Rachael Meyer Humanist Wedding Celebrant

A registrar will register your marriage legally. A celebrant will write you a completely bespoke, highly personalised wedding ceremony script and deliver with style and passion. A celebrant-led wedding ceremony is all about you. They can be conducted anywhere and with a humanist celebrant led wedding ceremony, there are no rules! We are HOPING that wedding ceremonies led by humanist celebrants will be legally recognised in 2027..... It's not confirmed yet, but watch this space!

Essentially, independent celebrants will include prayers and religious content whereas humanist celebrants conduct religion free ceremonies. Humanist celebrants are highly trained by and accredited by the charity Humanists UK, and become part of a national network of Humanist Ceremonies celebrants who keep in touch, are regularly peer reviewed for quality checks, and who have to undertake continual personal development to stay accredited. We can also provide cover for each other in an emergency.

Absolutely! All my wedding ceremonies are inclusive - whatever your colour, sex, gender, sexual orientation, background, culture or religious or spiritual belief. One of the photos of my LGBTQ weddings ended up on a massive billboard in Northern Ireland to celebrate the legal recognition of same sex weddings!

Yes, I've been a professional writer for around 20 years. At a very relaxed meeting, I will ask you lots of questions over tea/wine/cake, I'll scribble down everything you tell me, and then will turn our conversation into a beautiful, memorable script. I send you the script for approval around a month before the wedding date, so that you can make any amends and so that you are fully in control of the content!

Yes, you can certainly write your own vows and/secret letters. Or I can write them for you, with your specific wishes incorporated.

There are no rules in a humanist wedding, but I like to include words on love and marriage, a love story, a reading or poem, music and at least one symbolic act (eg ring exchange, handfasting or unity candle ceremony). The style is led by you - completely traditional or completely off the wall! The options in between are endless - let's talk!

Yes. I specialise in multi cultural weddings and have conducted many weddings for couples whose families hold different spiritual and religious beliefs. As my ceremonies are religion-free, and story-led, they are inclusive of all guests. However, we can certainly include cultural traditions without religious wording.

If you're getting married on a weekend in high season (April to October) please book as far ahead as possible. I can offer much greater flexibility on Mondays to Fridays, so it's always worth contacting me if you have an urgent requirement!

Yes, I meet all my couples a couple of months before their wedding day. This meeting is necessary to go through all the logistics for the ceremony, talk about music, readings, guests, contributors and of course your love story, your views on love and marriage, your wishes and we also go through a lot of ideas to make your ceremony completely unique and memorable. We can do this in person or online - depending on what's easiest for you.

My fee begins at £500 for a short, Monday to Friday wedding ceremony within 20 miles of Newcastle Upon Tyne. For a bells and whistles ceremony anywhere in the North East, Northumberland, Durham, Teesside, Tyne and Wear or North Yorkshire, your investment will be between £750 and £900, depending on date and location.

Not yet. But watch this space. We are hoping that, following the Law Commission's Review in 2026, humanist wedding ceremonies will be granted legal recognition in 2027, but nothing has yet been confirmed by the government. Until then, most couples take care of the legal paperwork quietly and simply, with a couple of witnesses, for around £60.