Why do we need two witnesses for our marriage?

When you’re getting married in Australia, there are a few legal requirements that you need to follow, and they are set out by the Attorney General’s department. Among other things, one of those requirements is to have two witnesses at your ceremony.

You might be thinking… why does a marriage need witnesses? Surely the word of the celebrant and the couple are enough? Well, not quite!

The presence of the two witnesses, who must be over 18 years of age, serves a legal purpose. Their true purpose is to be able to sear in court as to the identity of the couples, or to verify the circumstances in which the marriage was performed, including the date and place, and checking if the celebrant said the legal words required to be said at a marriage ceremony.

That’s all well and good of course, but who can you have as your witnesses? It’s all up to you. The parties don’t need to be known to you, all they would need to do is be present at your ceremony and sign the documents. Their names will of course appear on your marriage record as the people who witnessed your wedding, however other than that there is no other obligation for them to be specific people.

In fact, NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages had a small series on TV about the things they do at weddings. One of the couples who got married in one of the episodes had their witnesses not turn up - they had to scour the streets of Sydney to find two people who were happy to oblige – and it was perfectly legal for them to do so!

This also shows how there are some ways that we can be flexible for a wedding ceremony. My preference is to be well organized, but it’s great to know there’s always a plan B!

~ Chris McLean, Celebrant