Wellingtonians to forgo registry office for weddings from February next year

Wellingtonians will be able to marry in a registry wedding at home, forgoing the registry office, from February next year.

It comes after the Department of Internal Affairs introduced an online service for booking registry weddings, the Department of Internal Affairs said in a statement.

In June 2019, registry weddings for much of the country moved from courthourses and councils to their home or another place of the couples choosing. 

Couples are asked to select from a list of validated celebrants across the country based on the location of their chosen ceremony, Registrar-General for Births, Deaths and Marriages, Jeff Montgomery, said.

"They can then arrange with their celebrant to have the ceremony at home or a special location, or the celebrant may offer a venue," Mr Montgomery said.

"As the expectation for services and information to be available online continues to increase, we're working hard to ensure New Zealanders can access our services when and where they want."

The new service will cost $90, in line with the previous cost, with the same rules applying for the ceremony.

The Wellington registry office will perform ceremonies until January 31, 2020, with ceremonies to be held at Internal Affairs sites in Auckland, Manukau and Christchurch.

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