Legalisation

Weddings in the Pacific

Legalisation of your Wedding Certificate

A beautiful wedding ceremony in paradise, could it be more romantic. But the paperwork involved to get the legal foreign wedding legalised in your homecountry is a different story. It is our speciality to assist you through this process. Requirements
Legal marriage requirements in most Pacific Destinations are not a problem.

As long as you take care of the paperwork before you leave, you can usually marry a few days after your arrival in the Pacific (exept French Territories). What you will need is :

Pre-register your intended marriage. Usually you have to go to the local registars office and fill out a marriage registration form. In some cases this needs to be done a certain time before the actual weddingdate, perhaps the form needs to be witnessed by a Consular official or a notary public, or other recognised official. Proof of both your Civil Status ("unmarried" ofcourse), obtainable from your City Council office. Copies of both your 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 . All above documents need to be atleast in the English language. 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 (with "unmarried" status) The
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 the Pacific 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 the Pacific 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. For more information on Apostilles, go to the Apostille Convention (The Hague Treaty - 5/10/1961). Back 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.