Suzy and Michael were a joy to work with.

Even though they now live in the Isle of Skye, they came down all the way to Edinburgh because they wanted me to be their celebrant, so I could hardly refuse to go all the way over to Dundonald Castle in deepest Ayrshire, where they were married in a spectacular, ruined castle at the top of a steep, steep hill, on one of the windiest days of the year.

I’ll now hand over to Suzy, who tells the story far better than I could…

The humanist ceremony helped us to celebrate and revel in what it truly means to be human, warts and all.

So breaking my earrings, arriving late and windblown, then chucking my handbag at my sister so that its contents emptied onto the floor, smearing my lipstick over my own and Michael’s face, and sitting on the Irn Bru bottle during the signing didn’t ‘spoil’ the day but actually added to it.

It broke the ice so that everyone involved exhaled and relaxed so they could enjoy existing in the moment with us.

So many of the guests, especially the religious ones, were overwhelmed by how thoughtful, insightful and beautiful a non-religious ceremony could be.

They had questioned how a ceremony without god could have any value or meaning.

And I’m happy to see that their consciousness was raised in such a positive way.

My father (more deist than christian) confessed during the reception that he’d been incredibly moved by the entire ceremony.

He enthused to all around him how wonderful it was to attend a wedding which was so personalised and meaningful.

We then heard tales of various other people sobbing during the entire thing.

It’s funny I didn’t notice this as, like you said would happen, my eyes were locked with Michael’s the whole time.

Everyone made a point of coming up to us at the reception to say what a great day they’d had and how honoured they were to have been part of such a heartfelt ceremony.

It’s interesting to note that after being exposed to a humanist event, a lot of my friends are now contemplating the same for themselves where it wasn’t even an option before.

And Michael and I are hoping to have a humanist naming ceremony when the time comes. 🙂

Thank you again for performing your role so sensitively and so well.

It’s a day we’ll never forget and will always be thankful to you for.

Thanks to Suzy and Michael – and to all of their friends for their photos too xxx