Weird Things We've Encountered 2: Aussie Wording
"Weird" is a polite descriptor, here. "Archaic", "outdated", "exclusionary", and "offensive" would probably suit more. This is to do with the legal wording required in a marriage ceremony in Australia, first brought to my attention by a recently-wed coworker. Let me break it down.
In Australia, if you want to be legally married in a non-religious, civil ceremony, this must be done by an authorised celebrant. You can get the legal ceremony done-and-dusted at the Registry ("courthouse" style), or you can pay a celebrant to officiate at your wedding at a venue of your choice. The celebrant ensures all the legal boxes are ticked, including filing the paperwork on your behalf.
One of those legal boxes is to do with a paragraph of words that celebrants have to recite, word-for-word, at a certain point in your wedding. If they don't recite these words, you are not legally married in Australia. Here they are, verbatim:
“I am duly authorised by law to solemnise marriages according to law. Before you are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these witnesses, I am to remind you of the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are now about to enter.
Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.”
Source: http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx
Knowing me and Blake, have you spotted the bit where we might have a bit of a problem? It's one thing to believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman at an individual level, but it's almost a slap in the face to put it in words that are legally required by the Government. You don't have to share our level of disdain for this, but know that this is a Big Deal to us - marriage equality is something we both strongly believe in, and we are disappointed that Australia is lagging far behind the rest of the developed world on this issue.
On some level I think it also bothers me because I feel guilty hearing those words on my wedding day, knowing that there are friends and strangers out there who can't even get married. And while some folks out there could argue that a wedding is not the right place for a soapbox, then I reckon those folks don't know me - or Blake - very well at all.
Plus, it actually gets worse than that. Religious celebrants (i.e., those who can legally marry you in religious ceremonies rather than civil ones) don't have the same wording requirement.
“Only authorised celebrants who are ministers of religion for a recognised denomination are not required to say these words.”
<MASSIVE EYEROLL GOES HERE.>
There are a few ways forward that we can explore , and one of the big things for the wedding was to find a civil celebrant who'll work with us. We can't not have those words spoken, but let's just say the before and after is a bit more flexible.
Are there any other countries in the world where a statement like that is a legal requirement? If you got married in Australia and are just as uncomfortable (or moreso) as we are with it, how did you keep yourself from making a massively unphotogenic eyeroll?