Michael Bower

Civil Marriage Celebrants can conduct a range of wedding ceremonies from formal, informal and even themed ceremonies. 

But whether your service is religious or civil, the ceremony will follow the same basic structure: procession, call to order/opening remarks, vows, ring exchange and other unity gestures, pronouncement ("I now pronounce you…"), kiss, closing remarks and recession. 

With a civil ceremony, there's more room to make it your own, so feel free to write your own vows and include special readings, music selections, unity symbols and rituals in the proceedings.

First we have a meeting so that we can find out about each other. You need to decide whether I am the type of Marriage Celebrant you are looking for.  

If you decide to move forward with me as your Celebrant, then we arrange a second meeting to sort out of all of the paperwork. For example, we have to complete a Notice of Intended Marriage at least 30 days before your wedding date and there are a couple of other documents that need to be completed. 

Generally, we would meet 2 to 3 times prior to the ceremony. We have our first meeting and then we would have another meeting to fill out all of the required paperwork. Potentially we might have a third meeting prior to the rehearsal to make sure that you are happy with all the parts of the ceremony.  That said, I’m happy to meet as many times as required to ensure your day is exactly what you want.

You can get married anywhere you want to – a beach, private estate, garden, hot air balloon - provided we have permission from the people who own, run or are responsible for, the location. Of course, only a registered Marriage Celebrant can make it all legal!

Yes, I will certainly travel if required.  A travel fee may apply or depending on the distance travelled, you may need to provide accommodation.  Any additional charges for travel will always be spelt out in my Statement of Fees, which I give to you at our second meeting.