Answers to Common Questions to Help You Prepare For Your Sunshine Coast and Noosa Wedding!  

So now you’re newly engaged and floating in a bubble of bliss! But where to begin once reality sets in and there’s a wedding to plan!??  Checkout this helpful list:

• Plan the Date, Budget and Theme
• How Many Guests?
• Book Celebrant
• Book Ceremony Location 
• Book Reception Venue and Catering
• Book Photographer and Videographer
• Send Invitations
• Ceremony Styling
• Flowers
• Wedding Cake
• Wedding Rings
• Attire for Bride, Groom and Bridal Party
• Book Hair and Make Up
• Book Transport
• Music
• Reception Decor
• Accommodation

No problem! As long as you hold a passport and drivers licence of any country are over 18 and are able to give the required minimum of 30 days’ notice to your celebrant and can both understand the documentation and the ceremony, you may marry in Noosa or the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Of course, you must not be married to anyone else even in another country. If you have been married you will need to present a divorce or Death certificate of your previous spouse to prove this.

If one or both of you are Australian a passport or birth certificate as well as your driver’s licences is all the identification required. All original documents. Of course, you must not be married to anyone else even in another country if you have been married you will need to present a divorce or Death certificate of your previous spouse to prove this.

I hear this frequently! Even though passports and Driver’s Licences are usually quickly found within ones’ possessions, divorce orders of previous marriages, for one reason or another, are often harder to locate! “Lost in a house move, such a long time ago, didn’t think I’d ever need it, I threw it on the bonfire, never thought I’d find love again!”  are just a selection of the reasons I hear as to why a divorce order cannot be found. 

Don’t panic, you should be able to easily retrieve it using this link if you were married in Australia. Go the category that fits your circumstances and about 2 weeks I believe is the standard time for a replacement to be issued.

http://www.federalcircuitcourt.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/fccweb/how-do-i/divorce/proof-of-divorce/fcc-proof-divorce

⦁ Choose a month that is outside the typical Sunshine Coast Wedding season of March, April, September October

⦁ Choose a Monday to Thursday or a Winter date

⦁ Stay away from school holidays when hotel transport prices are usually at their highest and the privacy you are seeking on the beach will just not be a reality

⦁ Think carefully if you really need any of these: Wedding favours, gifts to each other, ceremony programs, parasols, baskets for shoes, ‘Save the Dates’ bubbles to blow, celebratory newspapers, personalised drink coasters, matching luggage tags, photobooths, wedding artists, wedding piñata, kid’s activities, RSVP cards with the invitations, lolly tables, wishing wells. These are all not truly necessary.

⦁ Have your wedding and reception all in one venue to save on transport

⦁ Style the area yourselves with the help of willing friends

⦁ Friends and family LOVE to be given a job, let them help out with decorating or making the invites

⦁ Have a simpler and shorter style ceremony rather than a longer bespoke one, most celebrants will help you to personalise it with your own vows and readings

⦁ A roving style buffet will usually be more cost effective than a sit-down dinner

⦁ Hiring a luxury holiday home where you can have your ceremony, reception, and honeymoon all in one spot. Hire in caterers to make a lovely evening for you. This is easier and ticks so many boxes as far as a wet weather option and somewhere beautiful for you stay even for a honeymoon long after the day is over and the guests have departed 

⦁ Source a pre-loved wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses form the many options on the facebook bride groups

⦁ Read how Kirstie planned her amazing Sunshine Coast Wedding, which I had the pleasure of officiating, for a fabulously low budget: 

https://www.philippaholness.com/does-a-wedding-in-noosa-or-on-the-sunshine-coast-really-need-to-cost-the-earth

The golden hour of light is considered to be the hour before sunset which is perfect for photography.  Assuming your ceremony will last somewhere between 15 and 25 minutes, plan what you are doing afterwards and then work back to set the time, with your help of photographer and celebrant.

Sunrise weddings are divine although it means an early start if you are having hair and make-up and some suppliers may charge more for to glamorise you at 3am!

According to, professional wedding photographer, ZAHN, the ‘golden hour’ can be witnessed twice during the day; the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset – but "most golden hour shoots finish about 20 or 30 minutes after sunset" During these times the sun is at its lowest point in the sky, producing a soft, diffused light which is far more flattering than the harsh early afternoon sun that many wedding photographers are used to shooting in. The imagery created during the golden hour can only be described as magical. 

⦁ Choose a mid-afternoon ceremony, followed by formal family photos and official wedding party photos. After your reception dinner has been served, your photographer can whisk you away before speeches for some romantic and quiet ‘golden hour’ photos, or; 

⦁ Choose a late afternoon or early evening ceremony, followed by formal family photos and have your entire official wedding party photos taken during ‘golden hour.’  This warm and soft light will stream in through open windows as you are announced into your reception area. 

In both cases, perfect timing is critical as there's only a small window to capture this beautiful golden light at sunset. You'll have an hour before sunset & approximately 20 minutes after to capture these photos. You'll need to communicate your desire for a golden hour shoot, so your photographer knows to research the sunset scheduled on your wedding day. Adapted from an article by Marie Richards and Lydia Martin

As your Sunshine Coast Celebrant when you marry in Noosa or on the Sunshine Coast, I will always assist you to obtain/apply for your official marriage certificate and I ask you to hand me the completed application form usually at the rehearsal or before, for which I supply an easy link.  I then mail your application with all your other documents and hey presto, in your mailbox in approximately 2-4 weeks depending on the workload at the BDM at the time, you will receive your certificate.

You can then commence the process of changing your name and I will give you hints on how to do this as well. It is a little like changing address and I always advise you to take your time doing it as each agency has its own procedure.

https://www.philippaholness.com/sunshine-coast-and-noosa-weddings-changing-my-name-after-marriage

Any ceremony on public land which generally includes all parks and beaches require a Noosa or Sunshine Coast Council permit which can be easily applied for and purchased via a link. The permit does not entitle sole usage of the area but it does guarantee that another EVENT will not be simultaneously taking place and with your permit your location stylist or celebrant, whoever arrives at the location first can kindly advise members of the public who may be picnicking/sunbathing in the spot, that a wedding will be underway shortly. Permit links are on the link page of my website. Forests and National Parks have their own departments from whom a permit should be purchased.eg Noosa National Parks Hells’ Gates, Devil’s Kitchen

https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/forms/organised-events/