AFTER THE CEREMONY

Last Updated: 29 June 2025

While planning your wedding day is likely to be filled with lots of decision-making, it begs the question … what exactly does your celebrant do after the ceremony? Is their role in your wedding over when you walk back up the aisle? Even though you’re legally married, there are still things which I’ll do as part of my service for you.

Legal Documents 📄

While family and friends are mingling, I always double check after the ceremony concludes that I have 5 signatures on each of the 3 certificates of marriage. These include the signatures of the 2 people who just got married, their 2 witnesses and mine as the celebrant. I then slip the couple’s presentation certificate into a special envelope, add any vow cards, poem cards and a card from me so that it can be left with the couple before I leave the venue.

Farewell 🙋‍♀️

After packing up my equipment, I find the couple to congratulate them and wish them well for the future. Photographers will often use this time to take a quick photo of me with the couple.

Registering Your Marriage 💻

Either that day or the next, I will go online to Births Deaths & Marriages to register your marriage. I have 14 days in which to do this but like to tick this box early so that it’s all official.

Social Media 📸

I will then post on social media about your wedding and include some background photos that I took at the time. If you are eloping or would like to let others know about your wedding at another time, I will leave out any specific names so as to not spoil the surprise.

Emails 📩

Once your marriage is registered, I organise and pay for any certificates you’ve asked me to order on your behalf. I then send you an email letting you know that the process is underway. In NSW, you will typically receive your “standard” certificate of marriage via registered mail within 2-6 working days of it being ordered from Births Deaths & Marriages. If you order a “commemorative” certificate, it will take a little longer to arrive via normal mail.

In NSW, a couple of days after ordering your “standard” certificate, I will receive an email from Births Deaths & Marriages with a tracking number. I then send this to you so you can check on the delivery date of your certificate. If you’re not home to sign for it, it will be re-directed to your local post office where you’ll be able to collect it for a specified period of time. It’s important to follow up on this as the certificate will be returned to sender if not collected within a certain time and you’ll have to pay to order a replacement.

I’ll also send you a request for a Google Review and ask if you’re still happy to share some of your favourite photos or, in fact, your entire gallery with me. I will typically do a few posts, with a selection of photos from your special day, on my social media and tag your suppliers at the same time.

Communication 🤐

For me, it all comes down to good communication and being respectful of each of my couples in the lead up to and after the ceremony. I always feel that as long as they are kept informed about things along the way, they will have confidence in me and a much less stressful experience all round. Importantly, if there is any information that needs to be kept under wraps, if it’s a surprise wedding (for the guests, that is) etc., I will always respect that as well.