Signing the marriage certificates
Okay so you’re officially married! Now we have to document your marriage so that it can be registered by the government. We do this by signing three marriage certificates. In this post we’ll talk about the different certificates you’ll sign, where in the ceremony you’ll sign them, and how to get your guests entertained in the meantime.
The three marriage certificates
There are three certificates we sign during the ceremony:
- the Official Certificate of Marriage (BDM copy)
- the Official Certificate of Marriage (celebrant copy), and
- the Form 15 Certificate of Marriage.
The Official Certificate of Marriage (BDM copy)
This is the quite boring-looking certificate that I’m going to send to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) in the State or Territory in which you get married, so that they have all the information they need to officially register your marriage. It repeats much of the information contained in the Notice of Intended Marriage. It also includes:
- the date and location of your marriage ceremony
- the rites used (essentially, whether you were married in a civil ceremony or a religious one)
- signatures of the parties to the marriage
- names and signatures of the two official witnesses to the marriage
- name, signature, and authorisation number of the celebrant.
The Official Certificate of Marriage (celebrant copy)
This is essentially a second copy of the certificate above. I literally print two copies of the Official Certificate of Marriage (OCM), one for me to keep and one for me to send to the government. The one for me to keep is in case the one being sent to the government gets lost. If this happens, BDM will ring me up and go hey, can you send us a copy of your copy of the OCM so we can register this marriage?
Some celebrants use the big red register as their copy of the OCM, but I found it way too cumbersome and stopped using it after my first year. You also have to handwrite the information onto the register pages, and that’s an annoying waste of time when I can just print a second copy of the OCM!
I have to keep my copy of your OCM for six years from the day after your wedding. We can keep them in hard copy or scan them and keep the electronic version. We also have to keep them securely – so in a locked filing cabinet or password protected electronic device.
The Form 15 Certificate of Marriage
This is the one you get to take home with you after the wedding! Some people call it “the pretty one”, some call it “the parties’ certificate” (because it belongs to the parties to the marriage).
It is an important legal document and it can’t be replaced, but it’s not really worth much. You can’t use it to change your name or for other legal reasons (you’ll your Official Marriage Certificate from BDM for that). It’s evidence that you got married on a certain date at a certain place. It is not evidence of your identity or that the government knows about your marriage. This one goes in a frame on the wall or in the filing cabinet, depending on your aesthetic.
What name do you use to sign the marriage certificates?
Even if you’re thinking about changing your name after you’re married, you use your pre-marriage name and signature on your marriage certificates. The signatures on all the documents you sign relating to your marriage have to match. If they don’t, BDM is going to ask questions and you’ll have to complete a statutory declaration stating that you really did sign all the documents yourself even though the signatures are different! That’s annoying and time consuming so let’s just avoid it.
Signing the marriage certficates during the ceremony
Traditionally, the marriage certificates are signed after you are pronounced married, but before you are presented to your guests. That’s where I like to do it during most of my weddings.
Some celebrants think it breaks the flow of the ceremony and they then have to work harder to get the mood of the guests back up to welcome the newlyweds as they take their first walk down the aisle. They prefer to pull the signing out and have it after the couple has walked the aisle. I’m happy to do that if you really want, but my preference is to keep it in its traditional spot.
One of the reasons I like to do it this way is because it’s really the first chance you have for a moment (sort of) alone as a married couple. Once you’ve signed the documents and your witnesses have sat down to sign, I encourage you to go and find a spot a little way away from the ceremony space to have your first moments together. If the photographer’s paying attention, they can be some of the best photos of the day.
Music
It’s best to play some music while we’re signing the marriage certificate to give your guests something to listen to. I ask you to choose two songs; we might not need them both, but it’s best to have the backup just in case. I’m extremely quick with the signing, so quick that once a photographer missed it altogether because they were faffing about doing something else. But often the photographers like to do a bunch of set shots during this little interlude, so it’s best to have enough music to fill the gap.
More information
Click here to find an overview of a traditional Australian wedding ceremony.
Read all the posts in my series about Australian wedding ceremonies here.
Find all the posts in my series about marriage legalities here.