Putting your love at the heart of things

Congratulations on your forthcoming marriage!

Your wedding day is fast approaching. There’s so much to organise that it’s sometimes easy to forget what this special moment is really about.  Getting married is a sacred commitment, an opportunity to declare your love to the world and is one of life’s most important milestones. You deserve to begin your married life together with a beautiful, tailor-made and personal service of celebration

Unfortunately, things can be a little more complicated….

You are not a regular church goer so getting married in a traditional setting, with a ceremony that assumes beliefs you do not hold, does not feel authentic.  Nevertheless you would like a sense of the sacred or the spiritual to be part of your day.

Your love knows no religious or cultural boundaries. You and your partner come from a mixed religious and cultural heritage.  Some of the guests will be expecting you to honour your background.  You want to enjoy a day that is truly your own without offending anyone.

You don’t see yourself as religious but you do have a sense of the spiritual.  Your beliefs can’t be encompassed entirely by any one faith.  The idea of a ceremony that is spiritual in a more universal way appeals to you but you have no idea where you would find a minister to lead it.

One or both of you is agnostic or atheist so you feel uncomfortable with traditional religious language. Nevertheless you recognise that marriage is a sacred act that calls you to express your deepest truth.  You’d like with this but don’t know where to begin.

Just the bare legal requirement is not enough. Church wedding ceremonies seem too rigid, focussing on only one religious approach.  Having just the required civil ceremony would feel soul-less and deeply uninspiring.  Neither option is enough to express what you feel about each other and how you would like to begin the rest of your lives together.

You want to write your own vows but don’t know where to start. It seems hard to find just the right words to express what you feel about each other and what will be most important in your life together.

Been there, done that! You’ve been married before with the traditional white wedding with all the trimmings.  Your values and lifestyle have changed a lot since then and this relationship feels very different.  This time, you want a ceremony that allows you to do and say just what is meaningful for you.

Beyond the ‘rules’. In some religious settings, your marriage would not be approved of perhaps because interfaith unions are forbidden, you have been divorced or your partner is of the same sex.  You don’t want anyone else to dictate how you live your life and want to know your union will be fully blessed by everyone present.

OK but something’s missing.
You’ve been to many weddings – both religious and civil.  They seemed to go well enough, everyone had a good time but you felt there was something missing. You know you want something meaningful and different but aren’t sure where to start.

You are not alone!
It does not have to be this way for you and your partner.
You can celebrate your sacred union with all the love, grace and magic it deserves.

You know there’s more to a wedding than matching the sugared almonds with the serviettes.

To create a ceremony that is completely right for you, you need skilled support in the following areas:

• Help to get to know yourself and your partner more deeply
• Practical guidance on how to create a public ceremony that works
• Suggestions for how to work constructively with your respective families
• Ideas for how friends and family can feel involved
• Inspiring resources to spark your own creativity
• A skilled celebrant you can trust to support you on the day so that you can relax and be fully there for each other

Couples who want their wedding to be meaningful, spiritual and celebratory are discovering the power of an Interfaith ceremony.  We offer an inclusive, all-embracing approach that bridges all faiths and none, religion and spirituality, the secular and the sacred.  Everyone who attends can be inspired and enriched, whatever their faith or beliefs.

How Does It Work?

As an ordained Interfaith Minister, I will accompany you on the journey of planning and celebrating your wedding ceremony.

It’s vital you feel comfortable working with me so the first step is for us to meet and learn a bit about each other. We will also talk through what you can expect at each stage of our working together.

You will be invited to reflect on what marriage means to you and why you love your partner so much. Having some honest conversations about key areas such as your hopes for the future, is a powerful way to strengthen and deepen the understanding between you. 

I will support you to create a structured for the ceremony that works for you. This may include your favourite readings, songs, chants, sacred rituals, music and familiar rituals from your religious or cultural tradition.  Alternatively, you can choose from my extensive collection of readings, poems, prayers, rituals, blessings and sayings from many different sources.

I will also offer guidance and inspiration to create the sacred heart of the ceremony – the moment when you take your vows in your own words and in your own way.  Y

I will present you with a draft of the ceremony to give you a proper feel for how it flows together. You can change anything you are not entirely comfortable with to make sure all the words and actions express just what you want to say.

Since Interfaith is not a religion I, as the celebrant, have no vested interest in guiding your ceremony to a certain ‘religious’ outcome. My job is to listen without judgement, recognise what is needed and offer possible solutions in a sensitive and creative way.

The choice is yours and we welcome your input and ideas every step of the way.

The Legal Aspect

As the law currently stands in England and Wales, I am unable to perform the legal marriage ceremony. Some couples have the basic civil ceremony the day before or earlier the same day but do not exchange rings or share their vows. Any spiritual elements must be kept separate from the civil ceremony. When we meet, we can discuss what would work best for you.

A tailored wedding package includes

• A creative and effective process to help you articulate your feelings for each other and what is most important to you about your ceremony
• Words, music and ritual that completely reflect you as a couple
• The opportunity to write your own vows and create the foundation for the rest of your married life
• Ways to honour your religious and cultural heritage in a way that is both respectful and moving
• A treasure-trove of wedding ceremony ideas from around the world which you can adapt to suit you.
• A structure that is appropriate, creative and unique
• The services of a highly trained sacred celebrant

Create a Strong Foundation for your Life Together

Your wedding is a special time and I am committed to helping you create a ceremony which reflects your personal, spiritual and religious beliefs. Creating your own ceremony, including your personal vows, is the key to a truly unique wedding with meaning, depth and heart.

Contact me with any questions you may have or to arrange a FREE, no obligation, initial meeting.