As this is a picture shy post I have decided to be completely self indulgent and include my favourite pictures of Nik and I together (these will be used to make photo bunting on the day to hang over the huge fireplace in the Stirling room.)
We decided to have a humanist ceremony after being guests at two humanist weddings in the last five years. After the first one I had already decided I would like to have a similar ceremony. It was so personal to the couple and made me laugh as well as cry and to put it bluntly, was the most interesting wedding I had ever been to! I am not a fan of long winded church weddings with lots of extra bits included because it seems to be the way they are done and not because the couple really wanted them.
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| Diving in Egypt 2007 (Our first holiday together) |
We decided to have a humanist ceremony after being guests at two humanist weddings in the last five years. After the first one I had already decided I would like to have a similar ceremony. It was so personal to the couple and made me laugh as well as cry and to put it bluntly, was the most interesting wedding I had ever been to! I am not a fan of long winded church weddings with lots of extra bits included because it seems to be the way they are done and not because the couple really wanted them.
Humanism suits us very well as neither of us are particularly religious and certainly not actively so, Nik is technically Hindu and I am technically Christian, so a church wedding just isn't right for us. This led us to the humanist idea and since learning more about it, we completely believe in the philosophy of Humanism - basically to treat other people how you would wish to be treated. The biggest bonus is the creativity we have over our ceremony and the fact that it is legally recognised in Scotland.
Copied from our celebrant's blog...
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| Halloween 2007 |
Copied from our celebrant's blog...
"What is Humanism?
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 punishment after you are dead'.
Another way of putting it is to say that humanists believe we can live good and worthwhile lives guided by reason and compassion, rather than religion or superstition, and that there are more things that unite humanity than divide it. Or, as we say in Scotland, 'We're a' Jock Tamson's Bairns' - we're all the same under the skin.
Some humanists are atheists; others are agnostic. Not everyone who chooses to have a humanist ceremony will be either. I've married couples where one partner was Catholic, or Muslim or Protestant. They chose a humanist ceremony because they felt they could relate to the values of humanism, which are universal.
Karen Armstrong writes about 'The Golden Rule' that all the world's great religions hold in common, which is 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. Compassion is the key. Which sounds suspiciously like humanism to me..."
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 punishment after you are dead'.
Another way of putting it is to say that humanists believe we can live good and worthwhile lives guided by reason and compassion, rather than religion or superstition, and that there are more things that unite humanity than divide it. Or, as we say in Scotland, 'We're a' Jock Tamson's Bairns' - we're all the same under the skin.
Some humanists are atheists; others are agnostic. Not everyone who chooses to have a humanist ceremony will be either. I've married couples where one partner was Catholic, or Muslim or Protestant. They chose a humanist ceremony because they felt they could relate to the values of humanism, which are universal.
Karen Armstrong writes about 'The Golden Rule' that all the world's great religions hold in common, which is 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. Compassion is the key. Which sounds suspiciously like humanism to me..."
As I mentioned before, the first humanist wedding we attended was very inspiring and after getting engaged, I asked Nik what he thought of us asking the same celebrant to marry us and he agreed. I managed to find him by searching the register and contacted him to see if he was available on our date. Luckily he was free and we were able to set up a meeting to have a chat and decide if we want to go ahead and book him for our wedding. He is so easy to talk to and we really like his style and ideas about making our day more personal to us. He has given us homework to help him learn more about us which will also help us write our vows. We have yet to do our homework as Nik is currently sitting his final exams at Uni, so we will get right onto it as soon as he is free again! I would like to assure our celebrant, should he read this, that it is far from forgotten about, I actually think often about what I plan to write and have made a start on some notes already.
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| Glammed up for my 5 year reunion, 2010 |
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