Author: Lynette Maguire

Check my availability

Okay, so first things first – shoot me an email or a give me a call or a text to see if I'm available for your date and time. If I’ve got another commitment on that day, I'll likely ask what details you have locked in, and I may ask you if you’re flexible with your start time.

I’ll email you with some propaganda about what I do and why you should book me, along with my price. If you’re happy with everything, then you have two choices:

1. Set up a meeting (in person, phone or zoom) so we can chat and see if with click
2. Book me sight unseen – this is actually how most of my clients go – it’s all about gut instinct and most couples know straight away if I’m for them. Oh, and of course because I've been a marriage celebrant for over 20 years, I do get a lot of referrals.

If you want to book, send me an email

Next, tell me in writing, “Lyn, we’d love you to be our celebrant” and I’ll email you back saying “yay.” I’ll include my booking form which I ask you to complete (the top half only) and then email it straight back so I can get you pencilled in. In my email to you, I’ll include my terms and conditions (they’re pretty standard in the industry, but if you have any questions then please ask).

I’ll also send through the booking fee details – remember that until the booking fee is paid, you’re not locked in – if another couple book your date or pay their booking fee before you, then the booking will be theirs.

Sorry procrastinators! Basically, it’s snooze and you lose.

I’ll send through an email saying you’re booked in and I always suggest that you join me on Facebook, and Instagram blah blah blah … I’m better on some platforms than others (not enough hours in the day) – this way we can get to know each other so we’re not strangers on your wedding day.

Note: I will not ‘add’ you or send heaps of emails or messages because that will just make me ‘stalker celebrant’ – not cool! But you’re welcome to spam me as much as you like 🙂

Getting your legal stuff out of the way

Next on the ‘to do’ list is getting the pesky NoiM done - and to do this I'll ask you to enter your details into my software and this generates all your legal paperwork – do it early and get it out of the way. I’ll also need to sight some original ID – usually drivers’ licences, birth certificates and divorce/death certificates if relevant and you can scan these through which is cool.

The ceremony design meeting

About 2-3 months prior to your wedding we catch up for a ceremony design meeting which is always loads of fun. I’ll bombard your inbox with examples of vows, some homework, and a heap of other stuff so you’re up to speed with ceremony stuff and you’re clued up for when we meet. The meeting can take between 1 to 1.5 hours depending on how decisive you are or how chatty we get lol.

I’ll teach you how to write kickarse vows. Truly! Kickarse 🙂 Even people who say they can’t write, end up proud of their vows 🙂 It’s not hard when you know how – and my job is to teach you.

If I don’t have all aspects of your ceremony (eg. vows, readings etc) by a week before your ceremony, I WILL start stalking you 🙂 I’ll send you a confirmation email a week before your wedding running through what we’d spoken about at the ceremony deign meeting and seeing if anything has changed (it’s usually cool if it has.)

Rehearsals

Rehearsals: Yep, they’re available, but I find most of my couples don’t particularly want them. If you’re having a huge bridal party, it’s probably best to have one. It’s more about where to stand, rehearsing with the music, etc than actually reading your ceremony, so you can do it all without me. Let me know if you’d like a rehearsal! If I can't get to your venue when you want, you have the option of facetiming me in, or meeting me somewhere close to where I live for a rehearsal in a park.

You get married and have the best day of your life

Next you get married and have the best day of your life.

Applying for your Marriage Certificate

If you’d like me to lodge the Application for a Marriage Certificate to Births Deaths and Marriages for you, you’ll need to complete the form and give me back the original before your wedding (they won’t accept a scanned copy or photocopy). If I lodge it with your registration papers you won’t need to supply the ID they ask for (they trust I’ve done all that) – if you forget, then you can apply at any time but you’ll need to attach a certified copy of your driver’s licence and other ID (it's all on the form). OR - you can apply online 🙂

oh, and another heads up - I've developed an AI offside called Bridie - you'll notice her at the bottom right of the home page - if she doesn't answer your questions, I might be adding to her coding. Pretty soon most my paperwork will be able to be done by her for those couples that love the geeky stuff. You guys who prefer to talk to a real person can chat to me any time you like.

Lynette Maguire Marriage Celebrant mixing marriage magic for over 22 years - now on Mount Tamborine and Scenic Rim.

Okay, so there’s lots of legal stuff to get you married in Australia, but luckily we’re one of the easiest countries in the world to marry.

Here’s a step by step guide to help you along the way …

• Firstly, you must give at least one month’s notice of your intent to be married (I can email you a form - but if you book with me you'll complete the form through my software).  If you’d like to marry on 17th October 2028, I need to have received your completed and signed Notice of Intended Marriage (NoiM) before 17th September 2028. But, this is something you can do early – like up to 18 months early! Do it now – get it done and avoid the stress.
• You must sign the form in front of an approved witness such as a Justice of the Peace, Celebrant, Solicitor, Doctor or Police Officer (the category of person approved is listed on the Notice).  If you're outside Australia the witness must be an official at the Australian Embassy or Consulate OR a Notary Public (again, check the form).
• A few changes happened because of Covid - and you can sign your NoiM in front of me via Zoom - yiha. Makes life for my couples so much easier.
• You must show me the original ID documents required to prove your date of birth, place of birth and identity before the ceremony starts (example is driver’s licenses and either birth certificate or passport) and these can be scanned through to me.
• You must prove through original documentation that any previous marriage has ended and you are free to marry again (for example divorce certificate or death certificate of previous spouse).
• You will need to have two witnesses over the age of 18 present at the ceremony.  Don’t panic though, if you’re planning an elopement I can arrange witnesses on your behalf. Your witnesses can be family.
• Consider whether you are both able to understand the English language.  If this is not the case you must provide a registered official interpreter (hint: not your cousin - unless they're a registered interpreter).

There are a few myths about marriage in Australia, so let’s clear some of them up

• One of the couple must have reached the age of 18, no two people under the age of 18 can marry.  If one party to the marriage is under 18, parental consent will be required.
• Same sex marriages are legal in Australia, so if you're part of the LGBTIQ+ community, marry away my darlings
• You do not have to buy or obtain a Marriage  License as these are not required in Australia
• You do not need to have a blood test
• You do not need to have a pregnancy test
• You do not need to fulfil any residency requirements (you can get married the day you arrive from overseas)
• You do not need a special type of visa – you can be married if you’re visiting on a tourist visa or a work/business visa

There are no rules about when, where, or how you marry

• You can be married at any time on any day of the year (365/24/7)
• You can be married indoors, outdoors, in a park, on a beach, by a lake, in a hot air balloon, on a boat, in a wedding chapel, a restaurant, historical building, vineyard, lookout, or surrounded by kangaroos, koalas and other Australian wildlife, in fact anywhere you like.  Often you will need to obtain approval of the local Council to marry on public land and I can help with this.  Many venues will charge you if you’d like to be married on their premises.
• You can wear what you like, too.  Don’t think you need to wear a bridal gown and veil.  You can wear a bikini if you like.
• You do not legally need to exchange wedding rings.
• The smallest legal wedding will contain five people:  the Celebrant, the couple, and two witnesses over 18 years of age.

Want more information? Contact me now, I’m happy to answer questions 0400 595 679

Yes, I sure do.

I went to a funeral recently and frankly, I was so disappointed by the Celebrant – zero public speaking skills, zero personal  presentation and care factor?  You guessed it - Zero.

The person everyone was there to say farewell to? Well, she deserved more than that.

Tell me, when you pass away, do you want some random up at the lecturn just saying the “same ole same ole” about you and your life?  Of course not?  And your loved ones don’t deserve that either (even if you didn’t get on.)

The person you’re farewelling is three dimensional – more than just a mother, father, brother, son - everyone who sits in that chapel, or who stands on the beach, has different memories and reasons for being there.  Let’s capture THAT.  Let’s try to truly capture that life.

So, my promise to you is:  If you book me for a funeral or life celebration, I will deliver a sincere, loving and honest funeral service – we’ll unfold and explore a life and we’ll get all the guests remembering the good times, the not so good times, along with those embarrassing moments (we’ve all had them) and just have a good old heartfelt and caring ceremony.   We’ll laugh a bit and cry a bit and we’ll keep it real.

Did you know you don't have to have a funeral?  It's true.  You can skip the chapel and head to your loved one's favourite place - the pub, the beach, the hinterland ... and have a farewell service or wake. 

I've buried a 100 year old gent who had an amazing life, a still born baby who didn't have a chance at this life, suicide victims, drug overdose victims, cancer victims, prisoners - you name it, I can help give your loved one a wonderful and loving send off to the next part of their journey.

For funerals, wakes, ash scatterings on Tamborine Mountain, Scenic Rim or the Gold Coast, give me a call.  I promise I will not do boring and and I will definitely give you, or your loved one, the farewell you deserve.

Some funeral ideas requests I’ve had – just to get you thinking:

“Lynnie, after the service I want you to run out the front and hose the guests as they’re leaving”.

“Harleys.  Give me Harleys … oh … and strippers!  Make sure there’s strippers.”

“No tea and biccies for me.  I want whiskey and Irish music.”

“Play Somewhere over the Rainbow for me – because that’s where I’ll be.”

“Lynnie, I want Christmas carols played and my casket to be wrapped in tinsel.”

“Make sure I’m actually dead.  Stick a pin in me or something.”

Capturing their essence!  That’s what I do.

If you haven't heard, Queensland can be downright brutal in the middle of a heatwave!  

I recall a February many years back it was a super hot day and the ceremony was to take place on the beach in full sun - I tried to get the couple to move the ceremony, but they wouldn't.  This is what happened:

It was the hottest day in February history in south east Queensland, and it was quite still so we didn't even have the luxury of a cooling ocean breeze. I can usually get and keep the audience's attention - but they just weren't interested: frying in the hot sun can do that to you. I had cut down the ceremony so it wouldn't take so long, but instead of a reading, they'd asked a family member to sing. Usually, I'd love this, and God bless the young 14 year old chickie, she did a beautiful job and hit every note perfectly - but she.sang.every.damn.note.and.every.damn.chorus, not thinking about the guests or the bridal party. And she didn't notice that during her song, two people had fainted.

Shit.

Which brings me to the point of this post:

What do you do about weddings in weather like this?   It's days like this, personally, I push my couples to move everyone to an air-conditioned alternative - typically, the wet weather venue.  Trust me, your guests will be grateful and you won't look like you've melted with running makeup, and droopy, sweaty hair you've just paid a fortune for.  And it's likely your photos won't be as gorgeous as you'd hoped (though thank heavens for photoshop I guess). Boys in full suits in weather like this is just cruel and some of those wedding gowns are heavy and HOT - and not in a good way.

But, if you're adamant on having an outside ceremony here's some hints for the considerate couple:

Move the ceremony into the shade

Have umbrellas or parasols available

Have bottles of water on ice for guests

And sunscreen!

Buy those little paper fans for guests

And .... Don't be late - that's just cruel as well.

A hot wedding story

At a recent wedding the bridal party were facing the western sun and it was so hot it was brutal. I sent everyone (including myself) into the shade and we waited. And waited. And waited. When the bride finally arrived she admitted that she'd told everyone the ceremony was to start 30 minutes after what she told them, because she didn't want any late arrivals, which meant most guests and all suppliers were waiting out in the heat for over an hour. Not cool.

Here's a hint: Tell your suppliers your timing plans so we can cater to these sorts of weather nasties. Had I known I would have sent everyone (including myself) into the bar. lol. See, this is why I prefer crispy Winter weddings.

I literally watched the groom get sunburned right before my eyes - he didn't handle the heat too well and would have been pretty sore over the next few days. The groom's shirt was dripping wet under his suit coat - trust me that's no fun so I made him take his jacket off until just before the bride arrived and the boys were so grateful for the respite.

Most suppliers and guests arrive 30 minutes prior to the ceremony start time

Remember, most of the suppliers (and most of the guests) will turn up 30 minutes before your ceremony, and some suppliers don't leave until well after the ceremony has finished and the guests have left - that can be a l-o-n-g time in sweltering heat. 

So please be thoughtful of your guests, suppliers and bridal party and have a Plan B that can cater to rain, excessive wind, and the torturous Queensland heat.

So, do what you can to keep everyone hydrated and cool - including yourselves! Everyone will be forever grateful and enjoy your wedding so much more!  Trust me  🙂

For a perfect wedding in any weather, consider a Tamborine Mountain wedding - cooler in Summer and beautiful crackling fires in winter.

Do you want to get married but just couldn't be bothered organising the whole big shebang? Maybe you'd prefer to spend the money on something else or maybe your family situation is just too dicey.

I can tailor elopement and small wedding packages in most places around Australia.  Because I'm on Tamborine Mountain, I'll always suggest to be married here (support local business).  

Here's how it works

Elopements are really taking off! After their elopement some couples take a pic of the marriage certificate and SMS it to all their friends and family. Others have cute signs saying "We Eloped" and the date - and you can use these as invitations to a post-wedding bash. This is what Ken and I did when we eloped - and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect way to celebrate our wedding (and I got to wear my wedding dress twice. Woot!

Typically, your elopement will be between a Monday and Thursday and there won't be any more than 8 guests (a small wedding is up to 20 guests). You can design your own package - just tell me what you want to book and I'll organise the whole thing for you (or recommend an elopement company for you)

The most common package has: Celebrant to conduct a 10 minute ceremony; bridal flowers and buttonhole, bride's hair and makeup, an hour of professional photography (you'll get your fabulous edited images on a disc or usb for you to keep - there's no copyright or trademark and typically there's 80 images).

Contact me on 0400 595679 or email me - so if you're keen to just run away to the mountains, let me know and I'll help you arrange everything - Tamborine Mountain Marriage Celebrant, Lynette Maguire