Is a ‘Legals Only’ wedding ceremony for you? If you are currently weighing up if this is the best option for you, here’s everything you need to know to help you decide in “Make It Minimal: Planning A “Legals Only” Wedding Ceremony” from Jamie & Cara of Brisbane City Celebrants for our Minimalist Issue!

Firstly, if you are wondering what a “Legals Only” wedding involves, as the name suggests it typically involves the required legal wording in the presence of your two witnesses and marriage celebrant. Of course, should you wish to add more to this, like inviting additional guests, sharing personalised wedding vows, or having ceremony music, these options can simply be added to your minimal legal ceremony.

If you opt for the bare minimum required ceremony wording to get married, you could be married in just minutes! Allow for a few more minutes to sign the marriage paperwork and you are on your way!

Who Are “Legals Only” Ceremony Suited To?

We find there are a wide variety of reasons couples opt for a “Legals Only” ceremony. Reasons you may opt for a this kind of wedding include:

  • You simply want to be married without having a full wedding.
  • The thought of having a big wedding in front of lots of people just isn’t for you.
  • You suffer from anxiety and the thought of being the center of attention doesn’t sit comfortably with you.
  • Your circumstances better suit the ‘marry now – party later’ concept, and you intend to have a big celebration with family and friends at a later date, either with a non-legal renewals style ceremony delivered by a celebrant, or just reception celebrations to follow.
  • You are expecting and like the idea of being legally married before the baby arrives and would prefer to have a ‘wedding celebration’ when you can enjoy a few champagnes and wear your dream dress or outfit.
  • You need to get married sooner than you had anticipated, e.g. you or your partner is applying for a work visa in a foreign country and the visa eligibility criteria require you to be legally married.
  • You have decided to direct your finances elsewhere at the current time, e.g in to purchasing property, but you would still like the legal protection of being married to each other e.g. such as power of attorney in the event medical decisions needed to be made for you, and you prefer your partner made these decisions over your parents.
  • You want to get married quickly and the registry office has a wait time of 3-6 months and doesn’t offer the same flexibility with a minimalist ceremony at the location of your choice.

How to Plan a “Legals Only” Wedding Ceremony

Find a celebrant who offers or specializes in “Legals Only” weddings. A celebrant experienced in delivering these will be able to assist in making the process easy and stress-free for you, answering all your questions and letting you know what options you have, and will likely be able to assist with suggestions of locations and photographers that accept short bookings if you are planning on having it captured.

We hope this has helped you with deciding if a “Legals Only” wedding is for you. If you are planning on having one for your day in Brisbane do get in touch!

About Brisbane City Celebrants: Brisbane City Celebrants are a modern, happy & passionate Brisbane Wedding Celebrant duo that simply LOVE celebrating love!