WEDDINGS

We proudly conduct the following ceremonies:

Civil Ceremony

A Civil ceremony is one that is conducted without any relation to or mention of anything religious. It follows the same general order of service, but all religious connotations, such as readings and blessings are substituted with non-religious options.

Religious Ceremony

A religious ceremony does not need to be “preachy”. An appropriate reading from the Bible or other Sacred writings along with seeking God’s blessing on your marriage, would constitute a religious ceremony. Prayers and hymns may also form part of a religious ceremony.

Blessings

A Blessing is an option that combines both civil and religious elements. You may opt not to have any prayers or hymns in this type of ceremony, but still want the approach to be that of a slightly religious nature.

Spiritual Ceremony

A spiritual ceremony would be for couples who believe in a “Higher Power”. A combination of the above ceremonies could be used, including readings from great writings like: The Prophet, Neale Donald Walsh, Shakespeare, Donne, etc.

Same-Sex Marriage (Civil Unions)

We have a marriage officer who is fully licensed with the Department of Home Affairs to conduct Civil Unions of same sex couples.

Inter-Faith Ceremonies

Often, couples find that they come from different backgrounds and neither have any objection to incorporating elements and “rituals” from the other’s faith. Eg: Jewish/Christian, Muslim/Christian, Catholic/Christian. Anything that you want to incorporate can be done. Your marriage officer will advise you on what works best and which elements will add a sense of richness to your ceremony. Nobody needs to feel uncomfortable.

PRE-CEREMONY

In the initial meeting the aim is to determine that we “gel” together. That you are comfortable with the Marriage Officer and that the legalities and basic outline of the ceremony can be discussed. Since we do not hold provisional bookings, you will have 1 week after this meeting to confirm your date and time with us.

Once your booking has been confirmed we can meet together as many times as you want to in order to discuss your ceremony. You simply phone and make an appointment. Although we recommend a minimum of 2 meetings, you are not limited to this. There will be no additional charge for meetings to discuss the ceremony. If you wish to have counselling sessions that’s a separate issue.

For obvious and logistical reasons it is often impossible to meet with the couple on numerous occasions due to their location. Skype is a wonderful tool as is email. We conduct a large number of ceremonies each year for couples from overseas which means that most of the time we only get to meet them in the week before the wedding itself. This is fine. We can communicate via other media and finalise things on your arr

I Do Wedding Ceremonies and our Marriage Officers will help you each step of the way to design and carry out your unique wedding ceremony. We will advise you on the layout of the ceremony, the order of service, choosing your vow options, choosing different aspects of the ceremony i.e. music, readings, other involvements, etc. By the time we get together for the final meeting everything falls into place.

We do not require that you attend any pre-marital counselling sessions, however, these are available should you wish to avail yourself of them.

If SA / Foreign marriage, you need to plan to be in Cape Town at least two weeks before the wedding date.  See requirements for details.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

Please note that the South African Department of Home Affairs has strict rules and regulations around marriages in South Africa and documents are all necessary.  We have divided this section into the following sections:

Where both parties of the couple are not South African Citizens (i.e. both Foreigners), these are the documents that will be required from you and the process you will need to follow in order to be legally married in South Africa.

If one party of the couple was born in South Africa, or holds dual citizenship with SA, please check with the Marriage Officer to get clarity on this as you may still be considered a South African Citizen and this changes the process radically. This also applies to foreigners holding Temporary or Permanent South African Residency. All Refugees are to contact the Department of Home Affairs directly.

We have a full list of documents required.  Visit our consultation page for more information.

If one party is a South African Citizen and the other is a foreigner from any country other than the UK or USA, these are the documents that will be required from you and the process you will need to follow in order to be legally married in South Africa.

If one party of the couple was born in South Africa, or holds dual citizenship with SA, please check with the Marriage Officer to get clarity on this as you may still be considered a South African Citizen and this changes the process radically. This also applies to foreigners holding Temporary or Permanent South African Residency. All Refugees are to contact the Department of Home Affairs directly.

We have a full list of documents required.  Visit our consultation page for more information.

If one party is a South African Citizen and the other is a UK citizen, these are the documents that will be required from you and the process you will need to follow in order to be legally married in South Africa.

This is regardless of whether the SA Citizen holds any other citizenship or not.

If one party of the couple was born in South Africa, or holds dual citizenship with SA, please check with the Marriage Officer to get clarity on this as you may still be considered a South African Citizen and this changes the process radically. This also applies to foreigners holding Temporary or Permanent South African Residency. All Refugees are to contact the Department of Home Affairs directly.

We have a full list of documents required.  Visit our consultation page for more information.

If one party is a South African Citizen and the other is a US citizen, these are the documents that will be required from you and the process you will need to follow in order to be legally married in South Africa.

This is regardless of whether the SA Citizen holds any other citizenship or not.

If one party of the couple was born in South Africa, or holds dual citizenship with SA, please check with the Marriage Officer to get clarity on this as you may still be considered a South African Citizen and this changes the process radically. This also applies to foreigners holding Temporary or Permanent South African Residency. All Refugees are to contact the Department of Home Affairs directly.

We have a full list of documents required.  Visit our consultation page for more information.

Where both parties of the couple are South African Citizens these are the documents that will be required from you in order to be legally married in South Africa.

If one party of the couple was born in South Africa, or holds dual citizenship with SA, please check with the Marriage Officer to get clarity on this as you may still be considered a South African Citizen and this changes the process radically. This also applies to foreigners holding Temporary or Permanent South African Residency. All Refugees are to contact the Department of Home Affairs directly.

We have a full list of documents required.  Visit our consultation page for more information.

FAQ’s

Absolutely yes. You can have anybody take part in any way that you wish. The Marriage Officer will need to conduct the legal side of the ceremony and the signing of the register.

Yes. However, this does not constitute a legal marriage. No paperwork will be issued.

South African documents do not need to be certified. All foreign documents must be Apostilled.

Yes you will need to do this at your own expense.

You will be married under the marriage law of the country in which the man is a permanent resident.

If you wish to be married with an Ante-nuptial agreement, you need to have a lawyer draw this up prior to the date of the wedding.

Your Abridged certificate is issued immediately on the day of the ceremony. Once the marriage has been registered at Home Affairs you will receive a copy of the Marriage Register by post. Please see our documents page on this site for more information.

Yes. South African marriages are recognised in most countries around the world. We will provide all the necessary certificates and documents that you will need on request.

Yes you can, there is no restriction on days and times? This is completely up to the Marriage Officer’s availability.

No. This is not required. However we can refer you to an excellent counsellor if you require any assistance.

Yes, you need 2 witnesses. Witnesses can be anybody over the age of 16 years and who must produce a copy of their ID or Passport . They can be family member or friends.

Yes. We will shape the ceremony to suit you completely. We can incorporate aspects or elements into the ceremony that will be meaningful to both parties. Alternatively we can conduct a strictly civil ceremony or simply conduct a “Paperwork” service.

No. We have no requirements in this regard.

A verbal consent to the marriage is required. Personal vows are encouraged and can be discussed with your Marriage Officer.

No. This is not a requirement for the ceremony. Only the register needs to be signed indoors.

Yes, you can. The ceremony can take place anywhere. However, please note that the signing of the register needs to take place in a building.

No. There is no time limit prior to or after the ceremony that you need to be in the country. As long as your Visa or Passport is valid for the date of the wedding.  If a South African is marrying a  foreign, you need to plan to be in Cape Town at least two weeks before the wedding date.  See requirements for details.

Yes, Indeed. We are fully licensed with the Department of Home Affairs to carry out Civil Unions of same sex couples.

No. Anybody can be married in South Africa as long as you provide the necessary documentation.

No. Generally this is no longer required in South Africa. If you are from a country that does require a marriage licence eg. Sweden, please obtain this prior to your wedding. For foreigners marrying South African citizens it is recommended that you arrive at least 10 days before the wedding as there will be interview requirements at Home Affairs.

Marriage Register

The marriage register which you sign on the day of your wedding is completed in triplicate.  Your marriage officer will submit your register and supporting documents to Home Affairs for registration within a week of your wedding.  Home Affairs will stamp and sign the marriage register and the second copy will be mailed to you as proof of registration.  In many countries this is sufficient to prove your SA marriage.

Unabridged Marriage Certificate

Some countries require that you produce an Unabridged Marriage Certificate issued by SA Home Affairs.

As of 1 December 2016 we can no longer apply for this on your behalf, a couple have to apply for their Unabridged Marriage Certificate in person at any SA Home Affairs office.  At this stage the process takes between 8 and 10 weeks to produce the certificate, so it is vital that if you are leaving the country you give someone permission in writing to collect this on your behalf when it is processed.

Alternatively you can apply for your Unabridged Marriage Certificate at a SA Embassy or Consulate in your own country.

We are currently able to secure printed certificates and apostiles on Full Certificates for couples. The options are explained below. These are all optional extra services on offer.

Printed Abridged Marriage Certificate
This is the printed version of the handwritten certificate you receive on the day of your wedding. This certificate would be available to be printed as soon as your wedding has been Captured on the population register by Home Affairs. It is printed immediately upon request. A power of attorney authorization is required for us to apply on your behalf.

Printed Full Unabridged Marriage Certificate
If you require proof of your marriage for the government of your country or you are looking to emigrate or work in another country, then this is the document you will require. In terms of the Hague Convention recognizing official documents between countries, this document would also need to be Apostiled (the only country not requiring an Apostile is the UK)

The Printed Full Unabridged Certificate can take anywhere from 12 to 18 months for Home Affairs to issue. While this is standard for SA citizens to understand, foreign nationals don’t understand the exceptional delays involved from Home Affairs (in reality, us either). Thankfully there is an option to expedite the issuing of the Unabridged Certificate if you require it in a hurry. A power of attorney authorization is required for us to apply on your behalf.

Expedite Issuing of the Full Unabridged Marriage Certificate
The expediting of the Full Unabridged Marriage Certificate reduces the wait for Home Affairs to issue the certificate from 12 to 18 months to 5 working days.

Apostile issued on Full Unabridged Marriage Certificate
DIRCO in Pretoria issue Apostiles on all Full Unabridged Certificates and we can manage this process on your behalf once we have received the printed full certificate from Home Affairs. The current time frame for DIRCO to issue Apostiles is 6 weeks.

Courier Delivery
We use a courier service to deliver all certificates applied for on behalf of our clients. Standard pricing for local courier delivery is included in all quotes. International courier delivery would be quoted upon request.