Declaration of no Impediment to Marriage

The Declaration of no Impediment to Marriage is a document that you have to sign before your marriage ceremony. It will be on the reverse side of the Official Certificate of Marriage that you will sign on your wedding day.  It is usually signed at the rehearsal, or the last time that you meet with the celebrant before the big day. It must be signed before you are married. It can be signed on the day if needs be, but it has to be signed legally before the ceremony takes place.

This document is basically a Statutory Declaration that you are over the age of 18 and there is no legal reason that you cannot be married to the person that you are about to marry. (If you are under 18 years of age you can still sign the paperwork, but you have to get a court approval to be married and it must be to someone that is over the age of 18) It states that you are a person who has never been validly married, or that you are a divorced person, or a widow or widower, and that there is no reason you cannot be married to the person that you are marrying.

Photo from Love Journal. Check out more of their work here.

 

 

6 Reasons to have a Wedding Rehearsal

Why have a wedding rehearsal? Not all couples think that a rehearsal is important, and depending on how you define rehearsal, sometimes I agree. For me a wedding rehearsal is not all about practicing what will be said on the day, there is no need for any of that. You don’t want to go over your vows, you don’t want them to feel overdone, and don’t want to go through the whole ceremony by any means.  You don’t even have to have your rehearsal at the location, although that is really helpful, sometimes it just isn’t practical to do so. The important things are.

1. Knowing where everyone is going to stand.
This is really important. Where is everyone going to stand on the day? Even just knowing this takes so much pressure off on the day. All of your attendants don’t need to be at the rehearsal. There are 100 reasons why they might not be able to come, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is the 2 most important people on the day know where they are going to stand, and that in itself is reassuring. Even when a rehearsal isn’t possible. I’ve met with couples at a cafe and we draw up a little diagram.

2. Practice walking to your song, or time the walk along the aisle.
Working out when to start walking towards the ceremony. It is a good idea to see how long the song that you have chosen to enter to will go for and if you have enough time to get from point A to point B. Do you need a separate song for any attendants? This is a great time to work all of this out.

3. Where will the sun be on the day.
This is something that people tend not to take into consideration. Think about were the sun will be at the time of the ceremony (doesn’t matter too much if you are in a chapel) make sure that you are not going to be standing in a spot where the sun will be blaring in your eyes as you try to make promises to the love of your life.

4. Will everyone fit in the area that you want the ceremony to be in.
This is important if you have a few attendants each and you are getting married in that lovely little chapel that you’ve always had your heart set on. Make sure that everyone will fit and they know roughly how close to stand to the next person. Its a great way to make sure that everything will look good in your photos. (Some people even invite their photographer to the rehearsal so that they are happy with the layout too.)

5. Helps Dad or whomever is walking you down the aisle, know what they are doing.
This is a big job, and if the person walking you down the aisle isn’t sure what to do this can be awkward. At the rehearsal we can go through if your Dad shakes hands with your husband to be, or gives him a hug. It lets Dad know to give you a kiss and sit down, not just stand around not knowing where he is supposed to go after he gets you safely to the end of the aisle. (Having a rehearsal doesn’t guarantee that your Dad won’t get so emotional on the day that he forgets what we practice, but at least we tried)

6. Helps me to know who I need to save seats for on the day.
I have no problem telling people that seats in the front row are for your family, but it helps if we have worked out roughly how many chairs will be in the front row and how many you need for your VIP part of your family.
Have you been part of a wedding that didn’t have a rehearsal and you felt a bit lost or have you attended a wedding where it was obvious that no one really knew where they were supposed to be?

Thanks once again to Untamed Images Photography for the photos on the blog this week check out their website and facebook page for more of their work.

 

Responsibilities of the bridal party.

Being a part of someone’s wedding doesn’t just involve turning up on the day and looking great in your dress or suit. There are many things you need to take into consideration. It can be huge responsibility being a part of a wedding – something that the bride and groom must seriously consider (read more about this in my blog about selecting and honouring people in your wedding here).

The select few need to be aware that is takes a lot of work when you are a part of someone’s bridal party – often being expected to plan and pay for things that contribute to the special day. In addition the bride and groom need to take the amount of work they expect their closest friends and family to contribute into consideration. It is a great idea to plan just how much each person is contributing – minimising confusion amongst your nearest and dearest closer to the special day. The bride and groom should inform the attendants well before the date what they are expected to buy for the day, this could mean contributing to the dresses and suits for the bridal party.  Often this is not clear; as a part of the wedding party it is always a good idea to ask – lay out all the expenses on the table and plan the payment. If you, as the bride or groom, are covering expenses for the bridal party, you may like to have the final say on what is to be worn, however when expecting the guests to contribute, a certain amount of leeway should be taken into consideration.

There are often a lot of events that members of the bridal party are expected to be at. I feel one of the most crucial pre-wedding event is the rehearsal, it is really important that the wedding party attends. This is beneficial not only for me as a celebrant to become acquainted with the attendants, but also for the wedding party to become familiar with their role on the day. I once had an guest tell the couple that he was “too cool” to go to the rehearsal, funnily enough he was the one with the most questions on the day; looking a little lost when everyone was getting into place. The point of a wedding rehearsal isn’t to put people out or burden them with yet another commitment, it is aimed to help the wedding party feel comfortable with the ceremony and to ensure all will run smoothly on the day. It may feel some what daunting to be a part of the immediate wedding party on display at the ceremony, having the knowledge of what is expected on the day makes the experience that bit easier. It is a great chance to ensure the music; timing and placement are perfect for the big day.

A lot of time needs to be spent, picking out clothes, planning a bridal shower and hens and buck events. For the most part the wedding party is expected to be a part of these traditions where possible. It is perfectly understandable if you are overseas or out of town, however, traditionally the wedding party plan these events and the support of the bride and grooms nearest and dearest is expected.

What you, as a part of the wedding party, must always take into consideration is that this is the bride and grooms day and it is going to be one of the most special events in their life. They may get a little stressed and grumpy, but try and look past that and remember that this is what their world has revolved around for several months. Enjoy the moment and feel honoured to be a part of their special day.

Thanks again to Kirralee for the use of her amazing images. Check out her blog here.