You’ve chosen your flowers and your favours, your table decor and your transport. But have you considered all your options for the wedding ceremony itself?
If you are religious and of the same faith then you may opt for a ceremony in a religious building that reflects your beliefs and the place of marriage within them.
You might want a no-frills ceremony that gets the legal paperwork done and dusted with a straightforward and swift ceremony interspersed with a couple of readings. If this is the case then booking a registrar to come out to your venue could be right for you and many venues (if they are licensed) will often automatically set you off on this route.
However, what if you are not religious and yet still want a meaningful ceremony reflective of you, your love and your values? Or perhaps you are a mixed-faith couple either of different backgrounds and beliefs or where religion is important to one of you but not the other.
In these cases then the lesser known option of a Humanist ceremony could well be the best fit for you. So before you automatically book a registrar, here is your opportunity to find out a little bit more about what a Humanist ceremony entails and why you might want to choose one for your special day...
Humanist ceremonies put you as two humans right at the centre of the ceremony so, even though they are non-religious and there won’t be any acts of worship or prayers, they can reflect and incorporate rituals from your heritage and culture even those that share their origins with religious practices such as candle lighting or tying of scarves. Likewise, unlike in civil ceremonies, most Humanist celebrants will take a pragmatic approach to readings or music that include ‘religious’ words (e.g. ‘heaven’ or ‘blessing’) or of a religious origin (for example,the ‘love is patient, love is kind’ passage from Corinthians).
The other great thing about a Humanist ceremony is that you get to choose your Celebrant based on who you feel a connection with and they will spend a great deal of time getting to know you, who you are and what is important to you so that this can all be reflected into the ceremony for your special day. You build a close relationship and rapport with your Celebrant so by the time of your wedding day, you feel like you have a friend up there alongside you rather than an officiant that you might meet for the first time that day.
The result is a highly personal and unique ceremony. No two relationships or marriages are the same so each and every Humanist ceremony mirrors this with distinct and memorable content that really sets the tone for the rest of your day and that you and your guests will hold in your hearts for years to come.
Unfortunately, here in Yorkshire, like the rest of England and Wales, Humanist ceremonies are not currently legally recognised as they are in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Nevertheless, Humanists UK continues to tirelessly campaign for reform to marriage law that would allow legal Humanist Marriage everywhere in the UK and we are hopeful that this can be achieved in the new future..
If you want to find out more about this campaign or Humanist Ceremonies in general then please visit Humanist Ceremonies – Humanists UK if you want to specifically find out more about a Humanist Ceremony in Yorkshire you can reach out to me, Helen Phillips, Your Best Life Celebrant via my website www.yourbestlifecelebrant.com or via instagram @your_best_life_celebrant
Guest blog provided by Helen Phillips, Your Best Life Celebrant
Photos courtesy of;
Joe Burn