How to get a humanist wedding in
Scotland
From the wild majesty of the Highlands to the peaceful shores of our lochs, from ancient woodlands to windswept beaches, and from dramatic island cliffs to hidden forest glens – Scotland offers a wedding backdrop like no other.
Whether you dream of exchanging vows atop a mountain, beside a mirror-like loch, within a centuries-old castle, or barefoot in the sand as the sun sets over the sea, your perfect place is waiting.
Our celebrants are here to guide you through a ceremony crafted entirely around you – your values, your story, your future. Warm, inclusive, and deeply meaningful.
Who offers a humanist wedding in Scotland?
Humanist weddings in Scotland are offered by the humanist organization Humanist Society Scotland (HSS).
Do we get to choose the humanist wedding celebrant ourselves?
Yes. Humanist Society Scotland offers such a list and allows for direct contact with individual celebrants. Click here to see the list.
Languages offered:
Humanist Society Scotland offers wedding ceremonies in English. If a couple wishes for another language, they can ask if any of their celebrants can read or speak the language.
How to book a humanist wedding in Scotland:
You can browse the celebrants at the HSS website, or get a list of available celebrants emailed from HSS centrally.
After you have made your choice, you should reach out to the celebrant and book an initial conversation. If you decide to go further with this celebrant, it is time to go to HSS´ “Secure Your Date” system, sign up for a wedding membership and add the celebrant.
The celebrant is then notified that you wish to book them. Once confirmed by the celebrant, you will receive a final confirmation email. The celebrant will also secure that all requirements are met to perform a legally binding wedding.
If you want a legally binding wedding and are not a UK citizen, both you and your spouse need to bring proof from your home country (with an apostille-stamp) that you are not already married.
Price:
Humanist Society Scotland estimates a price of around £500 for a humanist wedding ceremony.
The boring legal part
The custom in Scotland is that HSS approves of their wedding celebrants individually, and thereafter lists them on their website for you to choose from.
All humanist wedding celebrants registered with HSS are acknowledged by the state to perform legally binding weddings or civil partnerships (same-sex couples). They are permanently authorised to conduct legal humanist marriages and civil partnerships in Scotland, having been awarded prescribed status by the Scottish Parliament.
But it is up to you: You can have a HSS celebrant perform a legally binding wedding, or you can have a HSS wedding celebrant perform a symbolic, non-legally binding wedding, for example if you are already legally married in Scotland or elsewhere.
Scotland is one of the few European countries where humanist weddings are recognized as legally binding by the state. Read more here about how you may bring a Scottish marriage certificate back to your home country and get it legalized there.
How to get in touch
Humanist weddings in the UK:
This page is exclusively for humanist weddings in Scotland. Click below for humanist weddings elsewhere in the UK: