There are some legal requirements you must satisfy before you can get married. These are listed in The Marriage Act 1961:

• You and your groom must sign a "Notice of Intended Marriage" form and lodge with your celebrant. This must be done no earlier than 18 months of your proposed marriage and no later than one month and one day earlier. (One party may sign and lodge the Notice if the other party is not available at the time they wish to give Notice. The remaining party may sign any time before the wedding. It should be noted only certain persons are authorised to witness Notices. There can be permission granted in certain cases for a marriage to take place in less than the minimum month and a day. The acceptable reasons are set out in regulations and are only for those specifically described reasons.)
  
  
• You and/or your groom must be 18 years old or over, unless you get your parents' consent. (One party, but not both, may be under 18, but not less than 16, and the wedding can only proceed if, not only parents’ written consent is obtained, but also a Court Order.)
  
  
• You and your groom must present eligibility documents which include original birth certificates or birth extracts, or a foreign passport if the party was born overseas, along with divorce decrees, death certificates or annulment documents where applicable. Additional proof of identity may also be required. Australian passports or Citizenship Certificate are not in themselves acceptable, but may be presented as supporting evidence with a statutory declaration, where a birth certificate is “impossible” to provide.
  
  
• At least two people over 18 years must witness the wedding ceremony. (Precisely two people must be official witnesses – no more. Of course as many guests as desired may attend.)
  
  
• The termination of any previous marriages must be produced to the celebrant, by giving him/her a "Certificate of Decree Absolute" or full death certificate. (Or annulment as described above.)
  

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