Weddings

Congratulations on your decision to get married – an occasion to celebrate your love and commitment to each other and to share that with your friends and family.

Getting things started and deciding how to celebrate can sometimes be a bit daunting. There are many choices – simple or elaborate; traditions to honour and/or personalisations to add. Sometimes there are too many ideas coming at you, maybe a complete blank, or anywhere in-between. I would love to help you develop something that will be special for the two of you.

We can begin by a free, no obligation get-together to get the ball rolling. We will also discuss the legalities and basics of ceremony planning and explore questions that come up. You will go away with some useful information and can then make a decision as to if you want to continue with me or not.

Fee Options:

The fee for a Registry Ceremony is set by DIA and is currently $90. This is a very simple ceremony and has none of the ‘trimmings’. We simply meet at an agreed time and place (my home or yours, or a public garden or park) and use a script provided by DIA. The ceremony takes about 10mins including the signing of the documents. For more info click here. The ceremony is still special, it is your day and your celebration. A Registry Ceremony must be held during business hours, Mon-Fri (not on a public holiday), guest numbers are restricted to 10 people and I am not allowed to travel further than 10k’s from my home.

Personalised Cermony – my total fee is $600 – just $100 secures the date. A further $200 due 3 months out from your wedding, begins the process of drafting your ceremony. The final balance, is payable prior to your ceremony. You have opportunity to add special touches to your ceremony so it reflects something of your story and makes it unique and special for the two of you. My fee covers:

Up to three face to face get-together’s including the rehersal.
Email, text and phone conversations to bring it all together.
Travel to venue (up to two times to include rehersal) within a 40k radius of my home/office.
Arrival at least half an hour prior to ceremony and the ceremony itself.
A presented copy of the ceremony script, inclusive of photos provided by you/your photographer if provided.

If your ceremony falls outside of the requirements of a Registry Ceremony but you are still wanting a very simple ceremony, we can look at a THIRD OPTION. So, if you want your ceremony on a weekend, public holiday, outside of business hours or at a destination further from my home than 10k AND it will be a small gathering and very short ceremony, I have a short script to work from, including legal vows. My fee for this is $450 and small variations can be made.

Need some inspiration or ideas for your ceremony, have a look here.

The two essential things that ‘get you married’ are your licence (obtained through the court no sooner than 3 months and no later than 3 days before your event) and a registered person to officiate. Everything beyond that and how you make it ‘your event’ is pretty much your choice. For full details of how to apply for your licence click the link below:

https://www.govt.nz/browse/family-and-whanau/getting-married/get-a-marriage-licence/#how-you-apply

I am a validated member of the Celebrants Association of New Zealand (VCANZ). You can access their Code of Conduct, Professional Standards and Complaints Procedure via their website: http://www.celebrantsassociation.co.nz/