Newsletter for celebrants: 11 December 2023

Closedown over Christmas and New Year

Our last full working day for 2023 is Friday 22 December and we will re-open on Monday 8 January 2024. 

On 3, 4 and 5 January 2024 we will operate with a skeleton crew in order to continue processing marriages and civil unions.

Please ensure your couples apply early for their marriage licences, so their plans are not affected by office closures during the holiday period.

Continue to send enquiries to the correct email address (do not phone us). We will respond to the enquiry as soon as we can:

• Celebrants@dia.govt.nz - provides support to marriage and civil union celebrants only.
• bdmtoregister@dia.govt.nz - returning the fully completed and signed particulars for registration after the ceremony.
• MarriageLicence@dia.govt.nz - for couples that have questions or corrections to a marriage or civil union licence that they have already applied for.

Only approved celebrants marry couples

Please remind anyone you know that wants to be a celebrant, that they cannot marry couples until they have been officially approved as a celebrant and their name has been added to the list of celebrants.

Until they are approved as a celebrant, they may only participate in a marriage ceremony by, for example, reading a poem. This similarly applies to others who may want to be involved in the ceremony.

It is an offence to pretend to be a marriage celebrant and the marriage may be void ab initio.

The must haves – celebrants and ceremonies

The approved celebrant must take an active role by officiating over the legal aspects of the ceremony.

The celebrant must formally identify the couple, ensuring that the people standing in front of them at the wedding are the same people named on the marriage licence.

The marriage ceremony must be in Aotearoa, which includes the Ross Dependency and up to our territorial boundary.

The couple must say their vows in front of an approved celebrant and before at least two other witnesses.

The full names of the couple as written on the marriage licence must be used at some point during the ceremony proceedings. Abbreviations and nicknames can be 
used in other parts of the ceremony.

Aside from registry marriages, couples can write their own vows as long as they say to each other “I take you [partner’s name], to be my legal [wife/husband/partner]” or something similar during the ceremony. The couple should say the words to each other rather than answering a question you ask — although the marriage or civil union is still valid if you have asked the couple a question.

After you have married the couple and the Copy of Particulars of Marriage are fully completed (date, a specific place, couples signed, witnesses signed and addresses, celebrants name and signed and registration number/denomination) email a scan or photo to bdmtoregister@dia.govt.nz.

Retain the Copy of Particulars of Marriage for 4 weeks in case the photo or scan needs to be redone. After four weeks the Copy of Particulars must be destroyed and the email deleted.

Cannot use Zoom/Skype to marry a couple

Under the Marriage Act, a marriage can’t occur virtually i.e. you cannot use video conferencing software like Zoom, Skype etc. The couple, celebrant and two witnesses must be physically present in the same place - these five people must be physically present, in-person, at the geographical place when the couple say their vows to each other.

Consent

Absence of consent

A marriage or civil union may be void ab initio if by reason of duress, mistake, insanity, or for any other reason, if there was at the time an absence of consent by either party.

Celebrants are not obliged to marry a couple if for instance, in their professional judgement, a party to the marriage or civil union is showing signs that they do not voluntarily consent to the ceremony.

Court consent for 16 and 17 year olds to marry

The consent of a Family Court Judge is required before a 16 or 17 year old can marry. For more information refer to www.justice.govt.nz/family/get-consent-to-marry-if-you-are-16-or-17/

Coerced marriage or civil union

New legislation in 2018 aims to prevent possible forced marriages, where pressure or abuse is used to coerce someone into a marriage against their will. For more information refer to section 207A of the Crimes Act 1961.

Registry marriage and civil union updates

These updates apply to celebrants that are approved to perform registry marriages and civil unions.

Registry description

In collaboration with Celebrants Aotearoa, there is a new template for the description you can add to your profile. The description is displayed to couples in Apply for a marriage licence when they search for a registry celebrant along with your name, phone number and the town and city you reside in. We encourage you to use the new template:

• Template: "[max attendees to 10 people], [that you will travel max 10 km], [your availability 9am to 5pm Mon to Fri excluding weekends and public holidays]"
• Example: "Max. 8 people. I will travel 10km. 4.00-4.30 pm Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs".

To change your registry description go to https://celebrants.dia.govt.nz/independent_celebrant_self_service 

Witnesses

It is the couple’s responsibility to provide two witnesses regardless of whether it is for a personalised or registry ceremony. If the couple tell you that they do not know anyone that can act as a witness, you can suggest that they ask two members of the general public that are close by. The witnesses do not need to know the couple getting married. The witnesses are mainly there to observe the ceremony, in the unlikely event, that they are later called on by a Judge to describe what occurred.

No registry marriages during Christmas holidays

Registry marriages should not occur from 23 December 2023 to 7 January 2024. Those are the same dates that BDM's offices are closed to the public.

The system changes to block dates over the holidays in https://marriages.services.govt.nz was only completed a couple of weeks ago. If a couple has been issued a marriage licence for a registry marriage from 23 December to 7 January, the celebrant will need to decide if they want to marry them on that date or negotiate a different date with the couple.

Changing from registry to personalised 

If the couple's requirements go beyond a registry marriage and they have decided to change to a personalised ceremony, you can let our team know when you email bdmtoregister@dia.govt.nz by stating in the body of the email "Please amend the Denomination field from Registry to Independent".

Learning and ongoing professional development

You are encouraged to take advantage of the support, learning opportunities and ongoing professional development offered by:

The primary focus of members of Celebrants Aotearoa is the creation and delivery of meaningful rituals and ceremonies. We work closely with all we serve to respond to their needs and values.

 As a professional organisation, Celebrants Aotearoa strongly encourages all members to undertake celebrant specific training and endorses the two celebrant training providers. 

We promote members as the preferred choice of celebrant, enriching Aotearoa New Zealand through the delivery of quality, bespoke personalised ceremonies.

• Web:  www.celebrantsaotearoa.co.nz
• Email:  support@celebrantsaotearoa.co.nz

Training and on-going development are important for any professional, and you can be assured of high-quality, relevant learning when you study with The Celebrant School. Their lecturers are all well-qualified, experienced celebrants and the school has a proud tradition of service to the celebrancy profession. Their Certificate in Celebrant Studies was established over 25 years ago, and its whakapapa is grounded in the cultural and social context of Aotearoa-New Zealand, thoroughly preparing you to meet the diverse needs in your community.

• Web:  www.celebrant.school.nz
• Email:  info@celebrant.school.nz
• Ph:  021 681 958

We provide training for celebrants which is focused, contemporary and relevant to New Zealand today. Many of our students are just beginning their celebrant careers, others are already experienced celebrants who want to develop, or extend, their skills and knowledge. We offer first class, inspiring, best practice training. All our trainers are experienced celebrants and wonderful teachers with a wide range of skills in celebrancy and business and can offer you the very best in training.

• Web:  www.celebranttraining.co.nz
• Email:  training@celebranttraining.co.nz
• Ph:  021 0278 9696