A SIMPLE LEGAL WEDDING CEREMONY - Marriage License, and Certificate of Marriage
Registration
Here is some information on getting married
in Ontario
http://www.ontario.ca/government/get-married-ontario
http://www.ontario.ca/government/get-married-ontario
In order
to become legally married, you will need: a Marriage License, 2 legal witnesses,
and you MUST have a short verbal legal
wedding ceremony which fulfils the requirements of the Marriage Act of
Ontario. This ceremony must be conducted
by a licensed Ontario wedding officiant,
and be held in the presence of your two witnesses. The Officiant must hold a current license
from the Registrar General of Ontario.
You can check to see if your officiant is registered here:
http://www.ontario.ca/document/religious-marriage-officiants
http://www.ontario.ca/document/religious-marriage-officiants
A ceremony has certain required sections. A 'micro-wedding', or a short legal wedding takes about 20 minutes, and you
do not need to exchange rings, or include other traditional elements of a
cultural wedding, but you must follow the required marriage ceremony format in
the Marriage Act of Ontario.
This includes: stating your legal names, a verbal declaration of Intention to Marry and non-impediment, your spoken Legal Vows as specified in the Marriage Act, a Declaration and Pronouncement, and then signing various documents.
Note: you CANNOT simply ‘sign papers’ for a cultural or religious ceremony held at another location or time. You MUST have a legal verbal ceremony in the presence of your legal officiant and witnesses, following the Marriage Act requirements.
Location: You can be married anywhere in Ontario: in a private residence, a hotel, a park or backyard, or any landmark that allows gatherings. Please ask us for suggestions and ideas for outdoor and indoor weddings. We can offer suggestions on wedding locations and permits for city locations.
This includes: stating your legal names, a verbal declaration of Intention to Marry and non-impediment, your spoken Legal Vows as specified in the Marriage Act, a Declaration and Pronouncement, and then signing various documents.
Note: you CANNOT simply ‘sign papers’ for a cultural or religious ceremony held at another location or time. You MUST have a legal verbal ceremony in the presence of your legal officiant and witnesses, following the Marriage Act requirements.
Location: You can be married anywhere in Ontario: in a private residence, a hotel, a park or backyard, or any landmark that allows gatherings. Please ask us for suggestions and ideas for outdoor and indoor weddings. We can offer suggestions on wedding locations and permits for city locations.
The couple is responsible for obtaining a valid Ontario Marriage License, which must be brought to the ceremony, and for obtaining two legal witnesses. You can start this process by applying online, if you wish, or by filling out the forms at the Marriage Bureau. Marriage Licenses are good for 90 days.
Once
the required legal ceremony requirements are met, the wedding service may be
further customized to your individual wishes, including personal vows, music,
readings and cultural rituals, and the inclusion of friends and family. We are
happy to work with you to create a ceremony to fulfill your personal vision of
your wedding.
Sample ceremonies can be found here.
After the wedding ceremony, the couple will
each sign the Marriage License and the Marriage Register, and
then the witnesses each sign the Marriage License, the Marriage
Register, and a Record of Solemnization to swear that they were
present, and heard and saw the legal ceremony.
Then the Marriage Officiant will sign the documents to indicate that
this all happened at the date and location listed, and in the presence of the
persons stated. The Marriage officiant will finish all of this paperwork, and
will file the signed Marriage License with the Province in 48
hours (sent by Priority Mail).
Immediately after the wedding, you can start using a married name, or change your status on most
(non-governmental) documents.
However, in order to:
*show legal
proof you are married (for government documents, passports, or any immigration or naturalization processes)
*apply for certain social benefits
*settle an estate
*apply for certain social benefits
*settle an estate
you will need to also apply for another
document, a Certificate of Marriage
Registration.
You can start this application process about 6-12 weeks after
the wedding. You can apply online: https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-get-copy-ontario-marriage-certificate-online
The Certificate
of Marriage Registration will only be issued approximately 8 weeks after
the wedding, and you must apply for it, as it will not be sent to you
automatically. (Some couples do not need
this Certificate, and so do not apply for it).
The 8 weeks is the data entry/processing time the Marriage office in
Thunder Bay takes to enter your information in their records and prepare the
Certificate.
Also note:
you can't 'speed up' this part of the process. Sometimes they will finish processing your
information faster than 8 weeks, but that's due to their workflow. Although you may eventually ask them to expedite
the final Certificate of Registration by FedEx, that is only possible after
the Marriage License has been processed, and it only saves a couple of days at
the end of the process.
However, if you have a legitimate reason for requesting faster service (e,g military personnel being posted abroad, etc.) You CAN include a personal letter to the staff at the Registry Office, for the officiant to place in the license return envelope explaining your need for a faster processing time. You may also pre-order and pre-pay for the Certificate and enclose the receipt in the Marriage License return envelope.
Please discuss this with us.
However, if you have a legitimate reason for requesting faster service (e,g military personnel being posted abroad, etc.) You CAN include a personal letter to the staff at the Registry Office, for the officiant to place in the license return envelope explaining your need for a faster processing time. You may also pre-order and pre-pay for the Certificate and enclose the receipt in the Marriage License return envelope.
Please discuss this with us.
Yours,
Mary
Humanist Chaplain, University of Toronto
Ontario Humanist Society
