Rebels' Guide

I get so many frequently asked questions and frequently confused points about the marriage paperwork, so, I thought I’d try and clear up some common misconceptions and ideas around getting legally married in Australia. There is no such thing – zero – as a marriage license in Australia. Aussie marriage law is some of the best marriage legislation on the planet: if you meet the criteria to marry, you simply can, you don’t need government permission, or a license. The criteria you need to meet is that you’re human, 18 or over, not already married, consenting to marry each other, and you can give one month’s notice to your marriage celebrant. This notice is given by an official government form called the Notice of Intended Marriage, I call it a NOIM. Most good celebrants will help you prepare the form, but in the end it’s a form that you’re essentially giving to the celebrant, and as we receive it your one month notice period begins. It doesn...

A word we’re sure to hear more than once a day in the wedding industry is ‘tradition’. Either something is or isn’t traditional. People are or aren’t following tradition. We’re doing something because it’s tradition, we’re not doing it for the same reason. We’re dropping traditions and picking up traditions, and all in all it feels like the T word is some kind of spiritual superpower in the wedding industry. There’s a whole gamut of approaches towards the T word. Many of us call ourselves untraditional celebrants or non-traditional wedding creators. Couples are often keen to identify as “not very traditional”. Which makes me think about what the T word even means, it gets bandied around so much. I feel like G.K. Chesterton’s 1929 approach in “ The Thing ” is a safe and beautiful view to breaking tradition: “The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to a fence and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the ...

I spend a lot of time thinking about the art of ceremony. What it takes to create an epic ceremony. The kind of ceremony that people would be so immersed in that it could go on for days and you wouldn’t notice. The kind of ceremony that leaves an impression on people. The kind of ceremony that you would be so able to remark on that it would be literally remark-able, remarkable. A core part of that amazing ceremony is the ringleader. The celebrant. The celebrant has all the control, all the power, the microphone. They hold the ceremony by the balls, as the saying goes. And the main part of that is what they say. That’s why you need an amazing public speaker to preside over those moments. What makes a great celebrant and public speaker? A good public speaker has three qualities, and almost none of them involve actually speaking. A good public speaker needs to know how to read the room, and almost always, adjust their plans (or their client’s plans) to best direct and spe...

I’m a sucker for a good podcast, especially when I’m asked to be a guest on one, so it’d be remiss of me to not tell you sternly to listen to Steve and Jenn’s Wedded Podcast . I think I might have scared them off with my frank Australian-ness (is that a thing?) so have a good listen to this episode, and all the episodes , to get a good start in getting married and being married. Side note, if you found Steve’s voice mildly attractive and would like to hear more of it, he and a friend have a podcast called the Wedding Photo Hangover , an irreverent look at wedding photography – I was a guest on that podcast as well !

My goal for 2020 is to convince the world that your entire wedding will be better if you choose your team before you choose your date. Here’s eight reasons why: The humans you invite to create your wedding, from the celebrant and the photographer through to the venue coordinator and the bar staff, are the number one contributing factor to how enjoyable your wedding planning and hosting experience is. Choosing a date before knowing your team’s availability severely limits your ability to choose a team you love. I would say that a significant amount of my and Tara’s time is spent on the phone, and on email, letting people know that I’m not available. I would say that most creatives would have a similar story. If we didn’t have to spend that time, our admin workload would reduce. You know that photographer or celebrant you just love and adore, they’re probably not available on that Saturday in Spring next year. When your team know that they matter to you...