Today I was invited to join the Humanist Celebrant Network. I support the principles of Humanism and so being able to join this Australian organisation is a great honour. So what is Humanism? The British Humanist Association says this about it:

Humanism is the belief that we can live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs. Humanists make sense of the world using reason, experience and shared human values. We seek to make the best of the one life we have by creating meaning and purpose for ourselves. We take responsibility for our actions and work with others for the common good. http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentChapterView.asp?chapter=309

As Australia becomes increasingly secular (non-religious) in view and behaviour, I believe Humanism will only grow in this country. The roots of Australian civil celebrancy come from Humanism, so what we have today is largely due to forward-thinking people applying these principles to public policy, thus giving birth to the civil celebrancy movement in Australia in the early 1970s.

On the 13th of September I conducted the most wonderful themed wedding of my celebrant career.  The couple were the ultimate pirate fans and so married in a full-on pirate-themed ceremony on the foreshore at Jacobs Well. It was amazing. I spent 30 hours researching pirates and pirateology to develop a ceremony that many will remember for its uniqueness. 

The ceremony took place on the boardwalk that was festooned with bright, colourful pirate flags. The wind was up that day so the flags fluttered full-on during the ceremony. I can only imagine what it looks like on the DVD!

The ceremony commenced with some of the guests being inducted into the Brethren of the Sea, and leaving their marks on parchment agreeing to the standards of behaviour that would be expected at the couple's reception. The Pirate Lord was then issued with a Letter of Marque, entitling him to capture the fair maiden of his choice in recompense for her stealing his heart. The maiden's parents were asked to acknowledge the Letter of Marque and to permit their daughter to marry the pirate lord. They agreed. Finally, the maiden herself acknowledged the Letter of Marque and agreed to marry the Pirate Lord.

Several members of the Brethren of the Sea participated in a sand ceremony with a difference, titled "The Call To The Beloved". The Bride and Groom recited a poem of that title whilst the chosen ones placed sand into a large glass jar on the signing table.

The Pirate Lord and his lady exchanged wedding vows and rings, and were declared married. They signed their marriage parchments with a pirate pen and were presented with their certificate underneath the pirate flags on the foreshore at Jacobs Well.

It was  a great day and I was thrilled to be involved.

Last Saturday I arrived at a local park at 10.30 am to prepare for an 11.00 am ceremony - only to find there was no venue prepared, no guests, and no groom in place. Quite literally, there was nothing at the venue to indicate a wedding would take place in 30 minutes. A frantic phone call to the groom ascertained that yes, they were all at home (including the guests) and would be along shortly. I nicely reminded them that I had another wedding to go to after theirs and could not be late leaving for it. Within 10 minutes, the groom and his attendant arrived, so did a trailer-load of chairs, signing table and an esky. Some guests also miraculously appeared. The bride was 10 minutes late but otherwise the ceremony proceeded as planned. And I drove to my next ceremony with a few extra unwanted grey hairs in my head...