Wedding ceremonies
A full wedding ceremony is $1,150 Monday to Thursday and $1,350 Friday to Sunday. That covers unlimited consultations, a script written for you, help with vows, a rehearsal, a PA with a wireless microphone, lodgement of the paperwork and your commemorative certificate. Book six to twelve months ahead for a Saturday. Your Notice of Intended Marriage must be lodged at least one calendar month before the day.
What it costs
| What you get | Mon–Thu | Fri–Sun |
|---|---|---|
| Full personalised ceremony Unlimited consultations, a script written for you, help with vows, a rehearsal, PA with wireless microphone, arrival 45 minutes early, lodgement, keepsake certificate, 100 km travel. | $1,150 | $1,350 |
| Friend officiates, celebrant does the legals The legal ceremony plus a coaching session for your friend and compliance on the day, so the person you want speaking can speak. | $800 | 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 months for a weekend date in season. Midweek and winter dates are often available at much shorter notice. The one fixed limit is the law: a Notice of Intended Marriage has to be lodged at least one calendar month before the ceremony.
What you need
- Notice of Intended Marriage, lodged at least one calendar month ahead
- Birth certificate or passport for each of you
- Photo ID
- Evidence of the end of any previous marriage
The NOIM, explained — the form, the timing and the documents in full.
What is included, in practice
The price covers the whole job rather than the hour you see. Consultations are unlimited and are not counted — some couples want two meetings, some want six, and charging for the sixth would only teach people not to ask. The script is written from those conversations, sent to you in draft, and changed as many times as you want until it sounds like the two of you rather than like a template with names dropped in.
On the day: arrival forty-five minutes before the ceremony, a PA with a wireless microphone that works outdoors and into a sea breeze, the ceremony itself, the signing, and the three certificates. Afterwards the paperwork is lodged with the registry within fourteen days, which is a legal deadline rather than a courtesy, and your commemorative certificate is yours to keep.
If a friend is doing the talking
A friend cannot legally marry you unless they are a registered celebrant, but they can do very nearly everything else. For $800 the legal words and the paperwork are handled by a celebrant while your friend runs the ceremony — with a coaching session beforehand so they know where they can go and where they cannot, and someone standing beside them on the day who does.
Four other celebrants across this region sell this tier, which is a sign it works. It suits couples who have somebody obvious to ask and do not want a stranger at the front of their wedding.
Where
- Wedding celebrant on the Tweed Coast — NSW, about 25 minutes away
- Wedding celebrant at Tweed Heads — NSW, about 20 minutes away
- Wedding celebrant on the Gold Coast — QLD, about 40 minutes away
- Wedding celebrant in Byron Bay — NSW, about 40 minutes away
Everywhere else covered from Murwillumbah.
Questions people ask
- How much does a wedding celebrant cost?
- A full personalised ceremony here is $1,150 Monday to Thursday and $1,350 Friday to Sunday, GST included. The market across the Tweed, Byron and the Gold Coast runs from about $680 to $2,189, and most sit between $990 and $1,350. If you want the paperwork only, that is $495 on a weekday.
- How far in advance should we book a celebrant?
- Six to twelve months for a Saturday between September and April, which are the busiest months here. Midweek dates and winter dates are often available inside three months. The only hard limit is the law: your Notice of Intended Marriage has to be lodged at least one calendar month before the ceremony.
- What paperwork do we need to get married in Australia?
- A Notice of Intended Marriage lodged at least one month ahead, a birth certificate or passport each, photo identification, and evidence that any previous marriage has ended. On the day you sign three certificates in front of two witnesses aged eighteen or over. Everything is lodged with the registry within fourteen days.
- Do you travel for weddings?
- Yes. Travel within 30 km of Murwillumbah is included, and beyond that it is $1 per kilometre round trip. That covers the Tweed Valley and Coast, Tweed Heads and Coolangatta, Byron Bay and its hinterland, the Northern Rivers, and the southern Gold Coast up to Burleigh.
- Can we write our own vows?
- Yes, and most couples do at least partly. You have to say one legal line each, word for word, and the celebrant has to say a short legal statement. Everything either side of that is yours. Help with drafting is included in the full ceremony price rather than charged as an extra.
Not yet taking enquiries here
This site is being built. The phone number, the Google listing and the entry on the Attorney-General's register of marriage celebrants will be published together, as one identical set — which is what a search engine needs in order to be sure they all describe the same business.
Prices, inclusions and paperwork on this site are complete and current. Only the contact details are outstanding.