People often ask me if I know a good pianist for their wedding and until now, I had to say I didn’t. But at Sharon & David’s wedding at One Royal Circus on Saturday evening, I met Michael Kelly, aka The Wedding Pianist, who used Mike Gordon’s baby grand piano to knock out a couple … Continue Reading
Author Archives
Tim Maguire

The First Ever Humanist Chocolate Bar
Sandra Colamartino is a friend of mine who until recently edited Scottish Homes & Interiors Magazine, but after a long career as an art director on newspapers and magazines has abandoned the inky world of print to become a Chocolatier, and set up The Chocolate Library. She’s designed a whole range of wonderfully packaged chocolate bars … Continue Reading
Say ‘I do’ to the Humanist touch when tying the knot
I got a call the other day from Catherine Salmond at the Edinburgh Evening News. She was writing a story because Elizabeth Bell, the wedding co-ordinator at Houston House Hotel, had got in touch with the paper to say that 1 in 10 of their weddings this year are going to be Humanist ceremonies. So we had a chat … Continue Reading

Humanist Morality
I had a great evening yesterday at the Chaplaincy Centre of the University of Edinburgh, where the Student Humanist Association had asked me to give them a talk on Humanist Morality – a big subject, and one on which I am hardly expert – but what I said seemed to go down well enough, sparking … Continue Reading

Planning your Humanist Wedding -a Useful Timeline
It’s time to decide what kind of wedding ceremony you want, and who should conduct it.

Some Things to Think About Before You Meet a Celebrant
Things to think about before you meet a celebrant.

Step by Step Guide to a Humanist Wedding no.10 – Rehearsals – Who Needs ‘Em?
Wedding rehearsals can be a scheduling nightmare

An Early Humanist: Robert Burns
As Burns wrote to his friend Robert Muir, “These, my worthy friend, are my ideas. . . It becomes a man of sense to think for himself; particularly in a case where all men are equally interested, and where, indeed, all men are equally in the dark.” Today is the 251st anniversary of his birth; … Continue Reading
Can I Marry You?
This isn’t as dumb a question as it may at first appear. This week, I’ve been tracking the enquiries I’ve had from couples who wanted me to marry them at some point over the next 12 months, and I’ve had to apologise to two thirds because I am already fully committed on the date in … Continue Reading

Fiona & Michiel’s Humanist Wedding at the Merchants’ Hall in Edinburgh
Although it’s almost two months ago, I remember this ceremony as though it were yesterday. Fiona & Michiel both lived in Holland when they met, but moved back to Fiona’s homeland a couple of years ago, so it was a Scots-Dutch crowd that packed into the elegant Merchants’ Hall on Hanover Street. One of the … Continue Reading