Questions

What are the legal steps we must take to get married?

To get married in NZ you must hold a valid marriage licence.

The first step in this process is filling out a “Notice of Intended Marriage” form. You obtain this document from the Department of Internal Affairs (Births, Deaths and Marriages). You can download the application form here: Notice of Intended Marriage

You need to know who your marriage celebrant is prior to full completion of this form.

You also need to make sure that if you are having your ceremony in an open-air setting, that you have a confirmed back up plan (secondary venue) should it rain on your wedding day.

Once you have filled this form out, you will need to go to an office of a Registar of Marriages to sign the statutory declaration before a Registrar, stating you are legally free to marry. You will then have to pay NZ$120 for a marriage licence.

If approved, the licence will be issued not sooner than three calendar days after it is submitted to a Registrar of Marriages. The licence is valid for three months from the date of issue.

I will need to receive your Marriage License prior to your wedding day. I normally get the license from you at your rehearsal (or another time prior to your wedding day). I will then ensure that all appropriate components are filled out properly and organise the appropriate copies for your ceremony.

More information is available from the Births, Deaths and Marriages website

Are you registered to perform Civil Union ceremonies?

At present, no. But I am available for commitment ceremonies.

Costs

I charge $440 for all marriage ceremonies. This includes the cost of two 1 hour meetings (1 x initial discussion, 1 x planning meeting), full ceremony preparation including a personalised 70 page bound information book with readings, information on writing your own vows etc, your rehearsal (1 hour), the ceremony itself (including my arrival 30 minutes prior to ceremony commencing), an individual, hand made presentation copy of your ceremony (given to you at your rehearsal should you wish to include it with your photos) and unlimited phone and email contact.

Travel costs are inclusive for ceremonies in the general Auckland isthmus area. Outside of this area, I may have to charge additional costs. We will discuss all costs prior to you confirming your booking so that we are all on the same page.

I also have a personal PA system including a stand microphone with an iPod dock that you can choose to use for your ceremony (extra cost).

Can you provide us with examples of your ceremonies prior to confirmation?

I will talk you through examples of my wedding ceremonies at our initial meeting, and I have copies of all ceremonies that you can read through at this meeting. I can provide small ceremony samples via email if you are interested prior to setting up your preliminary meeting.

If you have any other questions, please let me know. My contact details are:
Melanie Turner
melturner@vodafone.co.nz
Phone 09 815 0473 or 021 800 726