Answers to some questions you might have

Where can you perform marriage ceremonies?

I am appointed by Service Alberta to perform civil ceremonies in Cochrane, Alberta and the immediate surrounding area.

How much does it cost for a ceremony?

Please have a look at my Fees page for information.

Where do we get the licence and our certificate? Are they included in your fees?

Alberta Marriage Commissioners are not permitted to issue licences or legal certificates. A marriage statement will be given to you after the ceremony which will act as a proof of marriage until you can order the government certificate. Any Alberta registry agent will take care of that for you and those fees are paid to them. If it is imperative that the marriage be registered immediately, let me know before you pick up your licence as there are limited options in this area to do that.

Can I have a friend or family member do the ceremony and just have you sign the paperwork?

I am happy to have someone special to you have a part in your ceremony, but the marriage commissioner must be seen as the officiant with others performing readings or other ceremonies are not integral to the legal part of the ceremony.

An option to consider is that I will perform the legal ceremony with you and your witnesses earlier in the day with your friend or family member performing a symbolic ceremony before your guests. This type of ceremony is also ideal for those having a destination wedding, but having their legal ceremony in Alberta.

Can we change the ceremony to something that is more "us" and less legal

Almost any part of the ceremony can be changed except for the required legal statements. Have a look at the typical ceremony on the resources page. Anything not marked in yellow can be changed or modified. Unfortunately, you can not strip it down to just the legal bits as the ceremony must also demonstrate intent.

What happens if we are running late?

While a delay is sometimes unavoidable for many reasons, think of how you might feel if I were to call and say I will be 30 minutes or more late for your ceremony because an earlier wedding ran late and the inconvenience that would cause. 

I allow for at least 15 minutes past the scheduled start time to begin the ceremony. If you arrive too much later than that, there is a chance that I may not be able to stay if I have another booking after yours and may need to arrange for the ceremony to occur later in the day.

The possibility of rescheduling exists, but in over 1500 ceremonies, I have not had to reschedule a single one.

If we are getting married outside, do we need to have a backup location?

I am fine with an outdoor ceremony year round, but some of your guests may not find poor weather to be that comfortable. If it is possible to have an indoor location as a backup, I do recommend it.