Wedding ceremonies bursting with love
Let me tell you something: I adore marrying people. All that love and happiness – just gets me every time.
It is such a privilege, and such a happy thing to do. When I arrived home after one wedding this year, enthusing about another lovely day, my husband said that marrying people was like a superpower for me.
And, he was right. It really is. It’s my HAPPYPOWER.
I’ve been marrying couples as an Agnostic Scotland celebrant for just over two years. This lovely work has taken me all over Scotland as well as across my home region of Dumfries & Galloway in the south of the country.
Beaches, gardens, castles, a family farm, so many beautiful venues, a lovely vantage point above Edinburgh, and a treasured spot beside a river along the famous Skyfall road at Glencoe. Those beaches were so lovely, that’s going to be a blog post all on its own.
That’s the wonderful thing about getting married in Scotland. You really can get married just about anywhere. And we sign those legal papers at your chosen spot too – I’ll bring the black fountain pen (or three). I love giving a grid reference as a wedding location for that official paperwork.
At Agnostic Scotland, we welcome people of all faiths and none: we are agnostic, not atheist. For your ceremony this means you can have a completely non-religious ceremony if you wish, or add an element of faith or spirituality. Our ceremonies celebrate you as a couple; they tell your story; and are completely personal to you. We work with you to create the ceremony you want.
A writing life…
Writing stories is something I’ve done all my life. From the childhood scribbles at the kitchen table to creating my own newspaper (full of weather reports and animal tales – I was 11), writing was something I always enjoyed growing up. No surprise really that I became a journalist for a career.
For over 30 years I dipped into the lives of others through my work on newspapers and magazines. A licence to ask questions for a living, and to see all sides of life.
Training as a celebrant felt like a way to put all those skills I’d learnt over the years to another good use, and tell stories in a different way.
After some excellent one-to-one training with Veronika and Paul Robinson at Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training over the border in my neigbouring Cumbria, I was later delighted to be accepted onto Agnostic Scotland’s first training programme through 2022.
I’m trained in all aspects of celebrancy through Agnostic Scotland, although I currently focus my practice on weddings.
To me, celebrancy – like journalism in lots of ways – is about connecting with people, listening and learning, asking questions, being organised and supportive, starting with a blank page and writing; being creative. And ultimately, telling a story through a ceremony.
I was always such a product person. All those articles as a journalist were products, although with little time to enjoy the process. Being a marriage celebrant has taught me to really enjoy process. From the first meeting with couples and those which follow, we get to know each other along the way; it’s so much more than just the ceremony on the day.
At your service…
I offer a very personalised service and there is no template to my ceremonies – we meet as much as you like (in person or on video call); I ask you to fill in questionnaires to get to know you a bit better; I like listening to your ideas and work out ways to incorporate them; I can offer advice on what to include, such as readings and vows; and I guide you through the legal admin process, if you’d like a legally-recognised marriage. I’m always on the end of an email or WhatsApp message too.
I commit to only conducting one ceremony per day, so that I can give you my full attention. I’m there in plenty of time on the day to see that you’re ok, and calm any last minute anxieties.
One of the things I always say to couples is that your ceremony should be meaningful to you, and a really special part of your day. Your life changes during that ceremony, so it should be memorable and just how you want it to be.
The ceremony can be as personal as you like, interspersed with readings, music, performance or song, if you wish. You can add personal vows, exchange rings, and we can include ritual elements such as a handfasting, quaich toast, oathing stone, or something bespoke – if you would like that. But it’s absolutely fine if you don’t want to add rituals or share personal vows, too.
If you have children and would like to include them, then of course we will. They can hold your hands if that makes everyone feel good. And pets, especially dogs, are absolutely most welcome. Canine companions make excellent ring bearers, and let’s be honest, are just about everyone’s favourite guest.
I want you to enjoy your ceremony and feel relaxed – you have each other, and everyone in that room is with you, willing you on. I’ll help you work on those nerves if you are worried about that.
It is SUCH an honour to be there with couples as they step over this threshold in their lives, and into the next phase of their partnership together.
Then I come home and plant a tree for every couple; the icing on the cake of a great day for me.
At Agnostic Scotland, we support the charity Trees for Life, based in the Highlands. We donate native saplings to the charity for its work rewilding the Caledonian Forest, close to Loch Ness, in honour of all the couples and families we work with.
For my couples, I like to think of the tree’s roots growing as their love grows. For those couples who live further away or over the seas, they forever have roots in Scotland.
So there you have it; why marrying people feels like a superpower; my happypower. It brings so much joy.
All you need is love,
Anne x