Sorry for this long post, sometimes it is not possible to be brief, JM
Yes, I do place reliance/worth in the info given by the bride and groom on their marriage, it is first hand from themselves, about themselves .... and when I see several marriages, I tend to rely more on the info from the first one, particularly if the later ones suggest either the bride or groom may have wanted to keep back some info around their previous life.
If I were spending my own pennies, I would get a transcript of the first marriage, which was registered in the Leichhardt district of Sydney. (ref 2188/1884)... Although in those decades some of the registration details were not recorded on the NSW BDM's Reg Gen's logs (particularly missing were the very important family history clues re parentage) ,
BUT the transcript (which will duplicate everything from the Reg Gen's records, and costs less and arrives quicker and is typed up by reliable and experienced transcribers so you do not have to try to interpret old 19th C handwriting yourself) should at least give you the clues to find the local parish records, and thus FROM THE LOCAL PARISH RECORDS you should be able to clearly establish the names of the parents of that John Phillips and that Ellen M Langley. (Of course, I am presuming that part of the m.c. was lacking on the Reg. Gen's records as is often the case).
Again I am sorry for the long post, but here's the very shortest explanation I can make to help you and all RChatters with NSW marriages in the decades leading up to WWI ... Cheers, JM
Short version of significant history of NSW BDM Registry records .... a snip of one part of their online historical records section, and notice that you are looking at a marriage for 1884
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/familyHistory/historyofRegistrysRec.htmFROM 1856
Registrar General takes possession of 1834 to 1835 records held by the Supreme Court
FROM 1879
1825 to 1855 baptism, marriage and burial records lodged with Church of England Bishop were handed over to the Registry
FROM 1912
Reconciliation made between Registry and Church records. 158 Volumes of Early Church Records created with approximately 50,000 records.
Registry requests access to the 1856 to 1895 church marriage registers (this is the period covering that 1884 marriage)
PRESENT DAY
The task of reconciling the Church Records for marriages between 1856 and 1895 was never finalised. Some of the Registry's marriage records from these years still have missing information
So, from that last sentence you can see that this is why I suggest a transcript, and then follow up from that transcript by looking for the local Parish records...
