Yes and no! No, because we are agnostic, and they are humanist (more on this in a moment). Yes, because the role of celebrant is similar, and we are two of the belief systems recognised and authorised to conduct legal marriage and civil partnership ceremonies. Most of us also offer funerals and other types of ceremonies.

Humanism is a distinct set of non-religious beliefs and is rooted in atheism. 

Agnosticism takes many forms! At Agnostic Scotland, we believe that we do not (and cannot) know all of the answers to the universe and the world around us. It is an active, joyful state of curiosity, openness and wonder. We embrace doubt wholeheartedly and with awe. We honour the beliefs and faiths of others, and have no interest in pursuing secular or atheistic dominance. 

One of the most beautiful aspects of our stance is that we can - with open hearts and minds - hold the space for the beliefs and values of the person/people for whom the ceremony is taking place, whilst honouring and welcoming the individuality of everyone who is present. We don’t need to state any dogma of our own, or come laden with beliefs that might not match up with yours. We are able simply to state that everyone is genuinely welcome at your ceremony.

In short, my own beliefs don’t matter - it’s your ceremony.

YES! When we founded Agnostic Scotland, it was with the express purpose of making all types of ceremonies available to couples and families who want a personal and bespoke ceremony, based around their own beliefs and values. Agnostic Scotland is recognised as a belief body and I am authorised through National Records of Scotland (NRS) to apply for each individual marriage ceremony I conduct. 

As with any belief body (churches and humanists included), you will need to register your intent to marry to the registry office nearest the location of your ceremony. This incurs a small fee (from the registry office, not from me). Ideally, you would start this process 10-12 weeks before your marriage ceremony (and it must be done at least 29 days ahead). The form is called an M10 form and you can find out more here: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/registration/registering-a-marriage-or-civil-partnership/#

YES! When we founded Agnostic Scotland, it was with the express purpose of making all types of ceremonies available to couples and families who want a personal and bespoke ceremony, based around their own beliefs and values. Agnostic Scotland is recognised as a belief body and I am authorised through National Records of Scotland (NRS) to apply for each individual civil partnership ceremony I conduct. 

As with any belief body (churches and humanists included), you will need to register your intent to marry to the registry office nearest the location of your ceremony. This incurs a small fee (from the registry office, not from me). Ideally, you would start this process 10-12 weeks before your civil partnership ceremony (and it must be done at least 29 days ahead). The form is called an CP10 form and you can find out more here: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/registration/registering-a-marriage-or-civil-partnership/#

Definitely. I am always so glad to step out of the constraints of tradition and ensure your ceremony reflects the person you are remembering, and meets the needs of the family and friends who are attending. I can’t offer suggestions “cold”, but after we have had an initial conversation, I can help you to shape a ceremony that feels right for you, your circumstances, and the person you are remembering. I will take on board any ideas you have, and offer my guidance and skill in weaving that into a meaningful ceremony.

Absolutely. It isn’t your job to arrive at our conversations all clued up - it is my job to get you clued up so that you can make informed choices! I’ll learn a bit about you before I start to make suggestions, but please don’t worry about feeling like you aren’t sure what you want yet. We can work that out together.

It is very much allowed, and I’d be delighted to learn about what you want to uphold. Any aspects of the ceremony that I lead will be done with total authenticity. This means (for example) that whilst I don’t lead people in prayer (because I don’t have a faith), I create a warm welcome and space for the prayer to be offered by someone else attending. Because I am entirely agnostic and therefore open to the beliefs of others, my invitation to the person offering a prayer, blessing, or faith-based ritual is done with true warmth, respect and appreciation. There are other elements of faith-based ritual or gesture which it would feel perfectly authentic for me to lead. We would agree on that together, or take guidance where relevant.

If you are from another culture or have heritage that you want to reflect, then absolutely. Or if you have lived and been immersed in another culture, then I understand the importance of honouring places of significance and upholding traditions that have come to hold resonance for you, if done respectfully. 

If you have seen or read about a ritual or gesture and want to include it, I would suggest that we reflect on the inclusion of this more deeply. It is important that we avoid cultural appropriation or casual/wrongful misuse of sacred aspects of another faith or culture. 

If you would like to include a Celtic ritual such as quaich, handfasting, or oathing stone, we can discuss its inclusion together. I mostly feel comfortable with this as a Scot, but it is always important to honour the tradition’s origins.

Sometimes! But I have some thoughts…

I am not there to entertain people, I am there to take care of you, your ceremony, and your guests - and that might sometimes be through humour, because humour can be a beautiful act of care and personalisation. 

So, one of the ways I might do this is to notice that there is a lot of nervous energy, and make a spontaneous joke if it feels right in the moment (because laughter is great for settling our nerves). If some minor thing goes “wrong” during your ceremony, I will respond easily and with humour (because ceremony is a human experience, not theatre, and things do not need to be perfect to be PERFECT). And if you have shared some funny stories with me, I will delight in relaying them (I’ve shared many stories like this where the couple, their guests, and I were all howling with laughter). 

I love playing with humour and pitching it just right for you, but I have a real dislike of comedian-style celebrancy, no matter how entertaining. I do recognise that this is the type of wedding that some people want, but I am not interested in being the star of your ceremony. The humour in your ceremony should come from what is real and human in your story - not from some pithy one-liners. (And I promise this is the only negative thing I have to say about anyone else’s ceremonies!)

 If your ceremony is more than 2 hours drive from my home, we will agree to any travel and accommodation costs in advance. I don’t ask for anything fancy for my accommodation - I don’t think that you should have to pay for me to stay somewhere expensive! In fact, I have a soft spot for youth hostels, so if there is a decent one near your wedding location, I’ll be happy with that. For mileage, we use the HMRC recommended rates, at time of writing that is 55p per mile.description

Not from me. I don’t charge for printing and any local travel* is included in my fee (see the question about travel and accommodation for rates for further afield ceremonies). For a legal ceremony (marriage or civil partnership), the registry office will charge you for processing your application. 

*within 50 miles of Ratho, near Edinburgh

Firstly, I have you covered. Secondly, I’d be truly gutted, do we really have to think about this?! (Answer: yes, we do, and it’s OK because I already have). 

At Agnostic Scotland, we have an on-call system. There would be a named celebrant who has personally signed up to be back-up for your ceremony. In the horrible event of me being unable to function on the day of your ceremony, my colleague would step in. I pay for their time, so there is no additional cost to you.

Good for you and I’m glad you asked! We can interrogate traditions together and work out which ones feel patriarchal in their form or intention. We will reframe so that everything within your ceremony feels aligned with your values. And I can assure you, I’m right there with you.

I’m glad you care about this; I do too. We will consider your needs and the needs of every one of your guests to ensure that we are as inclusive and accessible as possible. It is worth us recognising that access requirements differ and can even be contradictory so all of this will be done using a person-centred approach. (Which means I can’t really offer you any specifics before we have a conversation). 

Please feel confident that I am acutely aware of my language and behaviour as the person holding space for your ceremony, and there will be no hetero-normative/ cis-normative or ableist language or assumptions, for instance. I have dedicated space in a questionnaire that I’ll send to ask about what important considerations there might be for you and your guests.

You can have whatever you want! You decide the commitment and freedoms that you want to celebrate, and I’ll take your lead. The terms of your relationship are private to you; you don’t need to share anything you don’t want to. If you want your community to bear witness to the uniqueness of what you have built, I’ll help you shout about it or hold quiet space for you. There is no template to a good relationship (just as there is no template for my ceremonies!)

It is imperative to me that you feel good about your wedding! I am not a fan of tradition for tradition’s sake - there are far too many problematic origin stories. We can deconstruct the concept of a marriage ceremony and work out what feels comfortable, joyful, safe, and empowering for you. 

The only part that we are restricted on is the (roughly 2-minute long) section where you make legal declarations to accept one another in marriage, and I then pronounce you married. Something that might offer reassurance about this part of the ceremony is that you do NOT need to be dead-named in your ceremony (please just ask - or see my blog about this topic).

Yes! They can be legal if you have two witnesses (I cannot be a witness, but your photographer can be one) or non-legal.

I love being in nature, and am comfortable hiking, don’t mind being out in typical Scottish weather, and love the feeling of combining these things with ceremony!

I would consider it. I don’t want to create a massive carbon footprint through this work, so I deliberately don’t “pursue” this kind of ceremony. But I would be open to enquiries if I could travel by train or perhaps combine my trip with another purpose, including travelling in a new destination.