What Happens on the Day You Elope in Australia?
On the day you elope in Australia, your celebrant arrives about 10 minutes before ceremony time for a quick pre-ceremony chat, consent check, and paperwork. The ceremony itself takes 2 to 5 minutes. You sign three marriage certificates with your witnesses. You receive your presentation certificate on the day. The whole thing — from celebrant arriving to saying goodbye — takes around 30 to 45 minutes including photos. Then the rest of the day is entirely yours.
One of the most common things couples say to us after their elopement is that they had no idea it would feel the way it did. They expected something administrative. What they got was something real — a few minutes of absolute presence, just the two of them and the words that matter, followed by the kind of laughter that only comes when something genuinely wonderful has just happened.
This is the complete step by step guide to what actually happens on the day you elope in Australia — from the moment your celebrant arrives to the certificate in your hand and everything that follows.
→ What happens before the ceremony
→ What happens during the ceremony
→ What you sign and why
→ What happens after the ceremony
→ Your certificate — the one on the day and the official one
→ What to do if something goes wrong
→ The rest of your day — it is entirely yours
🎬 Want to see it rather than read it?
Watch a real I Do Drive Thru ceremony filmed by a content creator. A real couple. Nothing staged. This is exactly what your day will look like.
▶ Watch the CeremonyWhat to Bring on the Day
Good news — your celebrant checks your ID before the ceremony day as part of the NOIM process, so arriving on the day with your ID is simply a bonus rather than a strict requirement. But here is what we recommend bringing:
Your two witnesses — aged 18 or over, able to understand English, sober enough to sign their name
Yourselves — on time, ready, and excited
Photo ID — passport or driver's licence
Your rings — if you are doing a ring exchange
Your written vows — if you are writing your own
Rings are optional — not a legal requirement
Vows are optional — the legal words are handled by your celebrant
If witnesses do not show — your celebrant can ask passersby
The Day — Step by Step
Before the Ceremony
Your celebrant arrives — 10 minutes early
Your celebrant arrives at your ceremony location approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled start time. You can arrive at the same time, a little earlier if you want a few quiet moments to yourselves or to greet your guests, or even slightly after — there is no strict protocol. This is your day and it runs on your timeline.
The pre-ceremony chat — casual, quick, reassuring
Your celebrant will have a brief, casual pre-ceremony conversation with you — checking you are happy with how everything is set up, confirming your witnesses are present, and answering any last minute questions. There is no formality here. Think of it as a quick hello before things get underway.
Signing the legal declaration
Before the ceremony begins, both of you sign a legal declaration titled "No Legal Impediment to Marriage." This is the document confirming you are both free to marry — that neither of you is currently married to someone else, that you are not closely related, and that you are marrying freely and voluntarily. It takes about 30 seconds.
The consent meeting
Australian marriage law requires your celebrant to have a brief private moment with each of you — separately — to confirm that you are entering the marriage freely and voluntarily without pressure or coercion. This is a legal requirement and applies to every marriage in Australia. It takes less than a minute and is simply your celebrant asking if you are happy and ready to proceed.
During the Ceremony
The ceremony — 2 to 5 minutes
The ceremony begins. Your celebrant reads the monitum — the legal declaration that this is a legal marriage under Australian law — and then the vows. If you are doing the Vegas package, your celebrant delivers the legal minimum: the words required by law, nothing more and nothing less. If you have written your own vows, you exchange them here. The whole ceremony takes between 2 and 5 minutes depending on your package and what you have chosen to include.
The ring exchange — optional
If you are exchanging rings, this happens during the ceremony. Rings are entirely optional — they are not a legal requirement. We have had couples who got married at a tattoo parlour and had rings tattooed on the same day. We have made daisy chains when rings were forgotten. What you do with your hands after the ceremony is entirely your business. If you want rings, bring them. If you do not, that is completely fine.
The kiss — and the laughter
After the legal words are spoken, your celebrant declares you married. You kiss. And then — almost without exception — something extraordinary happens. Couples laugh. Not politely. Not nervously. Genuinely, hysterically, uncontrollably laugh. It is a burst of pure emotion and happiness that no amount of planning can produce. It just happens. It is our absolute favourite moment of every ceremony we are part of.
Signing the three marriage certificates
Immediately after the ceremony, three marriage certificates are signed — by both of you, your two witnesses, and your celebrant. This is the legal completion of your marriage. All three copies are identical. One is kept by your celebrant for lodgement with BDM. One is your presentation certificate to keep. The signing takes about 2 minutes and often produces even more laughter.
After the Ceremony
Photos
If you have booked a photographer, the portrait session begins immediately after the signing. Your photographer will guide you through a short session at your ceremony location — capturing the two of you in the place where you just got married. Sessions typically run 20 to 30 minutes. 15 edited images are delivered via Pixieset within 7 days.
Your celebrant and photographer say goodbye
Once the portrait session is complete, your photographer says goodbye. Your celebrant has already headed off after the signing — they have done their job beautifully and now the rest of the day belongs entirely to you. No schedule. No next event. Just the two of you, legally married, with the whole day ahead.
Your presentation certificate
You leave with your presentation marriage certificate — a beautifully presented certificate signed on the day. This is your keepsake copy. It is not the official government certificate but it is the one most couples frame and display. It is yours from the moment you walk away from the ceremony.
The rest of your day — entirely yours
Champagne breakfast. Long lunch at your favourite restaurant. A drive up the coast. A flight somewhere. Home to the couch with pizza and your dog. A surprise party with everyone you love. The rest of the day after your elopement is completely, gloriously yours to do exactly as you please. There is nothing on the schedule. There is no next obligation. You are married. Everything else is a bonus.
Your Official Marriage Certificate
After the ceremony, your celebrant lodges the marriage paperwork with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) in your state. This generates an official government record of your marriage.
The official Certificate of Marriage — the government-issued document you need for name changes, legal purposes, and official records — is a separate document that you apply for directly through BDM. Fees are payable to BDM directly and it typically arrives at your home within 1 to 3 weeks by post.
Presentation certificate — received on the day, signed by celebrant and witnesses, beautiful keepsake, not used for legal purposes
Official Certificate of Marriage — government-issued, applied for through BDM after the ceremony, used for name changes and all legal and official purposes, arrives by post within 1 to 3 weeks
We send you a follow-up email after your ceremony with a direct link to your state BDM to apply for your official certificate, along with a request for your feedback and a link to leave a Google review if you loved your day.
Information about changing your name after marriage can be found directly on your state BDM website — each state has slightly different processes and fees.
What If Something Goes Wrong?
We have been doing this since 2020. We have seen a lot of wedding days. Here is the truth about things going wrong — they almost never do, and when they do, we fix them.
We find shelter. Under a tree, in a café doorway, beneath a bandstand, inside a nearby building. A ceremony that takes 2 minutes can happen almost anywhere. Rain has never stopped one of our ceremonies.
We ask passersby. Genuinely. People are almost always delighted to be asked to witness a wedding. The legal requirement is that witnesses appear to be over 18, understand English, and can sign their name. Strangers qualify.
Rings are not a legal requirement. We have made daisy chain rings from flowers at the ceremony location. We have had couples who planned to get ring tattoos that afternoon. Forgotten rings have never once stopped a ceremony.
Being nervous is completely normal and completely fine. Your celebrant has done this hundreds of times and knows exactly how to make you feel calm and at ease from the moment they arrive. By the time the ceremony ends you will be laughing — we almost guarantee it.
Ready to Have This Day?
From $400. Any Australian location. Available now. 7 days a week. Book online in 2 minutes — we lodge your NOIM the same day.