A humanist wedding is a non-religious ceremony centred on the two of you — your relationship, your personalities, your values and the promises you want to make to each other.

There’s no prescribed script you have to follow. We can use traditions that mean something to you, leave out those that don’t, and create something that feels genuinely personal.

Is a humanist wedding legally binding?

At the moment, humanist wedding ceremonies are not legally recognised as marriages in England and Wales.

That means you’ll also need to complete the legal marriage requirements through a registrar.

Some couples do the legal part quietly before their humanist wedding and treat the personalised ceremony as their real wedding day; others arrange it afterwards. How you choose to do it is entirely up to you.

No.

You don’t need to belong to Humanists UK, describe yourselves as humanists or pass any kind of philosophical entrance exam!

If you want a meaningful, non-religious ceremony focused on the two of you and the people you love, we can talk.

A humanist ceremony itself is non-religious, so I won’t lead prayers, read religious scripture or invoke religious belief as part of my role as your humanist celebrant.

That doesn’t mean your families, cultures and traditions suddenly stop mattering.

If there’s something important to you or somebody you love, tell me about it. We can talk about how it might be acknowledged or incorporated while keeping the ceremony true to its humanist character.

Almost anywhere that is safe, practical and where you have permission to hold it.

A wedding venue, garden, woodland, field, village hall, family home — or somewhere rather less conventional.

If you’ve got somewhere unusual in mind, tell me about it and we’ll work out what’s possible.

My Essential Bespoke Wedding is designed around a ceremony of approximately 20–30 minutes.

That’s long enough to create something meaningful without your guests beginning to wonder when the buffet opens.

If what you want naturally needs more time, that’s absolutely possible. We’ll discuss it while planning your ceremony.

Your love story, personal vows, rings, readings, music, poetry, handfasting, ring warming, candle lighting, family involvement, moments of remembrance and all sorts of other symbolic ideas can form part of a humanist ceremony.

And you don’t have to include any of them simply because weddings traditionally do.

The question is always: does it mean something to you?Item description

Not unless you want to.

You can write your own completely, adapt something together, say the same promises to each other or ask me to help you find the words.

And if the thought of writing vows fills you with absolute terror, that’s fine too. We’ll work it out together.

Absolutely.

They might give a reading, take part in a symbolic element, contribute to your story, present the rings or have a completely different role that we create for them.

Nobody needs to be involved purely for the sake of giving them a job, though. Their involvement should add something meaningful to the ceremony.

Then I need to know.

A personal ceremony should reflect both of you — including the fact that one of you might happily entertain the entire room while the other would rather disappear behind a strategically positioned floral arrangement.

We can shape the ceremony, vows and level of participation around what makes each of you comfortable.

Yes.

That can be a spoken tribute, a photograph, a candle, an empty seat, a piece of music, a small symbolic gesture or simply a carefully chosen sentence.

It doesn’t have to turn a joyful ceremony into a memorial. We can find a way to recognise somebody important while keeping the tone right for your wedding.

Do we need a rehearsal?

You don’t necessarily need one — but one rehearsal is included in my Essential Bespoke Wedding.

It gives us an opportunity to walk through the important movements and moments, work out where everyone needs to be and iron out any practical questions before the wedding day.

It isn’t a performance of the whole ceremony. I’d still like there to be something left for the actual wedding!

Yes.

Where necessary, I’ll coordinate with the professionals involved in your ceremony so that everyone understands what’s happening and when.

That might include your venue team, photographer, videographer, musicians, DJ or anyone else who needs to know about an important moment in the ceremony.

My Essential Bespoke Wedding is £550.

That includes the planning and conversations we need to get to know you, your bespoke ceremony writing, ceremony preparation, a rehearsal, coordination with relevant professionals, travel within 20 miles, delivery of your wedding ceremony and some lovely things for you to keep afterwards.

You can see the full outline on the Your Ceremony page.

Only if you choose something beyond what’s included in your Essential Bespoke Wedding.

That might include travel beyond the included area, additional ceremony elements, specially sourced materials, premium stationery or something particularly elaborate.

If an idea creates an additional cost, I’ll tell you before you commit to it.

No surprise bill afterwards.

A 20% deposit secures your wedding date.

The remaining balance is then split into two further instalments as we work towards your ceremony.

Any additional materials or extras that you’ve chosen and agreed with me can be added to the final instalment.

Where do you need me?

Travel within a 20-mile radius is included in the Essential Bespoke Wedding.

Further afield? Absolutely.

Tell me where you’re getting married and I’ll let you know about any additional travel and/or accommodation costs before you book.

As soon as you know you’d like me to be part of your wedding.

There isn’t a compulsory minimum booking period, but popular dates can obviously only be given to one couple.

Your date is secured once your booking is agreed and your deposit has been paid.

Tell me as soon as possible.

If I’m available on your new date, we’ll normally look at transferring your booking.

If I’m already committed elsewhere, we’ll talk through the options available in accordance with the booking Terms & Conditions.

It would have to be something significant to keep me away, but occasionally life throws things at all of us that we can’t control.

If something genuinely prevented me from conducting your ceremony, I would tell you as soon as possible and make reasonable efforts to help find a suitable replacement.

If the service you’ve paid me for ultimately can’t be provided, the relevant provisions in my Terms & Conditions apply.

That’s completely normal.

You don’t need to arrive at our first meeting carrying a colour-coded folder entitled CEREMONY MASTERPLAN.

Part of my job is to ask the right questions, show you what’s possible and help you discover what feels right for the two of you.

Sometimes knowing what you definitely don’t want is a perfectly good place to start.

Of course.

Your ceremony is about your relationship, your story and the promises you want to make to one another.

Ridgway Ceremonies welcomes couples regardless of gender, sexuality, background, family structure or whether your relationship looks anything like somebody else’s idea of “traditional”.

Possibly! Most Likely!

Pitch it to me.

Provided it’s legal, safe and something I can appropriately include within the ceremony I’m conducting, my instinct is to ask:

“How could we make that work?”

rather than say:

“That’s not how weddings are done.”

Absolutely.

A vow renewal has much of the freedom of a humanist wedding ceremony, but instead of celebrating the transition from engaged to married, we're celebrating the marriage you've already built.

We'll look at your story, the life you've shared and what your relationship means to you now, before creating new or renewed promises for the future.

My Essential Bespoke Vow Renewal is £550, reflecting the same level of planning, writing and personalisation that goes into my wedding ceremonies.

Good.

It probably means we’ve found something worth talking about.

Let’s chat.