Basically, getting married is a simple equation:
2 People + 1 Marriage Licence + 2 Witnesses + 1 Officiant + 1 Ceremony = MARRIED
Canada has a Federal Marriage Act, however the details of a marriage are regulated by each province. So that’s 13 different sets of marriage laws, although they’re actually pretty standard.
These are the six basic elements of any marriage agreement:
- Officiants must be “lawfully authorized”. (So says the Canada Marriage Act)
- Only two people over the age of 16 can marry; if you’re not 18, parental permission is required. Each person must give “free and enlightened consent” to marry each other. (That means no one can be trafficked into marriage.)
- Two witnesses are required.
- A Marriage Licence is required and is issued by a government appointed issuer for a fee.
- The couple and the witnesses (and the officiant!) cannot be under the influence of any substances.
- If you’ve been married before, you can’t remarry until the previous marriage is legally dissolved. (Divorce, death, or annulment.)
So let’s talk about British Columbia.
Marriage Licences are widely available in BC, at London Drugs Customer Service Counter and many Insurance offices for $100. They are issued on the spot. You do not need to make an appointment or wait a number of days to receive the licence. It’s a straightforward process.
The person who does the marrying is either a Marriage Commissioner or an Officiant (sometimes called a Celebrant, Priest, Minister, Pastor). So basically, the person conducting the ceremony is either a civil servant or clergy of some sort. Marriage Commissioners are limited geographically to an area or city, must be retired, and can serve two fine-year terms.
Marriage Commissioners are assigned to deliver a script that is very heavy in legal language. Yes, they can add things (at an added expense to the couple of $25 /h). They may personalize the ceremony a little, but they have restrictions. They need to use phrases like “lawful impediment” and “inalienable personal rights”. Very romantic.
Clergy are ordained in some way – they have either studied theology or have been appointed as clergy by a recognized religious body. Clergy can marry anyone, anywhere in the province.
I am clergy. Do not panic. I am not a zealot, or a cult leader, or out to convert you to anything. In my own mind, I am a wedding officiant. I do not call myself Reverend Cecilia. I am an Appointed Minister with Clergy Support Memorial Church; it’s an organization that licences its Ministers and supports them in the delivery of life ceremonies, and sponsors my Licence to Marry in BC. Sometimes I’m asked to include religion and I’m fine with that. Most people don’t want any religious elements in ceremonies, and that’s fine, too.
My job is to represent you in your wedding ceremony. If you’re interested in booking me, you can find me under Wedding Officiants at the All Seasons Weddings website. https://allseasonsweddings.com/en/wedding-officiants You can look by City (Victoria, BC) or by Name (Penner – I’m the only one!).
“WTF?” MOMENTS
I was asked by a couple once to explain the particulars of my belief system in order to determine if it aligned with theirs. My initial inside-my-head response was “None of your effing business! This is not about me.”
I did reply much more politely, though. And no, they didn’t hire me. I was relieved. I do not need to prove myself or expose myself to any couple’s judgement.
Another time, as a courtesy, I emailed the ceremony script to a wedding planner who was hired from a large city not on Vancouver Island. I promptly got an email back telling me that my wedding ceremony would not be legal because I did not include the right word. And they quoted ALL the words from the Civil Ceremony script that is available on the Vital Statistics website! They said they’d recommend to the couple to hire someone who could marry them legally.
WHOA!!!!
Was I offended? You bet I was! (It took me right back to my teaching days, to being challenged by the mouthiest kid in the classroom: “Miss, are you sure that’s correct?”) Was I polite in my response to that planner? Painfully, excruciatingly so. Was the planner nice to me at the event? You better believe it!
