Welcome to the wonderfully exciting, deliciously detailed and perhaps occasionally slightly daunting world of wedding planning.

To put your mind at ease and get your wedding planning off to a great start, the Brisbane City Celebrants duo have lifted the veil on the most common misconceptions they encounter when it comes to the logistics of wedding ceremonies and marriage paperwork.

  1. You don’t need to time your walk down the aisle song. Instead of practicing your pace down the aisle with your bridal party and praying that the flower girl and page boy walk on cue without getting distracted, while worrying about taking your first step on a set note, how about instead you have the music work around you. If you are using a DJ or the Celebrants PA System for your ceremony music, the person in charge of the music can simply fade the music out as you both take your places. Likewise if you have a string quartet or live music, they are professionals at what they do and are highly skilled at wrapping up the song at an appropriate point when they see you take your spots. A much easier and stress-free way to make your grand entrance.
  2. You don’t need to memorise your vows – that’s best left to the movies! You do NOT need to memorise your vows and unless you anticipate being completely free of nerves and enjoy a great stage presence, we wouldn’t recommend it. The beautifully spoken vows you see on TV and on video highlight reels, have usually been edited to remove the Celebrant prompting the wording that they repeat. Keep your day relaxed and stress-free by arranging to have your Celebrant to have these printed and ready on the day for you to read, or repeat after them.
  3. You MUST have your signed NOIM form to your Celebrant/ Minister no less than 1 month before the date of your marriage – You MUST complete and sign the marriage notice form (known as the NOIM) and have this to your Celebrant (or Minister) no less than 1 calendar month before the date of your wedding. In Australia this is a legal requirement.
  4. Guests don’t usually bring their own confetti If you dream of walking back down the aisle together to an eruption of bubbles or a burst of rose petals, you will need to arrange these in advance and let your Celebrant know so they can cue the guests when to shower you with these.
  5. The brides last name doesn’t automatically change to the husbands last name when you marry – Brides, it is completely optional if you would like to take your husbands last name, their isn’t a formal name change process as such, it’s more a case of updating your name with every business and government organisation that have you on record (e.g. banks, Drivers Licence etc), by showing your official registry issued marriage certificate as evidence of your marriage.
  6. If you are honeymooning overseas straight after your wedding, book everything in your maiden name – As romantic as it is booking your entire honeymoon as the new Mr & Mrs Smith, unfortunately airlines simply won’t let you on the plane if the name on your plane ticket doesn’t match the name on your passport. Given point 5. Above, the process of applying for your registry issued marriage certificate, then using this as evidence of your marriage to then apply for a new passport with your new last name, could potentially take 6-8 weeks or even more. Booking everything in your maiden name will eliminate this potential concern at the airport and ensure you come jump on the plane together to enjoy your well-deserved and anticipated honeymoon.

Ms Zigzag says: Oh, I wish I had read these awesome wedding tips prior to tying the knot earlier this year – ha! Such practical, handy advice that all engaged couples should know. Thank you Brisbane City Celebrants. 

About Brisbane City Celebrants: Brisbane’s most highly recommended Marriage Celebrant duo specialising in modern, simple and meaningful, sweet happy weddings. With a choice of an experienced and passionate female or male Celebrant, our couples describe us as warm, friendly and calming. You can find Brisbane City Celebrants on the Polka Dot Bride director here.