Jen and Craig ~ 20 May 2016 ~ Huntingtower Hotel, Perth

Craig's Vows

Jen, I love you

From the tips of my toes

to the ever decreasing hairs on my head

I love how you accept me for who I am

How you are kind and gentle

How you suport and encourage me

How you challenge and inspire us

You are the Leia to my Han

The Belle to my Beast

The angel to my cake

You are the first person I think of when I wak

The last person I think of when I go to slepp

I vow to love you when it's easy and love you more when it's not

I vow to stand by your side for our amazing journey through life

I vow to be the man you deserve

Jen's Vows

Craig, you drive me mental.

Your untidiness makes me want to pull my hair out,

Your podcasts make me want to scream,

And your casual desregard for punctuality makes me want to smack my head off a wall.

But despite all of this, I happen to love you very much.

I love the way you always know how to make me laugh.

Your constant optimism is infectious and

Your love of life is unquestioning. 

You always see the good in people,

And you always see the best in me.

Not a day goes by when I don't thank my lucky stars that we met.

The last three years have been the happiest of my life,

And I love you more and more as each day passes.

You make my life complete.

I promise to support and encourage you in all that you do,

And to love you for the rest of my days...

...To infinity and beyond.

Together:

Do you promise to share your lives with each other;

To love and protect each other;

And to always be supportive and understanding?

"We do."

Do you promise to be trusting and honest;

To comfort and encourage each other

In times of sickness and in health,

Whatever the future may hold

From this day forward?

"We Do"

...and to all our guests, today, do you, their friends and family who have loved and supported them in the past, offer your blessing for Jen and Craig's marriage, promising to support and encourage them in their lifelong commitment to each other?  If you agree, please say, "We do."

"We do."

Atholl Palace ~ 1 August 2015

The Hermitage, Dunkeld

Marrying friends is always going to be special for any celebrant, and I was truly delighted when Crispin & Paula asked me to conduct their extra select wedding at the Hermitage in Dunkeld. With only 3 couples and their kids as guests, it was among the most personal weddings I've ever been part of....

Each of the guests had a job to do in the ceremony, whether that be doing a reading, or taking over a part of the ceremony that is more usually done by me...but when the story of a couple, their lives together and the years that have gone by is written & read by someone who was there the night they met, it can only be more personal & meaningful than anything I could have written.

They did everything their own way, and added twists and ideas I've never thought of...they had chosen to have a secret "Why I love you" bit in the ceremony and Paula went above and beyond the call of duty (!) by composing & declaring hers with the aid of a heap of carefully ordered Love Heart sweets, kept safe in a mini Tupperware box, that said it all for her.


The tie they used for their hand fasting was amazing too...it was woven ribbon, but they had added all sorts of bits and pieces from around their home to it as well: toys representing their family life, and bits and bobs from both their working lives as well as contributions from the kids....and speaking of the kids, when I asked them to pose for the shot, they really outdid themselves!
 

 All the Young Dudes!

Forter Castle - 1 June, 2016

Andrea & Tom ~ Atholl Palace ~ November 2015

As you might know, Humanists don't have a book of rules that says what a marriage should be, understanding that each marriage is as individual as the couple who are making it their own.  For Andrea and Tom, marriage means:

Accepting one another, in his or her entirety, as a lover, companion and friend.  It means caring and working for each other so that each feels loved, safe and secure.

It means to give your support, patience, and try your best to be understanding (not always easy!).

Being there for each other when the other needs it the most.  Helping with Architect exams!

It means putting a cold face cloth on Tom's head when he has a migraine...or is hungover.

Best of all, this marriage will signify a union of two amazing families, with plenty "character" (Jack's 'irn bur' kilt) and a lot of love to give.

 In committing themselves to each other in marriage, Andrea and Tom will share laughter and tears, joy and sadness...they will not belong to each other, but will belong with each other.

 They each understand that the commitment they are making today will require hard work and sacrifice on both sides, that their voyage through life together will sometimes be calm and may sometimes be story, but they know now that their love for each other will see them through.

Atholl Palace, September 2015

Elizabeth & Brent ~ Lands o' Loyal Hotel, Alyth ~ August 2015

Lizzy and Brent were very, VERY firm about how they did NOT want their wedding to be...and, despite the old world setting, did an amazing job of making the whole occasion their own and of being themselves throughout...hence Brent's total disregard for the idea that the groom should NOT stand there with his hands in his pockets!

There were a lot of laughs in the ceremony, too, and Lizzy and Brent were even brave enough to let their readers not only choose, but write, their own contributions...and let them keep them secret until the ceremony, too!