It was back in March 2010 that I first heard from Claire and Andy. One of the first things they told me was that they were from different religious backgrounds, but neither were churchgoers, so they felt that a Humanist ceremony would be the right thing for them. I was pleased that they’d raised the subject, … Continue Reading
I was out on Inchcolm Island today conducting a wedding for Lindsay and Smiffy, which was great fun, and I was pleased to find they’d booked my classical guitarist friend Stewart Maclennan to provide the soundtrack for the ceremony.He played a great set, as ever, and when we were chatting afterwards he told me he’s just … Continue Reading
As Kate and William’s celebrations were coming to a climax at Westminster this morning, I was en route to Dumfries and Galloway to conduct a wedding for another couple, who as one of their guests told me, had “met in a palace, live in a castle and were now about to get married in an … Continue Reading
Meet Martyn and Allyson! From Leicestershire and the Eastern Seaboard of the USA respectively, they’re a pair of seasoned world travellers who as they put it in their ceremony, ‘cancelled out each other’s effect on the planet’, before discovering and deciding to live in Edinburgh, where one of the places they grew to love was … Continue Reading
I was really pleased that Jennifer & Mo sent me a link to this video of their wedding this morning. Not because it shows my best feature – the back of my head – but because it reminded me how moving it was to see and hear them speaking their vows to one another. The short … Continue Reading
I was really pleased to see this article in Comment is Free today. It points out the connection between the inexorable rise of the Humanist wedding ceremony here in Scotland and the question on religion in the forthcoming Census – or at least it would do if the editors in their wisdom hadn’t chopped my … Continue Reading
Sometimes weddings run like clockwork. Sometimes they don’t. But one of the distinguishing features of a wedding is that nobody ever seems to mind, even if someone’s forgotten the wedding rings, or left the paperwork at the hotel, both of which have happened to me in the past. It’s a happy day, and when something … Continue Reading
We’ve been waiting a long time to see this story in Scotland on Sunday (and thanks are due to Marc Horne the journalist for breaking the story). Four years, in fact, ever since Gordon Ross, who was then the National Ceremonies Convenor, got his calculator out and ‘did the math’ as the Americans say.That was back … Continue Reading
It was back in October that I celebrated Deborah and Brian’s wedding so I was really pleased this morning when I got an email from Brian telling me their great news – they’re expecting their first child! He went on to say, “So, before the next 20 years of my life disappear in a haze of nappies, … Continue Reading
There’s something inherently dramatic about the idea of marrying in a winter wonderland, but this is the first year for a long time that the weather in Scotland has made that possible over the Festive Season. Sadly for more than one couple, that led to last-minute postponements, but by the time Stephen and Heather’s big … Continue Reading