The Marriage Act has many regulations under which an officiant — clerk or designate — must be familiar with and able to perform and administer civil marriage solemnization. In addition, regulations identified under the Municipal Act must be respected. This workshop will review all the critical components of both the Marriage Act as well as the Municipal
Act and the legal obligations that must be addressed within each marriage ceremony.
Participants will review the full process — everything from first contact with potential clients up to and until the ceremony has been performed and completed. Participants will also learn about other judicial elements that may not be within the Act but are nevertheless critical to the effective process including documents, venues, and other event-specific situations.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the right questions to ask and answer including communicating important information couples need to know before the wedding date
- Understand how to navigate various ceremony situations that may arise
- Identify key processes and timelines
- Understand potential duties that may be asked of you outside of legal obligations
- Identify the appropriate language to perform ceremonies in
Speaker
Denise Labelle-Gelinas, CMO
Consultant and Trainer

Denise is a retired city clerk with over 40 years of municipal experience. She is credentialed by the National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP) and is recognized as a Certified Municipal Officer (CMO) with AMCTO. A graduate of St. Lawrence College with a diploma in business management and administration, Denise served as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) Parliamentarian for a decade. She shares her expertise across various governance levels and offers online training on parliamentary procedures. Denise is actively involved with the City of Toronto's French Language Advisory Committee and has conducted civil wedding services since 2005, uniting around 60 couples annually.