By Kineta Booker
Imagine finding out after your wedding that it was never a legal ceremony because the marriage celebrant you chose to officiate the day wasn’t registered? You might think this will never happen to you, but it certainly does happen. Hiring a fake celebrant means your marriage will not be recognised by law here in Aotearoa New Zealand.
A fake celebrant refers to an individual who, despite not being legally registered with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), performs marriage ceremonies. In New Zealand, only celebrants who are officially registered with the DIA have the legal authority to officiate a wedding.
These celebrants must meet specific criteria and complete a formal registration process that includes understanding the legal obligations of marriage ceremonies.
Fake celebrants, however, are not recognised by the government and lack the official qualifications and authority to perform a legal ceremony.
The reasons why they conduct wedding ceremonies is often for financial gain or to fulfil a personal desire to be involved in weddings. These ceremonies can appear completely legitimate to guests, but they are not recognised by law because the individual conducting the ceremony has no legal standing to do so.
So, how do you know if your celebrant is legit? Here’s how.
Births, Deaths, and Marriages
The Department of Internal Affairs lists every registered celebrant in New Zealand. They have a handy search function where you can look up the celebrant you’ve chosen here.
Did you know that celebrants need to be reappointed as a celebrant at the end of each year? This ensures that the Registrar General is confident each celebrant is a good fit in their role. They look at things like whether they’ve conducted ceremonies in the last 12 months, do not have a criminal conviction, not had any serious complaints made about them, among other things.
Through this thorough process, and that your celebrant is listed on the website, you can be sure that they’re of good moral character and they are registered.
Celebrants Aotearoa
The official DIA website is where you will find every registered celebrant in New Zealand but the Celebrants Aotearoa site is where you will find celebrants who have chosen to go above and beyond just being a registered celebrant. By being members of Celebrants Aotearoa, each member agrees to adhere to a Code of Ethics and Professional Standards. You can read all about those here.
So, why has it become such a big deal to ensure your celebrant is legit? Most recently it became a hot topic again when a fake wedding celebrant deceived five Melbourne, Australia couples. The police investigation found that the celebrant had enrolled in a celebrant training school but never finished the course. Read more about these poor couples who were duped here.
But sadly, this isn’t a new thing. Back in 2011, a Kaiapoi duo was convicted for their “bogus wedding” practice.
In 2006, a Kaiapoi funeral director, Geoffrey Hall, had officiated at a ceremony, rather than the registered celebrant, and Anglican minister, the Rev Maurice Gray.
If you’re interested in reading more about this case, you can read more here.
The Deputy Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages at the time, Ross McPherson, said, “The sentencing sends a strong message that it is unacceptable to pretend to be a marriage celebrant, and to make false declarations on marriage documents.”
“The role of [a] marriage celebrant in New Zealand is an important part of our social fabric and the Registrar-General has an expectation that marriage celebrants will perform the role they have been appointed to, and will do so in accordance with legal requirements,” McPherson said.
“These convictions reiterate that marriage celebrants must take an active and controlling role. Merely being present is not enough, and not even turning up to the venue falls astonishingly short of a celebrant’s obligations. Everyone present at a wedding must be in no doubt about who is the celebrant,” he said.
“Generally marriage celebrants undertake their responsibilities to a high standard and New Zealand is well served. But those who may wish to shirk their obligations need to know that they cannot, and that they must be a controlling presence at every marriage they agree to put their name to, and people who are not celebrants cannot hold themselves out in a way that suggests they have the authority to perform the functions of a marriage celebrant – they do not."
If you are aware of a fake or imitation wedding occurring, email the facts to CelebrantFeedback@dia.govt.nz
