top of page

The Legal Side of Things:

The first important thing will be the NOIM (Notice of Intended Marriage). To complete the NOIM you will need the following ID paperwork and the answers to the questions below:

  • Drivers licenses front and back.

  • If either of you don’t have a driver’s then a passport will do (You require photo ID).

  • Birth Cert’s - again, if you don’t have birth cert’s, passports will do; you will still need the following information to complete the NOIM though:

  1. THE FULL LEGAL NAMES THAT YOUR PARENTS ARE KNOWN BY NOW  (this is to allow for situations where mothers have remarried or involving gender identification, for example, a parent who may now be trans-gender and goes by a different name).

  2. PARENT'S FULL LEGAL NAMES AT BIRTH, which means your mother’s maiden name.

  3. Their countries of birth.

 

If you are divorced then you will need to your divorce papers (divorce papers will have to be provided before the ceremony, but there is a 'divorce pending' option while you are waiting, we can make a plan to get the info). If we need to wait for any divorce papers, we can still expedite matters by inputting the required information which I can then verify on receipt of the divorce papers. To complete the ‘previous marriage’ section of the NOIM you will need the following:

 

  • How your last marriage ended (death; divorce; nullity).

  • Date that dissolution of last marriage was made final and the court location.

 

You will also need the following information:

 

  • Each of your occupations.

  • The full legal names of your witnesses (ask them for a pic of their drivers, just the front)

  • How many copies you would like of your official marriage certificate.

The NOIM must be lodged with your Celebrant of choice no earlier than 18 months, and no later than 31 days, prior to the ceremony.

The witnessing of the NOIM has been made easier too and, instead of having to allocate time to meet with an 'authorised person'  - JP, Dr, police officer etc - to have your NOIM signed and witnessed, you can now do it in the comfort of your own home. Your Celebrant of choice can now contact you and witness you signing the NOIM via a video-call, in the comfort of your own home, at a time that suits you. This makes it so much easier when we have jobs, families and conflicting timetables to juggle.

The Wedding Industry is also moving into the digital age and it has, again, made life a lot easier. We now have the option of old school hard copies of everything, pieces of a paper, or we can do it digitally. I, for one, have embraced the digital aspect and sign all my paperwork digitally, where possible. People don't realise how super, super easy it is if you have a Samsung or Apple device with a touch screen, no more need for printers and scanners.

Once the NOIM has been completed we need to sign the Declaration of No Legal Impediment before the ceremony (preferably 24hrs), and we sign the Official Certificate of Marriage form at the ceremony. We also sign a commemorative certificate at the end ceremony too, but this is a presentation certificate, it is not the Official Marriage Certificate. Once the ceremony has been completed, I will submit the NOIM, the Official Certificate of Marriage form and the Declaration of No Legal Impediment to the BDM via the Celebrants portal and you, the couple, will receive notification once it has been registered, inviting you to purchase your Official Marriage Certificate.

© 2014 by T.M.Likely. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page