Elopements · Tweed, Byron & Gold Coast
Elopements
An elopement with Felicity Best, a registered marriage celebrant in Murwillumbah, is $750 Monday to Thursday and $875 Friday to Sunday. That includes a ceremony written to tell your love story, a planning meeting, help with your vows, the legal paperwork, a PA and your commemorative certificate. Two months is usually enough notice, and your Notice of Intended Marriage must be lodged at least one calendar month before the day.
What's included
It is all in the one price.
- A ceremony written to tell your love story
- A planning meeting
- Help with your vows
- The legal paperwork
- PA and wireless microphone
- Your commemorative certificate
What it costs
| What you get | Mon–Thu | Fri–Sun |
|---|---|---|
| Elopement A ceremony written to tell your love story, a planning meeting, help with your vows, the legal paperwork, PA and wireless microphone, your commemorative certificate. | $750 | $875 |
Australian dollars, no GST. Travel within 80 km or an hour and a half of Murwillumbah is included, whichever gets you there; beyond both it is $1 per kilometre, round trip. Booking fee $250, which comes off the total. Witnesses supplied at $60 each. Council permits for beach and park ceremonies are booked and paid for directly with the council, and are not included.
Work out your total: the day, the place and witnesses, itemised.
How it works
Four steps, from start to “I do”.
Allow about two months for a weekend date in season. Midweek and winter dates are often free at much shorter notice; the one fixed limit is the law, which needs the Notice of Intended Marriage lodged at least one calendar month before the ceremony.
- 1
Check the date
Send the date, or just the season, and where. I will tell you whether it is free and exactly what it costs, because every price is already on this site.
- 2
Meet, and lodge the notice
A first conversation, in person or on a call. You sign the Notice of Intended Marriage then or soon after, witnessed by me in person or by video link where the requirements for witnessing it that way are met. It has to reach me at least one calendar month before the day, and about two months is the sensible notice for a weekend date in season.
- 3
The words
I write the script from that conversation and send it to you in draft, to change as much as you like, with help on your vows and on any ritual you want in it, a ring warming or a handfasting.
- 4
The day
I'll arrive well before your guests and have a word beforehand with your photographer, your venue and anyone else working to the same run sheet. You'll leave with your commemorative certificate, signed on the day.
I'll lodge your marriage paperwork with the relevant registry within fourteen days of your wedding. If you would like an official marriage certificate, you can order and pay for one directly from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the state or territory where you were married. It is an additional cost and is not included in my ceremony fee.
What you need
- Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM), lodged at least one calendar month before your wedding
- Birth certificate or passport for each of you
- Photo ID
- If either of you has been married before, evidence of how that marriage ended, such as a divorce certificate or the former spouse's death certificate
- Two witnesses aged 18 or over, or ask for witnesses to be supplied
The NOIM, explained: the form, the timing and the documents in full.
Beaches, parks and ceremony locations
Thinking about getting married on the beach, in a park or somewhere else outdoors? It's worth checking the rules for your chosen location before you make your plans. Some beaches, parks, headlands and other public spaces require a permit or booking, and the requirements and fees vary between councils and locations.
You'll need to contact the relevant council or land manager directly to check whether a permit is required and to arrange and pay for it. If you're getting married on private property, such as a farm, holiday property or private venue, you'll simply need the owner's permission.
If you're not sure who to contact for your chosen location, I'm happy to point you in the right direction.
You need two witnesses
Australian law needs two witnesses aged eighteen or over who can understand what is happening. This is the thing couples who elope have most often not thought about, usually because the whole point was that nobody else would be there.
If you are travelling on your own I can supply witnesses. You can ask passers by, and people do, but they have to be sober, over eighteen and willing to give their name and sign it, which is a lot to ask of a stranger on a beach at seven in the morning.
Questions
Questions people ask
- Does the number of guests change the price of an elopement?
- No. An elopement can be just the two of you and your witnesses, or a few of the people you love, and the price is the same either way. What you pay depends on the day of the week, never on the guest list, and I write the ceremony for whoever is standing there.
- How much does an elopement cost?
- I charge $750 Monday to Thursday and $875 Friday to Sunday. Add a photographer if you want one, and a council permit if you are on a beach or in a park, which you arrange and pay for directly with the council. Packaged elopements sold by other businesses bundle all three and usually cost more.
- Do we need witnesses to elope?
- Yes. Australian law requires two witnesses aged eighteen or over who can understand what is happening. If you are travelling on your own I can supply them for $60 each. This is the thing couples who elope most often have not thought about until the week before.
- Can we elope on a beach on the Tweed or the Gold Coast?
- Yes, but most beaches, parks and headlands need a permit or a booking, and the requirements and fees vary between councils and locations. You contact the council or land manager directly to check, and to arrange and pay for the permit. Sunset spots get taken months ahead, and if you are not sure who to contact, I am happy to point you in the right direction.
- How soon can we get married?
- One calendar month after I receive your Notice of Intended Marriage, which is the legal minimum and is very rarely shortened. In practice allow six to eight weeks. Shortening of time is granted only for a specific listed reason, such as employment, travel or illness, and a prescribed authority decides it rather than me.
- Do you offer elopement packages?
- Not bundled ones. I keep it simple: the ceremony is written for you rather than folded into a package with parts you may not want. Several businesses here sell elopement packages with a photographer, styling and the permit in one booking, and I am glad to be booked into their run sheet. Arranged separately it usually comes to less, and I will work alongside whichever suppliers you choose.
Get in touch
Check my date
Send the date, or the season, and where for elopements. I will tell you whether it is free and exactly what it costs. No obligation.
Most days, 9am to 7pm.