It has been more than a century since anyone was married in a cultural union ceremony on the land of the Port Curtis Coral Coast people.

Now, a Queensland couple is hoping their actions will revive the tradition.

On the shore of Wogun Bay at 1770, Goreng Goreng woman Cherissma Blackman and Quandamooka Nunukul man Lincoln Costelloe recently united their clans.

As the sun set over the ocean, the couple performed traditional dance and song, each movement telling the stories of their country and people.

As part of the ceremony, the groom performs a traditional dance to welcome the bride to his clan. ( ABC Capricornia: Rachel McGhee )

"That was very significant for us, it was a cultural union ceremony," Ms Costelloe-Blackman said.

"The last one that occurred on this country here was over 100 years ago with my great-grandparents."

Ms Costelloe-Blackman said her great-grandparents' cultural union ceremony was performed in secret.

"They were living in an era where they had to hide their language and culture," she said.

"They were in very tough times, when policies and legislation that affected them really made it really hard to coexist with culture and community.

"So today was very special for us."

Cherissma Blackman and Lincoln Costelloe hope their ceremony inspires others. ( ABC Capricornia: Rachel McGhee )

Reviving sacred traditions

Ms Blackman-Costelloe said the Aboriginal wedding tradition was thousands of generations old but had not been practised regularly since colonisation.

She said many First Nations people alive today had never witnessed a cultural union ceremony and she and her new husband were proud to revive the tradition.

"Celebrating our culture in a way that I've never seen and experienced before, and to do it with someone special like her on her country, it meant so much to me," Mr Costelloe-Blackman said.

"The family I danced with today, a lot of them haven't danced for over 20 years, so to do this today was special."

For family and friends, the cultural union ceremony was the first they had seen or been involved in. ( ABC Capricornia: Rachel McGhee )

Ms Costelloe-Blackman said the ceremony was very significant.

"We get back to the basics within our culture because that's where a lot of our platform is, especially our youth, with things like respect for elders," she said.

"Once you have a platform to go from, it just makes us stronger people at the end of the day."

The couple hopes their ceremony will inspire others to unify through traditional ceremony.

"To set the precedent for younger generations, to keep that alive and our culture strong — that's who we are," Mr Costelloe-Blackman said.

Calls for legal recognition

For a wedding to be recognised under the Marriage Act, an authorised person, such as a minister of recognised religions or a registered marriage celebrant, must solemnise the wedding.

Ms Blackman-Costelloe said it was for this reason that they also took part in a traditional "white wedding" to formalise their marriage.

"In our hearts we know that we're already unified through our cultural practice," she said.

Cultural dance and song is a crucial part of the union ceremony. ( ABC Capricornia: Rachel McGhee )

"We're just going through the processes for bureaucracy with the white wedding."

She said she also hoped to one day see Aboriginal cultural law recognised.

"We're not alien to it [cultural law], the wider community is," she said.

"So we want to educate and we also want to establish ourselves here so that our way throughout generations over thousands of years in this country is recognised.

"We love our culture, we live and breathe it."