25/11/2024
Public Service Announcement: Civil Officiants
Don't be fooled by what you see on TV. In most jurisdictions, your friend(s) can't get "ordained online" and make you legally married.
Today I helped another couple who found out months after their wedding that they were not legally married.
I get several calls a year from couples who go to get their marriage licence the week before the wedding and are panicked because they need a registered civil officiant to make their civil ceremony legal.
I'm happy to let a friend or family member do the talking - you can have an officiant do the paperwork the day before, as part of the ceremony, or sometime later. In NB, your marriage cannot be legal until you have the paperwork completed by a registered officiant.
You can find a list of registered officiants here:
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/services/services_renderer.200799.Marriage_Licence.html #:~:text=Your%20cleric%20can%20advise%20you,Registrar%20General%20of%20Vital%20Statistics.
