant live, by remote access, like by Zoom or FaceTime. (But only if you're both in Australia.)
Your witness for your Notice is usually your celebrant but there are other options if needed, so that you can send your Notice to your celebrant on time. (See Page 4 of the Notice for a list of authorised witnesses.)
If you choose me as your celebrant, and time is of the essence, you can send an image of your signed, witnessed Notice by phone, or by scan and email. It must reach me before midnight, one month before your wedding day. The Australian Marriage Act is totally strict on this.
In rare circumstances, you may be permitted to marry in less than a month, by application to the Registrar in the state or territory where your wedding will take place.
PRELIMINARY NOTES FOR ACT WEDDINGS - the new Marriage Portal 2026
Will I be the celebrant who’ll have the privilege and pleasure of officiating at your wedding? I'd love that!
My congratulations to you both!
I've been celebrant for nearly 1500 couples, and I've never needed to change the plan due to illness or any other reason. Six other civil marriage celebrants have chosen me as celebrant at their own weddings. How amazing is that?!
I specialise in simple weddings in Canberra and local NSW, at any venue, on any day at any time, day or night, with any number of guests.
I only have in-person meetings at my home with couples who have booked me as their celebrant.
If you're still making your celebrant choice, would you like for us to share a chat together on Zoom or FaceTime, for about fifteen minutes? No obligation implied. Just phone or text me on 0406 376 375.
Please phone between 9 and 9 on any day, or text anytime.
Or send me a message on Messenger through my celebrant Facebook page.
At our meeting at my home in Weston, on a Monday or Wednesday evening, you'll lodge your Notice of Intended Marriage and I'll sight your ID information. We'll need about an hour and a half together, and then the next time that we meet, it's your wedding day!
We'll cover all the legal requirements for getting married in Australia. You can lodge your Notice with me online or by phone image before our meeting if you need to, so you don't miss the noting of that crucial date.
As I noted above, to make sure you lodge on time, you can send a scan of your signed and witnessed Notice with an email, and then pay me at our meeting, closer to your wedding. Or send an image by phone, or in a message on Messenger. That Date of Receipt by your Celebrant box on your Notice is critical! (And the Notice has a shelf-life of eighteen months from date of receipt.)
(Note here, that if your wedding plan changes, the law allows for one celebrant to send a Notice of Intended Marriage to another celebrant, keeping the original date of receiving the Notice.)
This is what you'll need to bring to our meeting.
As the last part of our meeting, you'll personalise the simple ceremony I’ve created. It has every option the Attorney-General will legally allow. (Most celebrants won't offer you these choices - you'll be limited to standard vows and other wording.)
There are other choices you can make as well, such as the font you would like for your certificate. I’ll prepare your ceremony for your wedding and because I specialise in simple weddings, it will probably fit on one A4 page!
For your wedding, I’ll print your ceremony on parchment paper, and match your font choice for your certificate. I'll read from this script during your ceremony, and then give it to you to keep, in a plastic wallet, along with your certificate.)
You're most welcome to bring personal vows to your wedding. You’ll share these special vows with one another, before you make your legal vows of marriage.
About two thirds of the weddings I attend as celebrant are small and private, so I don’t put any images from these weddings online. When I have permission, I enjoy taking Just Married photos and you’ll find them on Instagram. I also post on Facebook with new photos and videos. My most recent posts and photos are on my Facebook page.
In these YouTube videos from quite a while ago, you can see how I look and hear how I sound. I recorded a relaxation audio when I was a Stress Management Consultant, so you may like to listen to that on YouTube. It works really well to keep you calm for your wedding - runs for about twelve minutes.
Here's some video, recorded by a guest at a wedding in February 2025 at the National Arboretum. With permission, I've made an extract to show you how I look and let you hear my voice. I'm reading The Monitum, which by law, every celebrant must read, early on at every wedding. Then at the end of the ceremony, I present the newlyweds before they walk down the aisle together.
I’m a very experienced celebrant and I truly love this work.
By 2026, I've been chosen as celebrant for almost 1500 weddings, often by word-of-mouth. I've never paid for advertising or online promotion. I don't require newly married couples to provide a testimonial. Occasionally a couple will write a review on Facebook or my Google page and I appreciate their kind words.
Click on 12 Good Reasons and you'll see more details about me and what I offer you. I've also added some notes about my unusual celebrant experiences.
I've streamlined all we need to do to prepare for your wedding into one meeting. We'll need about an hour and a half.
I hold meetings at my home in Weston on Monday and Wednesday evenings, starting at 5.30, 6 or 6.30. After that, next time we meet it's your wedding day. 😊
If you wish to marry ASAP, you'll still need to wait the statutory one month from the date of lodgement. I can help you lodge your Notice of Intended Marriage with me on the day you contact me – you can lodge with me by email, Messenger, or MMS anytime up to just before midnight (but you must have found an authorised witness). You can legally marry in one month's time from the date that I receive your signed Notice.
BTW You don't need to send me any payment when you lodge your Notice of Intended Marriage with me. Payment is due at our meeting. (Also, there's no obligation to use me as your celebrant on your wedding day if there's a change of plan. Celebrants can exchange Notices, even up to the last minute. The lodgement date stays the same.)
I offer you what I call a beautifully
simple, simply beautiful service on any day, at any time, in any
location, with any number of guests. My fee of $700 includes travel in the local area of Canberra and Queanbeyan. I'm happy to travel further for your wedding and there's a an extra fee for this. ($1/km outside the local boundaries)
There have been nearly 300 weddings in my big beautiful Heart Garden. At the end of 2024, I closed the garden as a wedding venue. I no longer host weddings in my garden but I still hold my pre-wedding meetings in my green room, where for many years, many lovely winter weddings were held.
Thank you so much for visiting Michele the Celebrant. I look forward to more contact with you about your happy plan, and my congratulations once again!
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BTW I love elopements! (and I can help you with two witnesses who'll keep your wedding confidential) Below is a lovely image from an elopement in my Heart Garden. (My garden was available for weddings, at no cost to couples, until November 2024.)
