Weddings

Getting Married in Australia

How does it work ?

Why not escape from it all to have a unique wedding, in one of the world's most desired and popular locations.... ! Remember, Australia is only a day away!


We offer Planning and organising your destination wedding with us is easy... from anywhere in the world. Check our Wedding Packages. Once you have decided on your wedding location or theme, go to our contact page. Here you will find our information request form, please complete this and send this to us. We will then forward further information and prices to you, including all additional options we offer to compliment your destination wedding. After you have decided on your wedding, go to our 'Quotation Form'. Here you will be able to fill out a form to submit to us with all your details. Filling out this form does NOT mean you have booked your wedding, as there is no payment involved at this stage. There is NO obligation, or payment, required from you until you are ready to confrim your booking. You may also wish to 'customise' your wedding with us. That is, if you have any ideas that are not included on our website, please let us know. There are extra charges involved for 'customised' weddings, as this requires extra work, more hours of organising and running around by our staff. Please feel free to email us so that we may get to know you before meeting with you on your wedding day.

Once you decide to confirm your wedding, we require a 25% deposit on the total cost of your wedding (non-refundable if wedding is cancelled). The balance is not required until six (6) weeks before the wedding day (as with all other travel reservations). Payment methods include: Cheques, Postal Orders or Bank Wire Transfer (telegraphic transfer). Legal Requirements
Legal marriage requirements in Australia are not a problem. As long as you take care of the paperwork before you leave, you can literally marry in Australia any time after your arrival Down Under. Australian law requires that all marriage papers are lodged no less than 31 days before the wedding day. What you will need is : Notice Of Intended Marriage Form - available from any Australian Embassy or Consulate around the world. Ask the Consulate to send you the blue 'Notice of Intended Marriage Form'. You can also download a copy of the Notice of Intended Marriage (if you cannot read PDF files, download a free viewer from ). When you have printed the Notice of Intended Marriage, complete both pages. Once you have this form, fill it out and have it witnessed by an Australian Consulate official or a notary public, or other recognised official as specified on the back of the form. This document has to be signed and lodged with our Australian Weddingcoordinator not less than 31 days before the wedding and not more than six months before the wedding ceremony. Copies of both Birth Certificates If this is not the first wedding for either or both of the couple, evidence must be shown how the previous marriage(s) ended, Such as, copies of Divorce Papers or Absolute Decree , if applicable, or copy of a Death Certificate . If your name has been changed by deed poll - show legal proof .

A detailed description of legal marriage requirement in Australia, you find on the website of the Attorney General's Department. Please, send copies of all required documents to us, so we can forward them to our local agent. Our mail address is: Pacific Island Travel PO Box 2962 1000 CZ Amsterdam The Netherlands We will take care of the rest of the paperwork. All weddings are supervised by our on-site wedding co-ordinators. There are no blood tests and there is no necessary time of residency in Australia. Getting married in Australia is easy, if all the above procedures are followed. There is a modest fee for preparation and lodgement of your legal documents by our office. This fee includes meeting with one of our wedding planners, and your reverend/celebrant, before your wedding in Australia to finalise all the formalities and official paperwork, at a pre-arranged time after you have arrived. For any other questions, please email or call us. Wedding Procedure
Its your special day and we can help you decide on how you would like it to go. We offer you a wide choice of packages and options, where you can select the one that suits your special needs. You select the day and location of your wedding. Meeting the wedding coordinator and celebrant
After you have arrived and settled at your hotel or place of residence, our local agent will contact you. He will arrange for one of our wedding co-ordinators to meet with you the day before the wedding to finalise your official marriage paperwork. At this meeting you will also meet with your wedding celebrant (or reverend). A visit to arrange your wedding entails a meeting with the celebrant. Allow at least 1 hour for this visit. During this meeting you will need to supply proof of identity: any 1 of the following Passport Birth Certificate (original or full copy) Citizenship Papers If you have been previously married you will need to supply Final Divorce Papers (Decree Absolute) or Death Certificate. If any of the above papers are not in english you will need to get them officially translated into english. (the celebrant must see the original documents before the wedding can be conducted). The coordinator also discuss as to what kind of a ceremony you are looking for: Informal Formal Romantic Spiritual Candle Intimate Ceremony of the Roses If you provided us with your perforations, we have past them on to the coordinator already. Probably we have booked already also a wedding location, flowers, music, photographer, etc for the ceremony. In the meeting you might discuss the further details. If you feel you would rather contribute towards the service in your own personal way, you are invited to bring forward your ideas in this meeting. The coordinator is happy to advise and explain the legal aspects of the wedding procedure. In some circumstances (ie, Island Weddings), it may not be possible to meet with the reverend or celebrant until the actual day of the wedding (as the celebrant or reverend may need to fly in to perform the ceremony). In this case, the official marriage paperwork will be filled out before the wedding, on the wedding day. The wedding day
Australia offers beautiful locations for your wedding. Please make allowances for those really hot summer days and choose a place with plenty of shade for you and your guests. Offcourse we need always some luck with the weather, specially if you have photographs taken. In that respect an indoor location (eg. a church or hotel) is much saver. Also your wedding dress will need its attention (think of your limited luggage space). It is suggested that the bride and groom and their guests should observe a standard of dress appropriate to the occasion. We have arranged the wedding ceremony for a specific day, time and location. If no transfers were booked by us, you have to make your own way to this location in time. Be sure you have taken with you the directions how to get there. It is essential that the wedding party arrive 10 minutes before the appointed time for the ceremony. At the wedding location you will be met by the celebrant and wedding coordinator. The procedure will then proceed as booked. On your wedding day you will receive: A personalised copy of your service. Your Marriage Certificate produced in beautiful calligraphy. Certificate of Appreciation for your attendants (if applicable) A Program for all your guests showing the "Order of Service" (if applicable) To add to the ambience and sense of occasion, flowers, food & drinks and music are often included. Choose from the many options we provide. There is a lot more to tell you about the format of the ceremony and these details are discussed with you at our first meeting. If the wedding ceremony is outdoors (garden, park or beach), the wedding coordinator will supply a table and chair for the signing of the Registering. The coordinator will also master the smooth proceed of your wedding, eg, Choice of Vows Ring Exchanges Poems & Prayers Music Photographs Flowers Cakes The official marriage ceremony concist of the following four steps: The bride and groom must declare that they are over the age of 18 years, not legally married to someone else and that they are not directly related to each other. These declarations are then signed by the bride and groom. The bride and groom exchange marriage vows, for example, "do you take this man/woman to be your lawful husband or wife?". The bride and groom then exchange wedding rings (if desired). The Marriage certificates are signed by the bride, groom and the two witnesses. At the conclusion of the ceremony the marriage certificate is presented to the husband and wife. The use of confetti or rice is sometimes prohibited (eg in a national park or indoors). Every marriage requires two witnesses who sign the marriage documents after the ceremony. They can be related to you but both must be 18 years or over. If you don't bring your own witnesses, the coordinator's staff will take care of this important part. At the end of the ceremony you receive your wedding certificate. Authentications/Apostilles
Many European countries require documents originating in Australia to be "authenticated" prior to their use overseas. The purpose of the authentication process is to establish a chain of authentication with respect to the signatures (and stamp or seal) on the document. That is, in authenticating a document, the Local Authorities verifies that the signature which appears on the document is the true signature of whom it purports to be. Practically it means you need to get an Apostilles from the Chiefs Registrar Office in the town of your wedding. Apostilles The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirements of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents came into force in Australia on 16 March 1995. This means that the Department can now place an Apostille stamp on public documents which have originated in Australia for use in another country that is a signatory to the Convention. An Apostille stamp replaces the need for the "chain of authentication". Examples of public documents include marriage certificates issued by the Registrar's office, notarial acts and affidavits. Documents are usually processed in 24 hours and can be posted back to you if you wish. The following fees apply (as an indication, can vary per state): A stamp on the wedding certificate $30 A statement affixed to the wedding certificate $40 Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. At home
After completing your holiday and arrival back home, you take your wedding certificate (with Apostilles) to your local registration council (same as where you would had registered your home-wedding). For the registration of a foreign wedding a small fee might apply. Please note: The information provided above is to be used only as a guide. We advise in all cases that you contact the relevant official government offices of the destination at which you choose to marry, for up to date legal requirements, before booking your wedding. Wedding Packages
Check out the several wedding packages wedding packages we offer throughout Australia, but please remember this are examples. You are free to create your own wedding package as you like.