I have never thought in my life that I would marry someone. In my country, we still do not recognise same-sex marriage, which has never brought me into any aspects of marriage.
I came to Australia as a person with a traveller’s heart. I wanted to go everywhere, see everything, and be a free spirit. I still do, but along the way, I have found a reason to stay and another heart to carry with me.
He asked me to marry and settle in Australia, his hometown, and I said,
‘I do’.
I’m sharing my experience of getting married in Australia as a same-sex couple and a foreigner. Unfortunately, I cannot give you tips or ideas about organising a charming wedding ceremony as we didn’t do it that way.
But if you are after legal steps on how to marry in Australia officially, this blog will help you understand and be able to start the process. It’s not complex or complicated if you go the right way.
Who can get married in Australia?
If you are a foreigner, a visa holder or a same-sex couple and wonder if you could get married in Australia, the answer is YES.
You don’t have to be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident. But it doesn’t mean you could stay in the country by just getting married.
Besides the citizen status, you must also be a decent adult who is not married, over 18 years old, agrees to marry, not marry your close relative (please don’t), and be married by an authorised marriage celebrant.
For more info on who can get married in Australia, click here
How to prepare?
I registered in South Australia. The process was so intuitive and straightforward.
The important thing is that you must lodge a notice of intended marriage a month before your wedding date.
To do that;
- I downloaded a notice of intended marriage form, filled it out, and signed it in front of a police officer (you can find more about authorised people).
- Then I created an account on the government website.
- I uploaded a notice of intended marriage and evidence of date and place of birth, and identity for both of us. I used a copy of my passport as it got everything on it.
For more info about authorised people, click here
What kind of your perfect wedding?
Greg and I talked about what we would like for our wedding. Of course, we hope to marry only once in our life, so people dream about the perfect wedding at the beach or in the beautiful old church.
But to me, because I have never thought or imagined about the wedding before. And personally, I am a simple bitch. I like things that are not complicated and make sense. Greg was happy with anything that made me comfortable. So we came to agree that we were going to do the ceremony at the registry office.
I don’t regret my choice at all because all I had to deal with was booking a date, inviting guests (it was still a limitation on the number of guests due to the pandemic rule), getting a dress, finding a nice ring, making a dinner reservation at the restaurant for guests after the ceremony, and that was it.
It pulled away all the headaches and saved so much money. As a result, we were officially announced as husbands since then. And that what my simple perfect wedding.
If you like to make it an extraordinary ceremony, there are many options. For example, you can hire the organiser to create your dream wedding and organise everything, including a private marriage celebrant. Or you can contact some marriage celebrant who could also manage the venue and simple ceremony for you.
Whatever your dream, you and your partner is the one who decides.
For more info about a marriage celebrant, click here
The wedding day
Because we decided to hold our wedding ceremony at the registry office so we didn’t have to panic about anything before the appointment.
But I can tell Greg was a bit nervous while we were getting ready. I had to help him choose the dress. After trying every suit in his closet finally, he was in a light rose shirt and covered it with a dark brown suit that his parent had brought him long ago. And I was in a blue Boston shirt with a dark navy-blue suit from Connor.
I usually don’t like suits because I am a short person, and you know, it just makes me look very compact and uncomfortable. But the dress from Connor perfectly fits and makes me look surprisingly great.
We went to the wedding ceremony room on Grenfell Street 15 minutes before, met with the marriage celebrant, and signed off the paperwork.
Then the ceremony started, and we walked down the aisle together. My hand was shaking, seeing everyone in the room. Even though there were only twenty people, most were Greg’s friends and family and one friend from mine.
Greg was thinking of requesting Ariana’s song, but I am glad that he didn’t make it. Anyway, the ceremony went very smoothly and well. After we said those words, we exchanged the ring and vow. I can see tears on Greg’s face.
And that’s a moment when I felt I really was going to marry a guy who stood in front of me.
The marriage celebrant let two witnesses sign the marriage certificate before giving it to us and officially announcing us as husbands.
After the kiss, everyone stood up and walked to congratulate us. I was overwhelmed and happy at the same time. I looked at Greg often and told myself that this is a guy that I would spend my life with.
Then we went to the restaurant for dinner after the wedding. It was, of course, Thai cuisine, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I have met Greg’s family before but not his friends, but I felt so welcomed when they came to me with lovely energy.
That night, we drove home from the restaurant. I still remember that the road was empty, all the presents in the back seat, holding each other hands, seeing a smile on his face. At the end of the day, all matter is to see Greg happy and enjoy his presence as much as possible.
How much does it cost?
This issue was very easy for me. What you value and are willing to spend on the wedding depends on both of you as a couple. So you should sit down and talk with an open mind to each other because you probably don’t want this beautiful moment turns around your situation.
Thinking back, I would love a beautiful wedding in the lovely green forest with Ariana’s songs, a professional photographer who took a million shots of our guests and us, a lot of flowers, and delicious food.
But referring to the Australian wedding industry report 2021 from Easy Weddings, the average cost of a wedding in Australia is between $19,507 – $30,670. So yes, and it’s just average, meaning you would spend a little less or more depending on your desire.
What I desired at that time were just a simple ceremony and delicious dinner.
So our cost in total was about $3,350. This included the notice of intended marriage and ceremony fees at the registry office, my dress, our rings and dinner for 20 people.
I was mentally and financially happy about my wedding cost.
Happily ever after
A few weeks after the wedding, we received a ceremonial certificate with our names on it.
You can put it in the frame or use it as evidence on your visa application if one of you is a foreigner and want to stay in Australia together.
It’s been years since that day, and I still can’t believe it happened. But I am glad we did it.
So if you are thinking of getting married or are already halfway through or already did it! I want to say congratulations to both of you! And I wish you both a very bright and gorgeous journey!
I hope this information I am sharing with you will be helpful. I would leave the links about rules and processes to get married in other states in Australia here so you can research and make your perfect wedding come true.
Xoxo, have a gorgeous day 🌈❤️💛
Related links for rules of marriage in different states