Category: Ceremonies

Wedding- Ian & Liz

Posted on by Claire
Claire | Claire the Humanist

I’m just gonna say it…..I love a winter wedding. Ten years ago, I was married in November and one of the nicest things was being able to shrug when people said, ‘But the weather! What if it rains?’ So what? It’s Scotland! It could rain anytime! One less thing to worry about, to be honest (although it was a nice surprise when I awoke to the first frost, clear blue skies and a good excuse for a furry coat).

Ian and Liz booked their wedding for that wee lull between Christmas and New Year, and invited their family and best pals to join them for the weekend, and a party, at the stunning Lodge on the Loch Lomond.

Claire | Claire the Humanist

When I first met Liz and Ian, they booked me with the phrase, ‘….and you seem like the right kind of nutter to marry us!’ Takes one to know one, that’s all I’ll say…

Ian & Liz’s ceremony was a belter! They have a great life together, full of laughs and adventures and their hopes for their future together were simple…..more of the same.

Claire | Claire the Humanist

Liz was accompanied by her daughter, Lauren who later read a poem with her sister Pamela and Ian’s son, Neil. When the poem finished, Ian and Liz ‘tied the knot’ with Marshall and McKenzie tartan ribbons, and I don’t know who was more delighted by the knot, me or Liz, who loudly exclaimed, ‘Oh well done, Claire!’ much to everyone’s amusement.

Claire | Claire the Humanist

Ian’s grandsons, Aly and Harry were there to spontaneously lend a hand with the rings and, promises made, vows said and declarations announced, Ian and Liz had a great big kiss to enthusiastic cheering from their guests. And then they had another one when I said, ‘You may now kiss!’ Just couldn’t wait, apparently!

After signing the schedule, Liz and Ian enjoyed a succession of drinks from their quaich, an apt ceremony to celebrate their union and one particularly appreciated by Ian, I think.

And the weather was beautiful.

I did that šŸ˜‰

Funerals

Posted on by Claire

A lot of us celebrants have blogs but we rarely write about funerals. I think the assumption is that most people who are casually browsing for happy wedding inspiration have no wish to suddenly be confronted with a ‘Hellooooo! Everyone dies!’ post!

But, in real life, it’s Humanist funerals that seem to resonate with people the most. ‘They’re just so personal’ is the most common compliment but my favourite is the ‘I really enjoyed it…well, as much as you can enjoy a funeral…..I mean, it was really good fun……God….well, not God…..oh crap. I’ve totally myself in a hole I can’t get out of….a lot like Auntie Morag….HELP….ME.’

I conducted a funeral this morning for a lady with a lot of best friends and a very talented sister and, between them all, they created a ceremony that could only have been for Joan. The hall was dressed with candlabra and rose petals, all Joan’s friends wore leopard print and red ribbons and, rather than bring in the flower-covered wicker coffin, each ‘pallbearer’ carried in a photograph of Joan looking gorgeous with the broadest, most generous smile in each one, and they placed them on a display at the front. It was beautiful.

I led the tributes from her friends, another friend spoke of their good times together and between the stories, the projected images and the music, it was gloriously ‘all about Joan’.

Isn’t that how funerals should be? All about the person who died, their good points and their bad taste? Admittedly, sometimes, it’s not so straightforward- there’s been a few family visits where there’s been a reluctance to explain a substantial gap, maybe 3-5 years, in their dear brother’s life. My advice? Don’t worry about it, EVERYONE KNOWS ALREADY!!

We left the Crematorium today to the strains of the theme from Star Trek: The Next Generation. I was slightly disappointed that I didn’t ‘energise’ but you can’t have everything. A nice man told me it was his first time at one of these funerals and he’d thoroughly enjoyed himself…well, not enjoyed himself…oh crap.