Registry Weddings

You can no longer get married in a courthouse or Registry Office in New Zealand. The Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages has given these wedding ceremonies to people like myself who are Verified Members of the Celebrants Association of Aotearoa NZ (CANZ).

A registry wedding is a simple, brief legal ceremony with a fixed standard script and set vows. Registry weddings must be held Monday to Friday only, and in business hours 9am-5pm. It can be held in your home, my garden or another location within 10km from my home.
​You must bring two witnesses and can have no more than 10 guests. I will need to see photo ID for the couple (passport or driver's license).
You don't to meet with me prior to the ceremony. You can expect a phone call to confirm the date, time, venue, script, inclusion of ring exchange and payment method for the $90 set fee. A registry ceremony is not personalised, so making the arrangements should be simple.

There are no photographers, videographers or music installations at a Registry wedding (they were not allowed at the Courthouse or Registry Office either).

The ceremony is delivered in spoken English. If the couple or their witnesses do not understand English then you are required to provide an interpreter. The interpreter is required to sign the Declaration for translating a marriage or civil union ceremony.

When you apply for a marriage license you choose "Registry Wedding" and then choose your celebrant from the dropdown list of celebrants in your area. The price of the license is the same as for a personalised wedding: $150

If you want a larger wedding, or weekend date, or photographers that is called a 'personalised wedding'. I do those too, but that's for another blog post....