Is a vow renewal legally binding?

No, and that is the point of it. You are already married, so nothing about your status changes and no forms are lodged anywhere. That also means there is no Notice of Intended Marriage, no one-month wait and no witnesses required — the ceremony can be held whenever suits you.

What is a commitment ceremony?

A ceremony for two people who want to make promises publicly without marrying, or who cannot marry for a reason of their own. It looks like a wedding and is written like one, with no legal effect and no paperwork. It is priced the same as a vow renewal at $650.

Can we include a handfasting?

Yes. Handfasting is the ritual where your hands are bound with cord or ribbon while promises are made, and it sits naturally inside a vow renewal, a commitment ceremony or a wedding. Bring your own cords, or they can be provided. There is no extra charge for including a ritual.

When do people renew their vows?

Most often on a tenth, twentieth or fiftieth anniversary, after coming through something difficult, or when children who were too young the first time are old enough to take part. Some couples renew because they eloped and never had the day with family in it.

Vow renewals & commitment ceremonies

A vow renewal or commitment ceremony is $650 any day of the week, including a script written around your story, a PA and a memento certificate. There is no paperwork and no notice period, because neither ceremony changes anyone's legal status. Six weeks is plenty of notice, and rituals such as handfasting or a candle lighting can be built in.

What it costs

What you get	Mon–Thu	Fri–Sun
Vow renewal or commitment ceremony A script written around your story, a PA, and a memento certificate. One price whatever day of the week it falls on.	$650	same

Australian dollars, GST included. Travel within 30 km is included and $1 per kilometre round trip beyond it. Booking fee $250, which comes off the total. Witnesses supplied at $60 each. Council permits for beach and park ceremonies are passed through at cost.

How far ahead to book

Allow about six weeks for a weekend date in season. Midweek and winter dates are often available at much shorter notice.

What a renewal looks like on the day

There are no legal words in a vow renewal, and that changes the ceremony more than it sounds like it would. At a wedding a minute or two is fixed by the Marriage Act and cannot be reworded. Here nothing is compulsory, so the whole half hour is yours: an account of the years since, promises rewritten for the people you are now, and whatever you want to do with your children, your friends or a cord.

Most renewals run twenty to thirty minutes and are held wherever the party already is — a backyard, a beach, a restaurant's private room, the same hall as the first time. Nothing is lodged afterwards and no witnesses have to be organised, so the only real deadline is when people can get there.

After an elopement, or a wedding nobody could come to

A large share of the renewals booked in this region are couples who eloped, or who married in 2020 and 2021 with a handful of people and a cap on the guest list, and who never had the day their families expected. A renewal is the cleanest way to have it: the marriage already exists, so there is no notice, no paperwork and no month to wait out, and the date can be set around whoever has to fly.

It also lets the ceremony be honest about what it is. Nobody has to pretend to be surprised, the story of the first one is usually the best material in the script, and the people who were not there get told what happened rather than shown a re-enactment of it.

Questions people ask

Is a vow renewal legally binding?: No, and that is the point of it. You are already married, so nothing about your status changes and no forms are lodged anywhere. That also means there is no Notice of Intended Marriage, no one-month wait and no witnesses required — the ceremony can be held whenever suits you.
What is a commitment ceremony?: A ceremony for two people who want to make promises publicly without marrying, or who cannot marry for a reason of their own. It looks like a wedding and is written like one, with no legal effect and no paperwork. It is priced the same as a vow renewal at $650.
Can we include a handfasting?: Yes. Handfasting is the ritual where your hands are bound with cord or ribbon while promises are made, and it sits naturally inside a vow renewal, a commitment ceremony or a wedding. Bring your own cords, or they can be provided. There is no extra charge for including a ritual.
When do people renew their vows?: Most often on a tenth, twentieth or fiftieth anniversary, after coming through something difficult, or when children who were too young the first time are old enough to take part. Some couples renew because they eloped and never had the day with family in it.

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