10 reasons to have a humanist celebrant for your wedding ceremony

A Humanist wedding or commitment ceremony gives you complete freedom to marry where you want, when you want, and how you want. You choose how you want it to be. It can be anything from simple and zen-like to dancing-on-ceiling-singing-your-heart-out wild. 

The very first and most likely reason that you are considering a humanist wedding ceremony is that you are not religious. So, let’s not even put that on the list. 

Sure, you might have some beliefs, but you are not practicing or you are not committed to the organised religion of your beliefs. Or, you and your partner might not have the same beliefs and therefore can’t choose a particular religious ceremony for your union. 

No matter: Humanist ceremonies welcome all and embrace all the complexities of your lives. While a humanist wedding celebrant won’t perform any religious acts themself, you will most likely have the freedom to include a small symbolic act or reading yourself or by another participant that has some religious undertones, if it’s important to you. Because, it’s that whole idea of freedom that underpins humanist ceremonies, actually, Humanism in general. Freedom of choice, identity and belief (etc). And that, my friends, opens up a whole world of possibilities. 

You can, of course, choose to have your non-religious ceremony in the local registry office. But, who wants a boring, restricted and impersonal ceremony for their most important day as a couple? 

Why not have a humanist wedding ceremony by a celebrant? Indeed. I can give you a lot of reasons to have a humanist wedding celebrant, and here are my top 10 reasons.

My top 10 reasons for having a humanist wedding celebrant

1. Personal. My top choice for choosing a humanist wedding ceremony is the freedom to personalise. You can choose to personalise any part of the ceremony, from the way you enter to the way you say your vows. You could be strutting or dancing down the aisle to your favourite song or create your own ‘words of vow’ made up of your favourite song lyrics. 

Humanist weddings enable you to have your wedding your way. No two are the same! You can even create your very own symbolic acts. You are truly free to create the wedding ceremony that is entirely yours. Maybe there is a certain band or author that has always been special to you, but you are not sure how to incorporate it. Let me help you find the best way of weaving in those lyrics, tunes or readings to make your story come alive. Let those hobbies that define you be part of your day. Who says you need a poem? Not me. You could have your best friend read out your favourite song lyric (like Faye, who had ‘Nothing Else Matters’ by Metallica read out). Who decides what your symbolic acts should be? No one, but you. Create a knitting ritual to join your own knitted gloves so you will always be holding hands…? The sky’s the limit.

Why not design your ceremony in the theme of the rest of your wedding. Iron man theme, anyone?

As a celebrant, I will be right there for you, ready to guide and advice you of what might work well and give you lots of inspiration and examples (if you want them), so you are never on your own. 

And, remember, us celebrants have personalities too! Pick a celebrant based on their personality (and values), how it matches your personality and you have the most important part of your new relationship sorted! I’m all about the fun, being creative and wholeheartedly embracing you and all that you are. 

Chat to me about your vows if you want a hand in choosing your style or even help with words. Think about what you really want to promise (make it realistic) your partner, what you have to give your partner and what values you share. I can help you with inspiration and ideas for how to write your words of commitment, or I can provide you with some lovely call and response options.

Check out some fabulous symbolic acts and ideas for how to create your own in the post ‘Symbolic acts’.

2. Vibes. It’s all about the vibes. When you choose a humanist celebrant, you know we bring the humanist vibes of freedom, equality and meaning. We are also very good at bringing all the good vibes. The loooove. Being a wedding celebrant, I love Love! 

What vibes do you bring to your relationship and marriage? What are your couple vibes? Maybe your love story started at a festival and music, dancing and being outdoors is your vibe? Are you introverts that just vibe on the intimate and romantic? Whatever your vibe, let’s bring it to your wedding ceremony. I will take all the time to listen and understand you, to help you create that particular vibe in the words of your ceremony and the elements that make it up. And most importantly, let’s make sure we vibe together and make that a happy, joyous and romantic vibe in your wedding ceremony (that’s a lot ‘vibes’.. ).

3. Trust. When you choose a humanist wedding celebrant for your wedding, you choose to enter a relationship with someone you will be trusting with your most important thoughts and feelings: how you feel about your loved one and your relationship. I will take that trust and I will guard it, cherish it and gently use it to get to know you as a couple. You will also be able to trust me - not only with your love story - with your process, your ideas and, most importantly, with delivering the Best Wedding Ceremony Ever. When you commit to a celebrant, like me, you can trust that we put in all the time and effort that you deserve to be able to tell your story, choose your ceremony style and elements and 100% be there for you only on your magical day for the time that it takes.  

4. Meaningful. Together, we will create a ceremony that will sound, look and feel like a celebration of everything that is meaningful to you. I will work with you to learn about all the ideas you have of marriage that means the most to you. Every word, song and act will be chosen and created to be meaningful for you. I can help translate your ideas into that special story into an unforgettable ceremony. You deserve your story told with excitement, light and magic on your most special day as a couple.

5. Skills. Working with a humanist celebrant means that you can feel confident that we are skilled, sensitive and committed. We are skilled at writing engaging and meaningful stories and scripts for ceremonies, managing the dynamics of an important event sensitively and we know how to work a crowd! We are part of the wonderful organisation Humanists UK, which means that we belong to a supportive, caring and very professional network, and we are all committed to giving our best to create and deliver ceremonies that are completely tailored to you and your needs. Humanist celebrants are trained, supported and accredited by Humanists UK. This means that we have undergone intensive training on all aspects of each ceremony that we deliver. We are assessed throughout to ensure we deliver to the highest standards. We follow a code of conduct and we are insured for public liability and professional indemnity (more information).

Most of us have lots of life experience that help us be creative and powerful celebrants. Personally, I have done some practising of writing, public speaking and managing a crowd in many of my previous roles: ringmaster, English teacher, copywriter and people manager (and as parent!).

6. Inclusiveness. I don’t know any celebrants who are not natural empaths, inclusive and willing and able to create a ceremony based on individual needs. As humanist celebrants, we have already nailed our colours to the mast of equality and freedom. That means freedom to marry who you want and do it in the way that is right for you. I believe that you can have a wedding ceremony that is inclusive of not just your needs and preferences, but also those of your guests. We can make your ceremony welcoming and safe for anyone, whether for the needs of neurodivergent, the disabled or vulnerable individuals or groups. 

7. Anywhere. A Humanist wedding gives you the freedom to have your ceremony anywhere you like. There are literally no restrictions on where you can have your wedding ceremony. It can be indoors or outdoors, at home, in a castle, hall, in a boat or in nature (think woodland or beach wedding), as you don’t need it to be in a licensed wedding. Here is another way that you can personalise your ceremony and your celebrant will fit right in wherever you are! 

8. Bespoke ceremonies. It’s the essence of what I do! You can have any kind of bespoke ceremony that celebrates union, coupling or transition. Ceremonies are there to mark and celebrate those key milestones and peaks in our lives, and those milestones will be different for everyone. Whatever the occasion or circumstance, I will work with you to create a truly meaningful ceremony. 

Here are some examples of bespoke ceremonies that I can help you mark and celebrate:

• Weddings, commit ceremonies and vow renewals.

• Separation or divorce ceremonies, allowing you to amicably part ways, providing closure and leading you into the next stage of your lives.

• Graduation or coming of age ceremonies.

• Non-firmation - a confirmation of your non-religious beliefs (as an alternative to a religious confirmation).

• Add your own!

9. Storytelling. Humanist Weddings are about storytelling - the romantic, the surprising and the hilarious stories of how you met and what you mean to each other. It is the celebrant’s job to take part in this story by listening, creating and weaving your wonderful story into a magic ceremony. Who  wouldn't want to be a part of someone's beautiful love story? That’s why I love being a celebrant: I get to hear and tell your story for everyone to witness and love. Everyone’s love story is unique and special. What’s your story? I can help translate your ideas into that special story into an unforgettable and meaningful ceremony. You deserve your story told with excitement, light and magic on your most special.

10. Supporting a small business. Celebrants are independent small businesses that often work very strange and long hours to make all this magic happen. We love what we do with a passion and often put our whole selves into making sure you have the best wedding experience you can have. We also need to pay our bills and look after our families. If you choose a celebrant, you choose to support a person, who has taken a big chance and put all their hard work into creating their own happy career and life, which also helps you have a very happy wedding. The love you give by choosing a celebrant will come back to you ten-fold, which you probably won’t feel if you give your money to the government (registry office) or a religious organisation.