Your Wedding Ceremony
A wedding ceremony is the legal and symbolic union of two people when they are making a commitment to a future together.
You require a celebrant, religous person or registrar to be the legal person who marries you. To help you decide who you would like to officiate at your wedding consider the following:
- A celebrant can marry you almost anywhere, with a very flexible service.
- A religious ceremony usually takes place in a church, mosque, temple, etc. The service is generally performed by a religious official (eg priest, rabbi) and follows a traditional format, usually with less personal choice involved, although some now allow more flexibility.
- At a registry office you'll be married by a registrar and probably have no choice in the ceremony used.
- If you wish to marry on a marae a registered marriage celebrant must attend, even if they have only minimal involvement in the ceremony.
If you would like to use a non-religious (civil) celebrant, this section provides some tips on choosing one, and some insights into what a celebrant may offer.
In NZ there are approximately 20,000 marriages per year!
Did you know that of these 60% are conducted by a civil (ie secular or non-religious) celebrant, 35% by a priest or other religious person and 5% by a registrar at a registry office / court.
