Karen Hewitt Humanist Wedding Celebrant

12/11/2024

Happy 35th wedding anniversary to us ♥️ There were no celebrant weddings then ….. no wonder we sneaked off to Las Vegas! Celebrating at the Venice biennale, with lots of art, good food and wine. Feeling very lucky and very loved 🥰 ###

05/11/2024

It was fabulous to catch up with Cat and Rick at The Bridgewater Hall last night. The Max Richter concert was very fitting as Cat walked down the aisle to his version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons …🎶 Thank you both so much for the lovely card, your words mean so much to me and you know I have to share them here!!! I absolutely loved working with you both and feel so lucky to have been a part of your special day …. stay funny, keep punning, carrying on laughing and loving together and please keep in touch ♥️

04/11/2024

Our latest sustainable collection of designer new and preloved wedding dresses available now at up to 65% off.

11/10/2024

I’m so proud to support this amazing charity with 10% of my fee on the International Day of the Girl. They do incredible work to support girls in education and to prevent child marriage. They also have an incredible deal on pre-loved wedding dresses. Great for girls and great for the planet
❤️💙🖤🌍

08/10/2024

24/09/2024

We had a fantastic time at the Labour Party conference 🎉Our fringe event was packed out, with standing room only! 😮 We were thrilled to have so many MPs, peers, and delegates eager to discuss issues like humanist marriage and assisted dying.

Full coverage in comments.

22/09/2024

What a fabulous finale to weddings 2024 …… for now 🤩 Thank you Ashlea and Danny for choosing me to be your celebrant, it was so much fun ♥️

08/09/2024

Wow this has been my busiest wedding season ever and every wedding feels as special as the last …… every couple has a unique story to tell and it’s my job to tell it in a way that is meaningful and personal to them. All the couples I work with feel like close friends by the time we reach the ceremony, so it’s always a little sad when our ‘work’ is done 🥲 Luckily we almost always keep in touch by the power of Instagram!! Elif Su and Abhin’s wedding was so special, a blend of Turkish and Indian cultures, a stunning bride and groom, a romantic love story and some fabulous wedding outfits!! They were so lovely to work with and I feel so lucky to have this incredible job ♥️

07/09/2024

From the presence of bishops who vote against equality laws in the House of Lords, through to the ‘prayer advantage’ in the House of Commons, medieval anachronisms continue to shape the course of politics in modern Britain – one of the least religious societies on Earth. Here are five key examples we want everyone to be aware of, so we can work towards a more democratic, inclusive, and modern society.

1) Bishops in the House of Lords

The UK is alone among democratic sovereign states in having clerics vote on our laws by right – a hangover from 14th century medieval England. And it simply doesn’t reflect the country we are today. Whether it’s been on assisted dying, same-sex marriage, or abortion reform – Church of England bishops have wielded real political power. We think it’s time for reform. And recent developments in the Isle of Man should reignite this conversation ahead of a general election.

2) ‘Prayer advantage’ in the House of Commons

For centuries now, each day in the Commons and the Lords has begun with Anglican prayers. Today is no different. But because MPs still reserve their seats using a ‘prayer card,’ during the most important debates only backbench MPs who join for prayer get the chance to fully take part in the debate. It is sad but true. But, with our help, the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group is working towards a fairer, more inclusive way of conducting parliamentary business.

3) Powerful support for faith schools and collective worship

The public in surveys overwhelming back reform of religion in schools – but both government and opposition politicians are afraid to upset religious stakeholders. This results in an incredibly non-religious UK having ever more faith schools, with more segregation, division, and discrimination. Continuation of this practice flies in the face of recent damning evidence from many of the UK’s leading education experts. We think it’s time there was an honest and informed conversation about faith schools.

4) Impact on assisted dying laws

There is no issue in public life that the public backs more strongly than assisted dying. The campaign has higher public approval ratings than the monarchy or English football. This is also true among disabled people. Yet politicians treat the issue as controversial. Religious opponents to assisted dying talk about the ‘sanctity of life‘. But these religious views shouldn’t be imposed on terminally ill or incurably suffering people who want an assisted, dignified death at a time and place of their own choosing. It’s our hope that before long, the UK will adopt a more compassionate law based on dignity – which upwards of 90% of the population wants.

5) Impact on abortion rights and Safe Access Zones

Fundamentalist opposition to abortion is well known – we’re seeing it more and more on the streets – but these religious views are manifesting themselves in Parliament in very real ways. At the end of last year, we saw three Private Members Bills in the House of Lords that aimed to restrict women’s ability to have legal abortions in the United Kingdom. The religious lobby is the main opposition to much-needed reform on buffer zones.