My parents are very religious, I don’t want to upset them…

Humanist ceremonies are non-religious, not anti-religious. Humanism is about the things that unite people, rather divide them, and the most important of these is love, so it’s difficult for even the most intolerant person to take offense. I often say that “although this ceremony is non-religious, it will be entirely legal, mostly civil (slight pause … Continue Reading

Order, Order!

The most important thing to remember about your humanist ceremony is that it should be exactly the way you want it. So if you’re totally chilled and like whatever, man, you probably won’t want an Order of Ceremony. On the other hand, if you’re the kind of person who sets goals and can recite most … Continue Reading

Can we have music?

I’ve never done a wedding yet without some kind of music and I find it hard to imagine what it would be like. Depending on your budget and resources, you can have music of all sorts.  I did a lovely wedding on a farm where the groom’s sister and brother in law played a song … Continue Reading

How long is the ceremony?

Most wedding ceremonies seem to last between 20 minutes and half an hour, which feels about right to me. Any less and it’s too quick; much longer, and the drinkers in the audience start getting restless.  It’s a good idea to follow the old theatrical rule: leave them wanting more.

What is Humanism? A Simple Definition

Humanism isn’t a religion – it’s a very old philosophy that represents the views of hundreds of millions of people around the world. There are lots of definitions  out there, but my favourite comes from the late Kurt Vonnegut, who said that “being a humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or … Continue Reading

First steps

Once you’ve decided you want to get married (congratulations, by the way!), you’ve got lots of decisions to make about venues and menus, all of which can take up a lot of time. It’s worth taking a moment to think about who you want to celebrate your marriage too, because how they conduct themselves will … Continue Reading