Can Guests Sign Your
Marriage Certificate?
by
Jennifer
Cram Brisbane Marriage Celebrant ©
(25/11/2019)
Categories: | Wedding Legals |
Every now and then a couple asks
me whether all of their guests can sign their
Presentation Certificate. That's the pretty one
you are given on the day.
The simple answer no.
Although the Presentation Certificate isn't
proof that your marriage has been registered, it
is proof that the marriage has taken place, and
it is a legal document.
Therefore only your two legal witnesses may sign
it - along with the two of you and your
celebrant. Anything else would be defacing a
legal document you could well need to use in the
future.
But that doesn't mean you can't have all of your
guests sign something more meaningful than a
guest book. Here are some options
A signature mat
The certificate is A4 size. Buy a large frame
with a mat (those wide card borders framers use to
create space between the frame and the picture or
document that is being framed, and have all your
guests sign it, perhaps as they arrive. Then it is
just a matter of a minute or so for someone to pop
the certificate and the mat into the frame so you
can display it at your reception. The larger the
number of guests, the more space you'll need on the
mat to accommodate the signatures.
A Quaker Style Marriage
Certificate
Use the traditional Quaker marriage certificate as
inspiration and create a document that all your guests
can sign. There are many beautiful examples of
calligraphied Quaker certificates on the internet.
What is a Quaker Marriage Certificate? Quakers
(members of the Religious Society of Friends) marry in
ceremonies that differ from others in six significant
ways:
- There is no celebrant (Quakers have no clergy as
we know them, so the couple marries "under the
care of a Quaker meeting")
- There is no giving away of the bride (where the
couple is heterosexual)
- The couple marries themselves by standing up,
when they feel ready to do so, and each saying: In
the presence of God and before these our
families and friends, I take thee (name) to be
my wife/husband, promising with Divine
assistance to be unto thee a loving and faithful
husband/wife so long as we both shall live."
- The couples signs a wedding certificate
which outlines who has been married, when it took
place, and what their vows were, after they have
exchanged vows
- There is a long period of silent, open worship
after which those attending may speak on the
couple's behalf
- Everyone present also signs the certificate as
witnesses
A Vows Certificate
A simpler alternative to a Quaker Certificate is a
Vows certificate - your vows in full with space for
everyone to sign.
On the day the two of you, your two legal witnesses,
and your celebrant will sign three certificates - the
Marriage Register, the Official Marriage Certificate,
and the Presentation Certificate. You can find more
information about these certificates
here.
Thanks for reading!