Alternative Wedding - Humanist Ceremony

We keep hearing stories of late on how civil ceremonies are on the rise and how people are moving away from the traditional church wedding. That may be the case, but the civil marriage registrars only work Monday – Friday, and some of them can be rather staid, particularly if held in the registry office itself.
I had an email yesterday from a gentleman who was looking for advice. He is legally married in another country, but now himself and his wife want a small ceremony in Ireland, but cannot go down the traditional church or civil wedding route. I directed him towards a Humanist Wedding Ceremony as the perfect alternative to really mark the “occassion” without the religious or legal aspect.

Humanist weddings are for couples that don’t want to (or can’t) have a full on religious ceremony, but want something more than the registry office wedding. It is important to note that Humanist ceremonies aren’t legally binding though, so you will have to get officially civilly married in the Registry Office first.
A humanist wedding ceremony tends to be very personal and meaningful and the officiant will work with the couple to decide on the style that will suit them. Guests to a humanist wedding may have reservations at first (a religious relative or an overbearing parent!) however, it’s often the case that the most skeptical guest will be the most impressed at the end of the ceremony.
The format is actually very similar to a traditional church wedding, the bride will walk down the aisle, there are readings, music, vows and an exchange of rings. The only difference, is that there is no mention of God.
The officiant will talk about the couple coming together to celebrate their love for each other and mark their commitment to each other in front of their family and friends. The readings can be poetry, prose, or song lyrics! The humanist celebrants will make suggestions and common readings would be Shakespearean Sonnets, Yeats poems etc. No surprise, the readings are usually around the themes of Love, Marriage, Commitment and Friendship.

Couples that opt for a humanist wedding, will often write their own vows which makes the whole experience even more personal for them and the guests. For those of you who are maybe divorced and getting married for the second time round, or non religious people who are still looking for “special occasion” then this is ideal.
You can find Wedding Celebrants here but a good place to start is the Humanist Society of Ireland. They have 6 celebrants around the country, and they will even travel overseas if you are getting married abroad but want an Irish connection with the person who marries you. Personally, I think this sounds like a really great way to get married, if you want your wedding to be highly personal and reflect you as a couple.