Can we get married in two weeks time?

Everyone getting married in Australia is required by law to give one calender months notice whether the ceremony is by a celebrant, or is at BDM Registry.

This can be complicated, l would suggest we speak about this, it may be possible, but l would not rely on a yes

My apologies for not answering this sooner as it only just came up on my screen and I see you posted way back in May, so hopefully you are enjoying marital bliss by now.

Under the Marriage Act (1961), for a Marriage to occur in Australia, the couple must lodge a Notice Of Intended Marriage (NOIM) with the authorised celebrant no earlier than 18 months, and no later than one month, before the date of the marriage.

Situations arise, however, from time to time where a couple has a need to shorten the One Month notice period before marriage, and following application, under specific extraordinary circumstances, a Prescribed Authority may, under the Marriage Act (1961), authorise the marriage to occur even if the notice was lodged later than a month before the Ceremony.

Woohoo , does that mean we can get married in two weeks or even tomorrow?

Not necessarily as a Shortening Of Time is only granted in 5 extraordinary circumstances:

What are the circumstances where a Shortening Of Time may be granted?

• 1        Employment-related or other travel commitments
• 2        Wedding or celebration arrangements
• 3        Medical reasons
• 4        Legal proceedings
• 5        Error in giving notice

For more information, go to my webpage and look for the Shortening of Time tab: https://www.alifecelebrant.com.au/shortening-of-time/

Hi Bride, 

Great question. 

Generally speaking, the answer is no. As in Australia, you are required to give a completed Notice of Intended Marriage to an authorised marriage celebrant at least 1 month (and less than 18th months) before your set wedding date. 

That being said, in some extreme circumstances you can be given permission for a 'Shortening of the Time' which involves being granted permission to be married in less than 1 month by a Prescribed Authority. 

Reasons accepted by a Prescribed Authority include;

- mistake in giving notice

- legal proceedings 

- medical reasons

- employment-related 

- travel commitments 

I hope this is helpful and if you want to chat more, please feel free to reach out! 

In accordance with the Marriage Act, you must first lodge your Notice of Intended Marriage and then wait a mandotory 1 calendar month before you can legally get married. There are however some exceptions to this where you can apply for a Shortening of Time and potentially, yes, you could get married in 2 weeks with the Court's approval.

Generally, you need to file a Notice of Intended Marriage before one month prior to the date of your marriage ceremony. Only in very special cirumstances can you apply for a shortening of time, such as employment related and travel commitments. You need to be granted permission from a prescribed authority to do so. Talk to an authorised marriage celebrant if you need further information about this.

In short, yes you can get married in two weeks, if you have extenuating circumstances (see below).  Ordinarily a couple must lodge a Notice of Intended Marriage at least one month prior or no sooner than 18 months to the marriage.

But in certain circumstances you can be granted a 'shortening of time' to get married.  

The Marriage Regs identifies the following reasons for approving a shortening:  employment/travel commitments, wedding/celebration or religious considerations, medical reasons, legal proceedings, or an error in giving notice.

Your celebrant can assist with this but you will need to seek this through a prescribed authority.

As many have mentiong , the rules are one calendar month from completiion of Notice of Intended Marriage and the solemnising of the marriage in a wedding ceremony,
Lots of couples comply with this but sometimes there are exceptions.
more information about your circumstances would help

Maybe you could do a sweet commitment ceremony and then have a simple legal ceremony done after the Notice is completed. Some great advice in all the responses.  Let me know if I can assist in any way. Enjoy that fabulous holiday anyway !