Woo hoo New Zealand, we have done well, and because of this we are currently Under Covid 19 Alert level ONE! Which means you can get married with all of your friends and family, and you can kiss and celebrate with no social distancing requirements! You can eat and drink and be merry, and there are no restrictions on this either. The only condition (and this is a big one for many) is guests from overseas must quarantine for 14 days on arrival. Apart from that everything is back to near normal (squeal of excitement)!
Sadly, many couples have had to cancel or postpone their weddings due to levels 4,3 & 2 - and now even at alert level 1, many couples still don't feel comfortable proceeding with their planned dates. This maybe for the uncertainty of the alert levels going back up again, or because of a change in your financial situation, or it maybe because many of your guests are coming from overseas. I sincerely sympathize with those who have had their wedding dates interfered with by this pandemic - but if one thing is for sure - you will eventually get to the end result - which is marrying your best friend!
Here is some information on your marriage license if you have had to cancel, postpone or are just looking into your options:
YOUR MARRIAGE LICENCE ~ Refunds & expiration Marriage licences are valid until the date of expiry, that being 3 months from the date of issue. If couples want to postpone their wedding as a result of the pandemic, there are options:
Delay having the marriage, but not later than when the marriage licence expires. This in the hope that the situation has improved within 3 months.
If the couple plan to get married after their licence expires, they can apply for a refund now. If approved, the refund will include the licence fee and the marriage certificate, if ordered. When the couple are ready to get married they can apply for a new licence at https://marriages.services.govt.nz.
Couples can request a refund by emailing bdm.nz@dia.govt.nz with the subject heading "Request for marriage licence refund".
In the body of the email include: Reason for refund e.g. Level 4 alert, NZ in lockdown Both partners’ full names and contact details (e.g., email, phone number etc.) Refunds currently take about 4 weeks to process.
Get in touch with me if you have any questions or queries, Donna @ Love + Marriage.
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