A Life Celebrant - Lou Szymkow

A Life Celebrant - Lou Szymkow

I am not on the Gold Coast but I will try to answer your question regardless.

The main difference between a Catholic Marriage rite and a Civil ceremony is that the Catholic marriage Rites are a sacrament and the ritual is conducted within a mass inside a church, where Christ is the centre and so the couple face the altar, while in a Civil Ceremony, the couple are the focus and centre and they usually face each other or their guests.

The other significant difference is that in the Catholic Rite of Marriage, the vows are usually expressed through questions and answers but in a Civil Ceremony, the couple say their vows to each other. 

I should also mention that a Priest is usually limited to performing rites within a church building, but a Civil Celebrant can perform a ceremony anywhere within Australia.

You have obviously chosen not to use a Priest/Church but many ex-priests are Civil Celebrants, and there are many Catholics around, and so as long as nothing contradicts the Marriage Act, just about everything can be said and done that is consistent with a Catholic marriage ritual.  In choosing a Celebrant, I would suggest that you do clarify that the Celebrant is indeed a Catholic and so believes in what they are saying. 

A Life Celebrant - Lou Szymkow

There are great opportunities for having some fun with Vows as well as other parts of the ceremony.

So whilst there are certain words that you have to say, often referred to as your 'legal vows', many opt for 'personal vows' (added words) and of course there are also  the 'I Dos'. - Saying 'I do' is not a legal requirement unless you are married by a priest and the church doctrine requires it, hence, it doesn't have to be there or we can have some fun with it by including questions like:

" do you promise to put the toilet seat down, share the remote control, watch your partner's favourite TVs show, help with TikToks, any never ever tell anyone what happened on top of that hill,... etc, etc. "

Couples often add their own bits into the question to ensure it gets a great laugh.

I also ask lots of questions of the couple, to create an entertaining and usually very funny Love Story during which time I make sure all the guests are oohing and aahing throughout.  I also tell couples that I have lots of fun and want them, and their guests to have even more fun than I do.

A Life Celebrant - Lou Szymkow

At the moment, your choices are limited in that either party can take the other's surname or the two surnames can be hyphenated in either order.

With an Australian marriage, you still retain the right to your birth name.

If you want more than that, there are other options:

1. take on a name 'by usage', which means that you can use any name you like, though it will not be your legal name. Doing that can cause confusion and complications with passports and official records, especially where so many institutions are wary of identity theft and will require proof of identity..
2. Change your name by a formal name change after the marriage and your new name becomes your permanent legal name.
3. Change your first name by a formal name change before the marriage and you will then be married under that new birth name, leaving the original options enabling you to use your own surname or married name coupled with your newly chosen first name.