How does a co-pilot wedding ceremony work in Australia? 💍

Yes, they absolutely can! They can lead 95% of the ceremony. This includes the rings, the personalised vows, the story and all the other fun stuff.

The other 5% will be taken care of by a registered marriage celebrant. That celebrant will step in to say something called the Monitum and also complete the required legal paperwork.

That's the way a Co-Pilot Ceremony works. You have someone that you love take care of the ceremony while all the legal requirements are completed by an authorised celebrant.

Your dad is a great choice to be your Celebrant Buddy. He's raised you from the start and can take on a beautiful, emotional part of the ceremony, such as the rings and the vows.

The only caveat is that there will need to be an authorised marriage celebrant to take care of all of the legal obligations.

But your dad can write the majority of the script, from the first time he put a nappy on you, to when he first met your partner. I've seen it happen heaps of times!

Your sister arguably knows you better than anyone! She can lead the majority of the ceremony.

She can do things like tell your story, guide you through your personalised vows and introduce the rings.

She can't act as a fully authorised marriage celebrant unless she's completed the required process to become one.

But that doesn't matter.

We can get an authorised celebrant on hand to take care of the legal requirements on her behalf. That can happen in the week before the ceremony, on the day, or during the ceremony.

Get in touch here and I’ll be happy to explain that in more details.

When it comes to a Co-Pilot Ceremony, your friend will still need an authorised marriage celebrant to take care of the legal obligations.

That said, they'll still be able to lead the majority of the ceremony, including all of the personal sections, along with the vows, rings and everything else that makes the ceremony yours.

This is arguably the most popular choice for My Celebrant Buddy and a Co-Pilot Ceremony.

A friend knows you deeper than most and will be able to tell your story like no no-one else.

If they want to do multiple weddings and make celebrancy a career, they can study a Certificate IV in Celebrancy and become an authorised marriage celebrant.

If they want to do just a one-off for your ceremony, they can undertake a Co-Pilot Ceremony where they lead the majority of the wedding ceremony and the legal processes are handled by an authorised marriage celebrant who has already completed the necessary training.

Nope! They don't.

When I do them myself, I usually stand near the back and ghost into the background.

If I'm at the ceremony, I will need to say something called the Monitum, and I'll also need to hear you and your partner say your legal vows out loud.

I'll also complete the paperwork directly afterwards, and then it's done and dusted!

Whoever you choose as your co-pilot - your sister, dad, aunty etc. - will be up in front of everyone doing 95% of the ceremony; pretty much all the good stuff. The rings, the vows, the story and all the emotional bits.

No.

Under the Marriage Act 1961, there are specific legal requirements that the authorised celebrant needs to fulfil, including delivering the required legal wording, hearing the couple say the required legal vows and completing the marriage paperwork.

There are a few other legal requirements as well, but your friend or family member can take care of the rest of the ceremony.

That's the way a Co-Pilot Ceremony works.

The marriage documents are signed by the couple getting married, their two witnesses and the authorised marriage celebrant.

You can also choose to have your Celebrant Buddy - or whoever you choose to lead the ceremony - act as one of your witnesses, provided they meet the requirements for a witness (i.e they are over 18).

Absolutely they can!

The person you choose as your Celebrant Buddy can write the story about how you met and introduce things like personal vows, readings and other parts of the ceremony.

The beautiful thing about this is that they know you better than some random celebrant does. They'll be able to get down to the nitty-gritty of your relationship and write a beautiful ceremony.

When it comes to personalised vows, they can definitely do that.

I encourage Celebrant Buddies to have cue cards to give to the couple when the time is right during the ceremony.

In regards to the legal vows, these words need to be said correctly and in the presence of the authorised Celebrant. That's an important legal bit.

Your friend can definitely help with exchanging the rings. That's not a legally required part of the ceremony.

With the ring exchange, I always recommend couples pick someone who they want to feel a bit more part of the day.

It can be a grandmother. It can be a friend, or it can be the Celebrant Buddy themselves.

And I always recommend that they hop out of the way for the rings so the photographer can get the best shot, too!

Yes, it absolutely can.

Without getting you into too much detail, you have to submit your Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) to an authorised celebrant at least one month before the marriage is solemnised, and no earlier than 18 months before.

That NOIM is lodged with the celebrant.

The celebrant, such as myself, can then complete the legal requirements either on the day of the ceremony.

Alternatively, the legal formalities can be completed separately, such as the week leading in.

If the legal formalities are completed separately, the ceremony your friend delivers can be a commitment ceremony.

Please get in touch regarding the specifics of your situation.

You can definitely do this.

It would just mean that your friend, or whoever you choose, would be officiating a commitment ceremony, which means the legal marriage isn't being solemnised during that ceremony.

Often, couples want the legal paperwork to be completed before or after the ceremony on the same day as their wedding - that is an option I offer with My Celebrant Buddy.

A couple of good times to do this can be during the first look, or potentially at the reception.

You can definitely have a commitment ceremony and choose to have no legal marriage solemnised during the ceremony.

A commitment ceremony can also happen when the legal formalities are taken care of at a time outside the ceremony.

For example, the legals could happen the week before. Often I'll do that with a couple and their two witnesses.

I've done them at parks, at bars and even at McDonald's before!

The same can also happen if the legal formalities are completed before or after the ceremony on the same day as the wedding.

A Co-Pilot Ceremony is definitely available in Victoria.

This is especially the case in prominent wedding areas such as the Yarra Valley, the Bellarine, the Mornington Peninsula or Melbourne itself.

What happens is that an authorised celebrant, such as myself, completes the legal obligations while your friend leads the majority of the ceremony.

This includes taking on things such as the rings, the vows, your story and all the emotional impact of the ceremony itself.

Yes, Co-Pilot Ceremonies can definitely happen in New South Wales.

I've done lots of these, especially in the Sydney area, where I have a great network of celebrants who can handle the legal obligations.

They complete that aspect, and then your Celebrant Buddy, or the person you choose, can lead the ceremony and put a really beautiful, personalised spin on things such as the story, the rings, the vows and everything else.

That's a great question.

A lot of it depends on the celebrant you choose to do a Co-Pilot Ceremony with and when you decide to complete the legal formalities.

With My Celebrant Buddy, I have different options available depending on where you are in Australia and how you want to structure the legal side of things.

You can visit My Celebrant Buddy to find out more about the current prices and options in Victoria and across the rest of our beautiful big country.

With a Co-Pilot Ceremony, because the legal obligations are being taken care of by an authorised marriage celebrant, your friend doesn't necessarily need formal celebrancy training.

My Celebrant Buddy, however, provides fun, short online lessons, generally around 15 minutes each, which cover things such as writing templates, positioning, music and plenty of other useful ceremony skills.

These lessons can be completed at their own pace, and the person you choose can work through them in their own time.

Plus, they can reach out to me any time.

That is 100% normal.

Even the most professional celebrants can get nervous being up on stage.

The awesome thing is that the lessons will help them prepare for the ceremony and build the structure, which in turn builds a lot of confidence.

I also recommend a rehearsal before the big day, plus the person you choose can get in touch with me any time.

It's always good to have a person who has some background or experience in public speaking, but it doesn't matter that much.

Wedding crowds are fantastic crowds.

As a person who used to do stand-up comedy, I know that first-hand!