Rise in white weddings at WA’s registry office

Figures from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages show that 1,827 couples were married at the registry in 2014, accounting for almost 14 per cent of all weddings in WA last year.

In 2005, only 834 marriages were conducted at the registry, or about 7.5 per cent of weddings in the State.

Attorney General Michael Mischin said with the increasing cost of traditional ceremonies and receptions, budget fuss-free weddings were an attractive option for Western Australian couples.

“Modern weddings can cost tens of thousands of dollars, whereas a simple ceremony at the registry is only $305,” Mr Mischin said. “Couples generally dress up, with most brides wearing a formal dress, and grooms in a suit. Traditional features such as music and floral arrangements are permitted.”

The Attorney General said revenue raised from registry weddings was funding a six-year project to convert two million paper-based records from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages into an electronic format.

“These records date back to 1841 when records of life events were first kept in WA,” he said.

“To date, more than 1.57 million records have been converted, including birth and adoptions from 1841 to 1973, marriages from 1940 to 1983 and deaths from 1937 to 1983.

“The conversion of these records provides a faster, more efficient birth, death and marriage certificate issuing service for West Australians. The system also enables regional clients to access certificate services directly from a number of regional courthouses, rather than forwarded their application to the Perth Registry, which can take longer.”