Module
13 : Wedding Ceremonies & Wedding Legalities

 What duties should be assigned to everyone at the
ceremony  Who can get married

 How to make marriage notices official  What the marriage schedule is

By the end of this chapter, you will know:

 What duties should be assigned to everyone at the ceremony

Who can get married

How to make marriage
notices official

What the marriage schedule
is

13.1  : What type of wedding
ceremony will the couple be having?

While some couples will choose a religious
ceremony, an increasing number opt for non-religious locations.

Some, but not all, who opt for a non-religious
location may wish to stress abandoning the religious element altogether.

When this is the case, you need to meet with the
officiate to determine whether they will be adding religious elements into the ceremony. If the couple does not
want this to happen, then you might want
to ask them to leave this part out.

13.2  : Where will the ceremony
be held?

If the couple is religious, they might want to choose
an appropriate

religious
building.

In some instances, you might not have that much
choice. Christian religious buildings are more
common than Buddhist, for example.

Other couples might want to go for their local
registry office, while some may want a non-religious location that they can use for both the ceremony and the
location. Some couples might attach some form
of emotional significance to the place their parents got married, in which case
you'll need to work hard to help them
secure it.

If the ceremony is going to be separate from the
arena where the celebrations will take place, you need to ensure that the distance between the two isn't too big.
Not only does this make life logistically awkward
for the guests,
it eats into the couple's
time together on the big day.

13.3  : Who is playing a role in the ceremony?

Bridesmaids, grooms,
and ushers continue
to be a common feature

in modern weddings.

Not all brides have someone walk them down the
aisle, but many continue to do so. When planning the ceremony, you need to know who will be involved what their
intended role will be, and when they're going to be doing their bit.

Once you know who is doing what,
you need to draw up a ceremony
plan and let the
following people have it:

 The
couple

The officiate

Everyone who's taking part

Traditional wedding ceremony positions

1. Minister 2. Bridesmaids 3. Maid of honor 4. Bride and Groom 5. Best man 6. Groomsmen
7. Flower girls 8. Ring bearer

You may also want to include aspects of the
ceremony such as speeches and readings in the order of service. This lets the guests know what's going on and reminds
everyone what they're doing on the day.

When choosing readings, couples might find
themselves feeling a little uninspired. Religious passages, poems, and stories all work well. Try to ensure that
readings don't go on for more than a few
moments, as they can become tiresome for those in attendance.

In addition to readings, will the couple be
creating their own vows? While you won't be helping them write their vows, you will need to add time into the ceremony
for this to happen.

13.4  : What duties will everyone
be assigned for the
ceremony?

Everyone
who plays a 'major' role in the ceremony will be assigned
his or her own duties.

This
will vary between
couples and ceremony
types, but can include:

Chief bridesmaid: Carrying the veil

Other bridesmaids: Holding bouquets

Ushers: Ensuring
everyone is sat in the right place

Witnesses to the signing
of the register

Assistance with leaving the church

The key to organizing a successful ceremony is
liaising. Whenever anything changes, you should let other people know.

To ensure everything runs smoothly, host a practice
ceremony within a week of the wedding. Making
sure it's so close to the wedding
itself is particularly essential when young
participants are involved, as it ensures their roles and the order of the day are fresh in their minds.

13.5  : The legal aspects of marriage

Marriage seems straightforward right?
Well, not always. As you've already seen in the
ceremonies aspect of this course, humanist ceremonies aren't automatically
recognized. In order to get married and be recognized as such, the couple needs to fulfill
some basic legal requirements.

13.6  : Who can get married?

First of all, usually you can't get married if you're already married or
in a civil partnership.

You need to get divorced first. Second, you must be
at least 16. If you live in most first world
countries, you need parental permission when you're under the age of 18.

In rare circumstances like in Scotland, you can go right ahead
and get married.
The chances of you
arranging a secret marriage for someone under the age of 18 are very slim indeed.

13.7  : How do you get married?

Technically, there's nothing stopping
a couple from letting their dog hold

the ceremony.

However, it's only going to be legally recognized
when a registered officiate holds the wedding. As a planner, it's your job to make sure priests, imams,
and any other
sort of officiate can actually carry out the task and produce the right
legal result.

In the UK in order
to get married legally, the couple must submit a notice to marry. This must be given to the registrar between 15 days
and 3 months of the wedding taking place. Ideally, the couple will allow at least 4 – 6 weeks for this to be processed. In addition, there must be two witnesses
to the signing of the marriage
register. Both of these witnesses
must be over the age of 16.

In the United States
each state has its own laws, waiting periods
and marriage license
costs. In some states
you even have to have a blood
test before you can legally
marry.

In Canada,
under the Solemnization of Marriage Act, it is necessary to get a marriage license
or certificate before getting
married. Marriage licenses
are provincial or territorial and it is necessary
to apply to the relevant provincial/territorial municipal office or Department
of Vital Statistics in order to get a marriage license.

In Australia a completed Notice of Intended
Marriage form must be given
to your celebrant at least one month
before the wedding. You can give it to your celebrant up to eighteen months
beforehand. The notice may be
completed and witnessed outside Australia if required.

You will need to give your celebrant evidence of
date and place of birth, identity and the end of any previous marriages for each party. Your celebrant may also ask
you to complete a statutory declaration to support your evidence. Only
authorized celebrants can legally perform marriages in Australia.

In New Zealand you need to get a marriage license
before you can legally be married. A Notice of Intended Marriage must be completed by
one of the parties getting married in the presence of a Registrar of Marriages.

In South
Africa intending bridal couples
should in all cases consult
the marriage officer
who is to perform the ceremony to ensure compliance with the prescribed
formalities.

In
Ireland anyone (irrespective of
whether they are an Irish citizen or a foreign national) must give three months notification before they
marry.

13.8  : Making marriage
notices official

In order for a marriage notice to be official in most countries , it
needs to be accompanied by:

 The right fee

The couple's birth certificates

Divorce certificates from previous marriages, if applicable

Death certificate of the previous
partner, if applicable

 Evidence that you're legally allowed to marry, if
you're not already a resident of the country you plan to get married in

13.9  : Making marriage
notices official

After 14 days of notifying the registrar that you intend to get married,
and no later than 7 days before the marriage itself, the couple will be issued
with a marriage schedule.

This is an initial record of the marriage. In the
case of non-religious ceremonies, it stays with the respective registrar. For religious ceremonies, the couple needs to go and collect
it.

Module
Summary

No two wedding ceremonies are the same, and this is
something you'll soon come to realize as a wedding
planner. To ensure the ceremony you plan is successful, you'll need to
determine the type of ceremony the
couple will be having and where it will be held.

This module taught you how to do that,
as well as how to create a plan for the day and who you need to update when that plan changes. It also covered
the legal aspects of marriage which should not be underestimated.