By Hayley Manning

REALITY TV shows Married at First Sight and The Proposal are based on the belief that people would be willing to marry a complete stranger in their search for love or fame, but in reality the weddings ‘performed’ on TV are commitment ceremonies without the legal ties.

Civil Celebrant Dara Saltmarsh of Deloraine says that a Marriage Certificate application in Tasmania has a minimum 30 day processing period once the required identification documents have been cited, which thwarts the possibility of a hasty or non-consensual marriage.

Former school teacher Dara studied to become a celebrant while at home with her three children but said it was a surprisingly extensive process governed by strict government regulations. ‘The legal requirements for marrying people are very precise. It is not always black and white, so you have to be cautious, particularly with the legal wording that solemnises the marriage. ‘

Commonwealth Attorney General, Lionel Murphy appointed Lois D’Arcy as Australia’s first Civil Celebrant on 19 July 1973. By 2017, 81.7 per cent of marriages in Australia were civil marriages.

Dara gained an ‘inside’ perspective when she married her partner Danny mid-study. ‘The very, very stressful planning put me in good stead by allowing me to look at it, to live it, and put me in a position to help couples experiencing the high pressure of organising a wedding.

‘There is a lot of expectation created by the media about how weddings should be, so I am someone the couple can turn to if they need support beyond organising the ceremony itself.’

Yet despite all the planning, anything can happen on the day, and Dara says she has had to learn to think on her feet on occasions. ‘A couple of years ago at a wedding set on a local farm, the bride was travelling toward the ceremony flanked by horses and in view of the whole congregation. When I did a final check with a groomsman that he had the rings, his face dropped as he realised the bride’s ring was missing. It had fallen from his pocket somewhere in the paddock around them! Thinking quickly, the groom borrowed his mother’s ring for the ceremony. With a grimace, he whispered his apologies to his confused bride as he placed the ring on her finger. Luckily the ring was found shortly afterwards, but hearts were certainly racing throughout the ceremony.’

‘I have noticed despite our modern world and the freedom to choose individual themes that most couples, including same-sex couples, adhere to the traditional structure of the ring exchange with a kiss at the end. The traditions of marriage are ingrained in all of us.’