Witnesses
(for the Ceremony)
As long as they are at least 18, legally sane, mentally competent and relatively sober at the time, and capable of seeing, hearing, and understanding the legal nature of the ceremony, and they are, along with your celebrant, in the same physical space as the two of you for the whole of the ceremony, your two legal witnesses for your ceremony can be anyone.
- They can be blood relatives
- They can be friends
- If you're eloping they can be strangers off the street or hotel/restaurant/wedding venue staff
weddings but more and more couples are honouring their mothers, grandparents, other relatives
or friends by having them act as their witnesses.
When deciding who will be your legal witnesses you should be aware that they could be required to testify in court that the marriage took place, should the legality of your marriage ever be challenged.
The requirement for your marriage to be witnessed by two adults is embedded in Section 44 of the Marriage Act, 1961. Your celebrant definitely can't be one of them! There have to be 5 people minimum at your wedding to make it legal.
You can download the Notice of Intended Marriage form here