Marriage Documentation

As part of your Wedding Package, I will guide you through the necessary legal steps to marry here in New Zealand. Marrying in a foreign country with foreign laws could be a daunting experience to alot of couples. However, by utilizing my skills and knowledge, Weddings in New Zealand can alleviate the anxiety and help you create a more fabulous wedding than you could have ever imagined.  

Here is a basic guide of what will happen:

• I will email you a form to confirm your Full Name, Date of Birth, Occupation etc.  Once you send this back to me I will transfer this information onto your BDM58 form and keep this on file.
  
• The month prior to your wedding I will lodge the BDM58, thus applying for your Marriage Licence.
  
• If you wish to marry in the same month as you have contacted me, this is not a problem. However, legally you must give 3 days notice.
  
• On the day we have made arrangements to meet you, I will organise for a Taxi to pick you up at your accommodation (Centrally Located) in Christchurch.  The taxi will drop you off at the legal office (Births, Deaths & Marriages). We will be waiting for you to assist with obtaining your licence.  After we have obtained this we will sit down and go through all your wedding arrangements together to make sure you are happy with everything.  Please note that the legal offices are only open Monday to Friday.
  
• On your wedding day you will sign 2x identical Marriage Licence’s
  
• 1 copy is filed at the Marriage Licence Office 
  
• The other is yours to keep
  
• After your Marriage Licence papers are received by the Legal Office, I can then apply for your Marriage Certificate & Apostille Certificate, this process usually takes 1 month to file.
  
• Your Marriage Certificate & Apostille Certificate will be couriered to your home address, this will take a maximum of a further 7 days
• Please note the Apostille Cert covers most countries (Australia, U.K. & U.S.A) however there are countries which need a different legal document called an Authentication Certificate.  This applies to Middle Eastern countries, Canada & many Asian countries.  Please let me know if you were born in these countries as further costs do apply.

Extra Certificate

It’s always handy to have more than one Certificate, especially if you are changing your Maiden Name, as many companies e.g. Insurance / Banks require a copy of the certificate.  If you require or would like more than one copy please advise.  The additional cost is $32.00