Scott and Danielle’s Humanist Wedding at The Principal Edinburgh

It’s always good to hear from couples I’ve married, and catch up with their news. In Danielle and Scott’s ceremony I remember saying that, “they’ve had many exciting adventures in exotic countries already, but they have a long list of places that they hope to visit together in the future.”  Well that didn’t take long … Continue Reading

Are we mourning or celebrating?

I’ve been a celebrant for a dozen years now, and over that time, the character of funerals has undoubtedly changed.  Two years ago, the BBC ran this story based on an ICM survey, in which it found that 54% of people wanted a ceremony that was ‘a celebration of life’. Almost as many wanted to … Continue Reading

Grieving: it’s time for Option B

I was very moved by this interview with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in The Observer, where she talks about how she coped with going to sleep beside her 47 year old husband, and waking up to discover that he was dead.Journalist Decca Aitkenhead is one of our best writers, and while she wasn’t entirely won … Continue Reading

Do you sleep next to your promises?

Jeanette Winterson is a writer whose work I’ve long admired. She’s gay, and she was always against the idea of getting married because, as the sub-headline in her Guardian article says,” Why conform to patriarchal ideas of monogamy?” She’s clearly changed her mind, because she has just got married, and I really liked her vows.  I promise to look … Continue Reading