Humanist Weddings

Planning the Perfect Wedding

Wedding planning is an important life event and as such, for your legally binding Humanist wedding ceremony, I will take the time to encourage and support your ideas and together we can make your dream wedding ceremony a reality.

Your day will be memorable and fun, relaxed yet solemn and beautiful. I will do my best to give you as many alternatives as possible in order to inspire you.

You may or may not want ‘your story’ in your ceremony, well that’s OK too. Either way, we will work together to make sure that the heart of your ceremony really reflects you and your partner’s personalities and while we do, we will have fun as we create your special day.

I see it as an honour if you choose me to be part of your Wedding day. Together we can create your special day just as you imagined it, as I take care of all the stress, the legals and paperwork. So, let us create a ceremony so special and so personal and meaningful that you, your family and friends will be talking about it for years to come.

Handfasting

Handfasting is an ancient Celtic Tradition that dates back over 2000 years. It was originally used to symbolise a betrothal. The engagement would last a year and a day and at the end of that term the couple would decide to marry or go their separate ways. During the ceremony, the hands or wrists are lightly tied together using ribbons or cords and that is where the expression “tying the knot” comes from.

Usually ribbon or cord is used but some couples choose to use fabric or lace which has some special meaning to them. (Perhaps they might be the colours of their respective counties). Their hands are loosely bound by the ribbons and once the binding has been completed, the couple then keep the knotted fabric as a symbol or their commitment and their wedding day. There are lovely passages of prose that can accompany handfasting, and I can guide you through this.

Unity Candle

Lighting candles is a lovely symbolic gesture to include in your ceremony, The unity candle symbolises the joining together of two families and their love for the couple, into one united family. Three candles are placed, one main candle and two smaller ones on either side. It is very popular for the mothers or parents of the couple to each light one of the smaller candles representing each family and later in the ceremony, the couple will each take a light from their family’s candle and light the main unity candle together.

The beauty and significance of the two flames coming together is quite special. You can choose to recite some words during this ritual, or I can do this for you. This ritual makes a lovely opportunity for photograph. (Some couples use their unity candle in the future as the naming candle for their first child or indeed for all their children).

Sand Ceremony

The Unity Sand Ceremony is a variation on the Unity Candle Ceremony. It is a tradition full of symbolism and projects a powerful message.

In this ritual, your marriage is symbolised by the pouring together two individual containers of sand into a unity sand container, representing each of you and all that you were in your past individual lives.

You each pour a coloured sand from a smaller vessel into one larger vessel. As these containers of sand are poured into the third container, the grains of sand intertwine and can never again be separated.

It symbolises the joining together of you both into one family through your marriage. This is a particularly lovely ritual to include in your ceremony for blended families with children. The vessel full of sand makes a beautiful keepsake to have in your family home.

Drinking from the Quaich

A part of the tradition of Celtic hospitality was that of welcoming guests with a drink from a quaich. Sharing a cup was also seen as a sign of trust between the people drinking from it and also the sharing of the drink was a guarantee that it hadn’t been poisoned!

There are a number of ways that the quaich can be incorporated into your ceremony:

• You could each hold onto the cup for the other when you drink, symbolising your togetherness. What drink you might put in it is very much up to you
• You could have your two favourite drinks to pour into the quaich, the mixing of the two being symbolic of your union as a married couple
• A soft drink can be chosen if either or both of you do not take alcohol or if there are children involved, for example if you are celebrating the coming together of two families
• Another nice idea is when the quaich is handed to the bride by the groom’s parent(s) and then to the groom by the bride’s parent(s), as a way of welcoming each into the others’ family 
  

Ring Warming

This is a beautiful ritual. During the ceremony, your wedding rings are passed around your chosen guests and ‘warmed’ with their love, good wishes and positive energy.

The rings, having made their way around your guests, are returned to the Best Man in time for the ring exchange.

This is a great way to involve all present in your wedding ceremony.

To you, your rings will symbolise something immensely powerful and very precious; the love and wishes from those whom you love.

Time Capsule/Wine Box

If you and your fiancé love wine then this may be the perfect ceremony enhancement for you! During this ceremony, a box, containing a bottle of wine, is used as a memory box. (The box can have a special inscription commemorating the day).

Both of you will have written a love letter to each other and during the ceremony, you place them in the box which is then closed. By so doing, you are celebrating your love for one another on your wedding day and then again on an anniversary (e.g. the third or fifth) in the future.

On that day, you would open the box and share the bottle of wine together as you read each others letters. Just make sure you pick a bottle of wine that will stand the test of time!

Some couples re-fill the box with a new bottle, write some new letters and put it all back together (with your original letters) and do it all again and again during their future years of marriage. Having a time capsule ceremony on your wedding day creates something meaningful which you personally use and add to during your married years and it is such a loving and unique way of capturing your love story.