Can we legally get Married?

For our Marriage Officers to register your marriage at the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) your current registered status at DHA needs to be correctly reflected (Single / Divorced / Widowed).
We cannot be held responsible for non-registration of marriage due to missing documentation; existing impediments to marriage on the Home Affairs system or incorrect information being supplied. (For instance: If you are currently divorced but your status still says ‘Married’ at DHA – meaning your divorce was not successfully captured by DHA). 

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Documents we need to get your marriage registered

Compulsory documentation:
Copy of ID document/passport (Spouse A & Spouse B)
Completed information on supplied pdf document with marriage details
Copy of ID document (Witness A & Witness B)
On the day:
3 x ID photos B/W or colour (Spouse A & Spouse B / PLEASE BRING WITH YOU)
Left thumb print (Spouse A & Spouse B / we will supply the ink pad etc)
Additional documentation (if applicable):
Confirmation of ANC (Ante-Nuptial contract) if not marrying In Community of Property a letter from the lawyer is required. Without an ANC you will automatically be married In Community of Property.) 
Copy of Divorce decree (with clearly visible court stamp if divorced)
Copy of Death certificate (if widowed)
Proof of non-marriage / letter of non-impediment (Foreigners only)
Letter from Home Affairs Immigration Officer (Foreigners marrying a South African citizen only)
Copy of passport with visa (Foreigners only)
Letter of non-impediment (Foreigners only)
Bi-31 affidavit (if no ID book is available)

After we received all the above needed documentation and conducted your wedding ceremony on your date of choice we will go in to DHA and hand in all paperwork for registration. Your marriage can take anything from 3 weeks to 3 months to be registered on the DHA system. You can check your marital status (registration) by smsing the letter M followed by your ID number, e.g: (M860804044089) to 32551. A reply sms from the Department of Home Affairs will be sent back to you with your registered status. (This system is sometimes offline, so keep trying if the first time doesn’t work)

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How do I get my marriage certificate?

You will receive an A5 marriage certificate on the day of your wedding. (This document is legally binding and will suffice to obtain

honeymoon travel discounts, changing your surname on a new ID card application or passport etc.)  As soon as your marriage has been registered on the DHA system you can then go to any DHA office and get an A4 printed abridged certificate on presentation of your ID book. Please let us know if you require an un-abridged marriage certificate (for immigration purposes) as you will need an additional stamped page from the registrar book that you would have signed on the day of your wedding. You will need to take this additional stamped page together with your A4 abridged certificate to DHA in order to apply for an unabridged certificate.

 

What is an ANC contract?
An Ante-Nuptial Contract (ANC) is a contractual agreement between 2 parties before entering into a marriage. There are 3 basic options to get married in South Africa:

In Community of property: If you choose not to draw up an anti-nuptial agreement in South Africa then you will automatically be married ‘in community of property’. The state assumes that all assets and liabilities of both husband and wife are shared. It simply means that everything which is his is hers and everything which is hers is his. 
Disadvantages:

• If one of you gets into financial trouble, creditors have a claim against both of you.

• There is also no financial independence; if the wife wants to open a clothing account, the husband has to sign the account application; if the husband wants to buy a car, the wife has to sign too. Every business transaction requires the consent of both parties.

• If one partner should die, the estate of both the deceased and surviving partner will be wound up because it is a joint estate – not great for the surviving partner who will find themselves in legal limbo for a while. 

Advantages:

• On death or divorce, the estate is divided equally

 ANC without accrual: Assets acquired before or during the marriage remain separate throughout the course of the marriage. Assets are not shared and each partner has a separate estate. 
Advantages: • if one of you goes insolvent, creditors may not attach the assets of the other; in other words you get to keep your home folks. • each of you are legally obliged to offer financial support to one another should one of you be unable to support himself/herself 
Disadvantages: • in the case of death or divorce, you are entitled only to those assets you have accrued in your name. Should one of you choose to stay at home to raise children, that partner would not be entitled to the assets accumulated by the other partner 
 ANC with accrual (RECOMMENDED): Each partner states the value of their respective assets at the beginning of marriage. Thereafter any assets are shared 50/50. One can state that specific assets be excluded from the accrual, such an inheritances, donations etc. Most marriages (9 out of 10) are ANC with accrual. 
Advantages: • you both share in the wealth accumulated during marriage • if each of you owned property before the marriage, it remains in your respective names • you each conduct your own independent financial affairs • if one of you goes into debt, it cannot be claimed from the estate of the other • in the case of divorce, any assets made whilst married are shared – it doesn’t matter who acquired them; each partner’s current net asset value is calculated by subtracting all liabilities from assets • it protects the partner who remains at home to care for the family
Types of ceremonies?
This is where the fun part starts and where the legal stuff and documents are out of the way. Yay! The type of ceremony is entirely up to you (This is after all your day). Technically there are 3 sets of vows:
    Legal vows (e.g. Do you know of any reason why you cannot marry this person?) These unfortunately we cannot skip
    Religious vows (This can be Christian vows or it may include a Pagan hand binding or lighting of unity candles) It is entirely up to you to include these or not.
    Personal vows (This is something you would write / read / recite yourself) It is entirely up to you to include these or not. If you chose to do so you will be prompted when to do so during the ceremony.
Whatever you choose to include in your ceremony you will be guided by our MO’s every step of the way. So please don’t stress, you are in good hands!

Unfortunately, there is not enough time allocated for hair and make-up to happen on premises. We always advise brides to arrive with their hair and make-up already done and to use the time allocated before the ceremony start time to relax and take a breath. If you would like to have your hair and make-up done close by let us know, we can refer you to a salon or a guest house where you can take your time to do your preparations.
Do I need to hire a DJ?
Not at all! We have portable speakers and have a playlist that you are welcome to use. It consists of the traditional wedding march to walk down the aisle to and instrumental background music thereafter. If you would like to bring your own playlist – please do! Please just make sure that you bring it on a device that can house an Aux cable. (Smartphone, Laptop or a tablet will do. Our system does NOT connect to usb) or/and can connect via Bluetooth. Please note that if you supply your own playlist you will need to assign a designated person to handle the playing of correct songs at correct times (Such as the wedding march when the bride makes her entrance etc). This is normally a great job for your MC or one of the groomsmen.
How does Alcohol and the bar set up work?
This will change and depend on each venue/location. At the Bowls club, there is a very affordable bar that sells alcohol. You could then either pay an amount upfront to the bar for your guests to use or offer a cash bar option to your friends and family.
We set up the outside bar before your arrival with a table and glassware (champagne, wine, tumbler and beer glasses). We also supply water and juice in glass decanters on the same table. Galvanized steel baths are also available for you to use. 

What is included in the standard décor?
Our standard décor is absolutely lovely and includes the following:
Chapel décor: Beautiful Canvas tent with a printed cotton lining and curtains, Arch, Persian carpets and benches. 
You can choose any combination of the available organza colours:

 

White             Beige             Gold           Brown            Black              Yellow           Emerald         Lime          

 

Purple            Lavender        Pink               Peach            Navy             Blue 1             Blue 2            Silver

 

Red                Burgundy   

     

 

 

 

 

Pets
Pets are welcome. Please just note that we cannot take responsibility for your pets. And on the same note you will be held responsible for your pet’s actions. (We have had many dogs walk their parent’s rings down the aisle – too cute! A horse – not so much!). We have 2 gates inside the venue that keeps your pets away from the parking area – they will then still be free to move around the patio, chapel and reception area.
What happens when there is load shedding?
Unfortunately this is something we cannot control. (We wish we could!). In the event of load shedding we have a Bluetooth speaker.

If you have any other questions not listed on the above FAQ sheet, or if you would like clarification on any of the above… please do not hesitate to contact us at info@simplywed.co.za