Personalised ceremonies for civil unions

A personalised ceremony is one you can have anywhere you and your celebrant agree. And you can write your own vows.

  1. 1

    Find a celebrant

    You need to arrange your own celebrant for a personalised ceremony.

    Virtual weddings

    Under current legislation, a civil union ceremony can’t occur virtually. That is, you cannot use video conferencing software  (for example, Zoom, Skype and so on) and the couple, celebrant and witnesses must be physically present in the same place.

  2. 2

    Choose a venue

    You’ll need to know your venue when you apply for a civil union licence.

    If you have a back-up venue, you’ll need to include that in your licence application too, because you can only have the ceremony at a location you’ve put in the application.

  3. 3

    Arrange witnesses

    You need to bring 2 witnesses to the ceremony.

    Who can be a witness

    Your 2 witnesses must understand what’s happening during the ceremony. They must be able to clearly identify both of you and be satisfied you both consent to the civil union.

    They:

    • don’t need to have known you for any specific length of time and
    • can be children of any age, so long as they understand the concept of a civil union.

    If the witnesses speak a different language to you, you’ll need an interpreter. The interpreter has to sign a declaration before the ceremony to say they’ll interpret what you say accurately.

  4. 4

    Apply for a civil union licence

    You have to apply for a civil union licence at least 3 working days before the ceremony.

  5. 5

    Have the ceremony

    Your celebrant will give you a “Copy of particulars of civil union”. This is not the same as a civil union certificate.

    They’ll use another “Copy of particulars of civil union” to register your civil union with the NZ government.

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