Find the right Civil officiant for your wedding, within your budget
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A civil officiant is who makes the marriage legal. For a lot of South Asian couples they sit alongside the religious ceremony rather than replacing it — the anand karaj, nikkah or Hindu ceremony is the wedding, and the civil signing is the paperwork.
Getting this wrong is one of the few wedding mistakes that is genuinely difficult to fix afterwards.
Only if the person performing your religious ceremony is not registered to solemnise marriages in your province. Many pandits, granthis and imams are registered and can do both.
Ask your religious officiant the question plainly. If they are not registered, a civil officiant signs the licence — sometimes in a five-minute signing on the same day, sometimes at a separate appointment beforehand.
A marriage licence issued by the province, valid for a limited period, plus identity documents, two witnesses of legal age, and a registered officiant. In Ontario the licence is $155 and is obtained from a municipal office.
Requirements differ by province, so check your own rather than a general guide. If either of you has been married before, expect to provide divorce documentation.
Many couples do it quietly a few days before, which removes a piece of paperwork from a day already carrying too much. Others fold it into the ceremony itself.
Either is fine. Decide early, because it changes who needs to be present and when, and tell your photographer — the signing is a real moment and it is easy to miss.
The figures below describe an officiant's fee at a South Asian wedding generally; a short standalone civil signing typically sits at the lower end of that.
Ask whether travel is included and whether the fee covers submitting the licence afterwards.
Separate from the fee: an Ontario marriage licence is $155, and an officiant may charge a legal-signing component on top.
Figures describe the Greater Toronto Area, 2026. GigSona — figures from vendors across the Greater Toronto Area, 2026. What a vendor actually quotes you depends on the type of event, how big it is, and exactly what you need — treat these as a starting point for a conversation, not a price list.
Yes, and many couples do — a short appointment days earlier removes paperwork from a day that has enough of it. The religious ceremony then remains the wedding in every sense that matters to the families.
It varies by province, commonly around three months from issue. Apply close enough to the wedding that it will not expire and far enough ahead to absorb a problem with documents, particularly if either of you has been married before.
Yes — normally two, of legal age, who watch the signing and sign themselves. They do not need to be family, and choosing two people who will definitely be present and on time matters more than who they are.