Question about a Humanist Wedding in Scotland...

Is it true that if you have a humanist ceremony, as long as the humanist is sanctioned by the registrar, you can do what you want, where you want, and you still get to sign all the paperwork/registry list and its a legally binding marriage and not a blessing? 

Scotland is one of only six countries in the world where Humanist marriage ceremonies are legal (the others are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and certain states of the USA). Humanist weddings have the same legal status as civil and religious weddings as long as they are conducted by an HSS Celebrant, who has been authorized by the Registrar General of Scotland, and can take place anywhere 'safe and dignified'. Couples are effectively free to marry wherever they choose and HSS wedding ceremonies have taken place on beaches and mountains, in keeps and castles, grand hotels and the gardens of people's own homes.

Find a celebrant, learn about the Scottish Humanist Society etc here:

http://www.humanism-scotland.org.uk/

Thanks- I saw that, but I was more curious about the logistics-
i.e. someone told me that you still had to go to a registry office beforehand, etc- but if its legally binding, you wouldn't need to, right? 

someone told me that you still had to go to a registry office beforehand, etc- but if its legally binding, you wouldn't need to, right?

Seems that way... From the "Sharing The Future" leaflet which you can download (in PDF format):

    "Humanist Marriages performed by one of our marriage Celebrants - authorised by the Registrar General for Scotland - are fully legal marriages. There is no need for a separate Civil Marriage, conducted by a Registrar. There is also no need for your venue to have a wedding licence. Our celebrants carry the licence personally."

http://www.humanism-scotland.org.uk/leaflets/leaflets/sharing-the-future/download.html

The booklet gives phone numbers of the local co-ordinators for the various regions of Scotland and advises calling for further information, as you will see when you download it.

The website mentions the fees

Legal marriage fee    £250.00
Non-legal wedding     £200.00
Partnership ceremony £200.00
Wedding rehearsal     £30.00
Travel expenses        £0.50 per mile

In case of hardship, the fee may be reduced or waived at the Celebrant’s discretion.
Other extraordinary expenses (e.g. additional travel costs, ferry, overnight accommodation etc) to be agreed with client.

More information:

http://www.humanism-scotland.org.uk/ceremonies/weddings-partnership-ceremonies-2.html

Big article about this subject:

http://www.humanism-scotland.org.uk/docman/media/scottish-wedding-directory-humanist-weddings/download.html

Great! Thank you!

Hey there,

We were married by a humanist in Scotland.  You have to get a license from the office, but the officiant is registered, so you can get married where ever you like.  You don't have to find a place that is licensed, so you can get married up in a tree if it pleases you and them.  I think there are a couple lines you must say to be legally married, my wedding seems like a lifetime ago, so would have to go back and check.  And we have one of their wedding info books if you would like it.

Thanks!  I think I definitely wouldn't mind checking out one of the books-
We had a discussion with the registrar and the more we check things out, the more we're leaning towards humanist... 

Crikey.  I didn't realise that.  Makes no direct odds to me as a Christian living in England but I often wish that the rest of the UK was as progressive as the Scots.


Vicky

We liked several things about having a humanist vs. registry ceremony.  We had total input to what we wanted to say and we developed a bit of a relationship with the lady who married us, which I really liked. 

My sister-in-law just got married this weekend by a Humanist (in Scotland). They pretty much wrote their own vows and had a lot of say in the ceremony. It was lovely and I would definitely recommend a Humanist for anyone not wanting a religious or civil wedding.