Ewan Main: humanist wedding and naming ceremonies

25/05/2024

My office for the day. Not going to lie - I’ve had worse

04/03/2024

A BBC news article caught my eye today - there’s a petition from wedding photographers to try to get church vicars to treat them better. (Link in the comments.)

I’ve been to very few church weddings in my life, and none within the last decade, so I have no opinion to offer on them specifically. I have known some nice vicars though 🙂

But it’s such a shame when people are at odds with each other like this. Times change; the fact is, it is more important to people to get some good photos these days than it might have been in the past. What’s the point in pretending that’s not true?

I have always been of the opinion that, in a wedding ceremony, there are two people who can make life easier for each other and everyone else, or can do the opposite. That’s whoever’s officiating (me), and the photographer/videographer. If neither of us is a 🍆 to each other, it all goes swimmingly! So my first job of the day is to find the photographer and ask what I can do, or avoid doing, to help them.

And guess what? In something approaching 150 weddings, I have *never* encountered anyone saying anything unreasonable in response to that question. Never had any difficulties between us at all. And more than once, a photographer has later hired me to conduct their own ceremony.

26/02/2024

What an awesome day this was. I’m so happy it featured on the Humanist Ceremonies blog - and thank you for the very welcome reminder today!

25/02/2024

04/01/2024

If your wedding will be in 2024 that means two things...

1. You can now say, 'My wedding is this year!' 😊

2. If you haven't already, it's time to get in touch with a wedding celebrant to schedule in your chosen day. Many celebrants get booked up quite a while in advance, especially on Saturdays during the summer!

You can find your local humanist wedding celebrant using our map: https://humanists.uk/ceremonies/find-a-celebrant/weddings/

28/10/2023

Well I never - what a lovely write-up from Humanist Ceremonies of one of my favourite* weddings this year, for the fabulous Christine and Nij.

Such a joy to relive this 🙂 Hope it brings a smile and some inspiration - they certainly did to me!

( *for the record: you are *all* my favourite)

Christine and Nij went on their first date on 4 March 2001 and have been together ever since. Twenty-two years later, to the day, they tied the knot in a joyful, personal humanist ceremony.

03/10/2023

Wondering what the biggest wedding trends will be for 2024 and beyond? We've got the biggest wedding trends for the year ahead right here

30/09/2023

✅ Giant posters designed and printed
✅ iPad-based slideshow of wedding pictures set up
✅ New business cards and folders acquired
✅ Flowers bought
✅ Vase also bought, because it turns out that despite having been an adult for many years now, I don’t own a useful vase
✅ Instax camera charged and films secured, just because it always makes people smile if you take their photo on an exciting day for them and then give the photo to them as a present
✅ Tuxedo ironed, because yes, I have decided to go black tie (admittedly minus the tie)
❎ To be honest, the only thing I haven’t done is actually thought about what I will say to people. But everyone hates a sales pitch, so I’m fine with that.

Mercure York Fairfield Manor Hotel wedding fayre, I’m coming to get you!

Really looking forward to meeting whoever I meet tomorrow. It’s over 20 years since I started planning my own wedding… and I love being part of this exciting moment for other people.

See you tomorrow!

25/09/2023

Not long to go until the Mercure York Fairfield Manor Hotel wedding fair this weekend! I'm really looking forward to it - should be a fun day 🙂

I've never actually been to a wedding fair myself - not even when I was getting married almost 20 years ago (20 years! I know—I'm as shocked as you are). I'm expecting lots of time chatting with excited people, which is always lovely.

I feel as though I should prepare myself a bit. If you bumped into a wedding celebrant, what would you want to talk to them about?

12/08/2023

I love a wedding greeting sign. (I’m sure there’s a technical name for them which I should probably find out.)

This one’s my favourite of the year so far 😃

14/07/2023

Come and say hello on 1st October at the beautiful Mercure York Fairfield Manor Hotel !

Should be a great day 😊

01/05/2023

What a genuinely lovely "no thank you" message to receive!

"It's been a really tough decision but we have decided to go with another celebrant. We found you incredibly friendly, considerate and professional and it made it all the more difficult to make this decision. It really was 49.9%-50.1%. "

I honestly never mind when this happens (although, to avoid false modesty, I should admit that it very rarely does 😉) - because it shows that people are really taking the time to get to know their celebrant and think about the right fit for them. I ALWAYS encourage people to have a chat, with no obligation, before they decide. And if the other side of that coin is that they do the same with others, and sometimes they choose one of my excellent colleagues instead, I can totally live with that.

If you're not sure who to work with on your ceremony (whether it's a celebrant, food, venue or anything else) - get in touch, have a chat and see how you feel. If they're anything like me, they will have a lovely hour or so meeting you, regardless of what happens next, and will be completely committed to the principle that you should choose whatever's right for you. Even if you can't quite put your finger on _why_ one choice speaks to you more than the other. It's fine!

Say hello - there's nothing to lose! 📞👨‍💻💬👍

15/04/2023

To the man who didn't realise I could see him singing, dancing around and having the best time in his car as he waited at the traffic lights and I waited at the bus stop; and who didn't realise that, despite his closed windows, I could hear the unmistakeable strains of disco classic 'Love Is In The Air'...

To that man: you have just filled my day with delight.

And now, off to a wedding 🕺💗🍾🎵

10/03/2023

Today’s bucket-list wedding location: Ravenscar, North Yorkshire. You can just about hear the waves crashing below, and see over the bay to Robin Hood’s Bay, and the sun reflects dazzlingly off the snow, and the whole thing is painfully beautiful.

It’s such a privilege to live so near this part of the world. All the more so to be invited to spend people’s wedding days with them in places like this.

06/03/2023

14/02/2023

Happy valentine's day! And congratulations to the newly-engaged, or the about-to-propose, out there...

If you're considering working with a celebrant for your wedding, you might have questions. Some colleagues and I across Yorkshire got together to tell you all about what's involved. Take five minutes, have a watch, have a think, and get in touch!

🍾💍💕

Are you considering a celebrant-led wedding ceremony, but you're not quite sure what's involved? Don't worry - we get it. There's a lot to think about. So, a...

09/02/2023

Just come back from a brilliant day with THIS bunch of top models - a selection of Yorkshire's finest humanist wedding celebrants. We've been making a film about weddings, kindly hosted by the *beautiful* Hazelwood Castle, coming out in the next week or two.

I love being self-employed... but I love even more being part of this network of committed, joyful, high-quality professionals. It brings us constant ideas, quality assurance, continued professional development, and the all-important backup network in case I break my leg the day before your wedding. Best of both worlds for me, and a huge plus point for the lovely couples I work with.

Huge thanks to the extremely talented Sirastudio - Photography and Video Production in Harrogate for their work, and a tip of the hat to colleagues pictured here: Your Best Life- Helen Phillips Humanist Celebrant, Tying the Knot Ceremonies, Linda the Celebrant - Yorkshire Weddings, Rachael Meyer - Wedding celebrant in Harrogate, Yorkshire, Cate Quinn Humanist Ceremonies, Hannah McKerchar Humanist Ceremonies and several others whose pages I couldn't find!

25/12/2022

Welcome to Christmas Day 2022 🎄!

I've been writing and conducting weddings for over ten years now (and I love it as much as ever).

They differ every time... but one thing I have noticed is, year after year, there is a greater-than-coincidence proportion of people who got engaged at Christmas.

And therefore, I have to conclude, there are people right now whom I've never yet heard of but who are entering, today, a new and brilliant phase of life that will include my conducting their wedding.

To all of you, I say: 1️⃣ Congratulations! 2️⃣ Welcome to the most exciting year of your life so far! and 3️⃣ get in touch whenever you're ready...

23/11/2022

I think it’s nice to be transparent about these things: in the last couple of weeks, I have increased my charges for weddings and namings. They will now be around £650 for a wedding and £300 for a naming (but with flexibility depending on distance, need and circumstances, as always.)

The reasons aren’t surprising: life getting more expensive, and ceremonies being the main way I earn my living. I recently discovered that, quite without realising, I had been among the cheapest in my area for the last few years. So I have a question for you, Facebook friends: if you have chosen me for a ceremony in the past, what made you choose me? Was it the price I quoted, or something else?

If you can remember, and if you can spare a moment to let me know in a comment, I’d love to know. 👇

10/10/2022

And this concludes the 2022 wedding season (as far as I know. My record for short-notice is less than a week, so there is still time...)

Thank you to the excellent Camblesforth Hall and Grange - a beautiful venue I'd never been to before. Thank you also to the lovely Nick and Sarah for being a joy to work with and planning a stunning day.

And thank you to whichever of their guests took this photo! That half an hour or so while guests are just starting to arrive and I'm just perusing my lines. There's a wonderful stillness to that time, spent in a beautiful place, preparing for a part in the biggest day in the lives of two other people. I'm so happy to have this little memento of it from this year ♥️

29/04/2022

And so begins another season of weddings originally planned to take place ages ago… This embracing of it made me laugh out loud! 📆 👰🤵🥂🔜

23/03/2022

Well, I am a heap of feelings this evening. Currently in the middle of writing the funeral of a friend, which is a deep and amazing honour but also, well, hard and emotional.

And then out of the blue comes an email with a batch of photos from a glorious wedding last year, and they have filled me with joy. I sort of want to post them all here, but I’ve chosen the one that captures something of why being a celebrant is such a privilege. It’s the magical moment of anticipation where there is just the groom and me, waiting for things to start. It’s a moment people don’t often think about, but the atmosphere in this picture - well, this is exactly how it felt.

How amazing is it for people to invite you in to be part of these moments with them?

2022 marks ten years I’ve been in this line of work, and I still entirely love it.

Oh, and: thank you Ian and Zadie, you excellent people 💑

16/10/2021

The magical half an hour where I can sit quietly before the ceremony and go through my lines, accompanied by the four key pieces of equipment involved today: a glass, a cloth, a yarmulke… and an aircraft duty free trolley.

15/10/2021

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the cheapest venue we could find..."

Just occasionally, people write bits of their own ceremony wording and ask me to incorporate them into my own work. It's only happened maybe three or four times out of over a hundred (apart from vows; people often write those.)

I can honestly say I've never received bits anything like the ones in tomorrow's wedding.

This is going to be a blast. 😆

09/10/2021

The time has come - yes, it’s Strictly movie night!

But more pertinently, the wedding of the fabulous Gid and Em at the equally fabulous The Orangery at Settrington. Very excited about this.

Either way, though: keeeep dancing! 💃 👰‍♀️ 🤵‍♂️ 🍾

08/10/2021

Twenty years ago, when I was a waiter, I could do this at 6am in the dark without even thinking about it. It has taken a LOT of practice to get my mojo back... but with one day to spare I think I'm there.

Black tie weddings, I'm coming for you! 🤵‍♂️

20/09/2021

There are times in the life of a humble celebrant when I just have to stop for a moment and recognise how utterly awesome it is.

Now that the dust has settled and the secret is out (the whole setup, including the venue itself, was a surprise for the guests) I can reveal this from last weekend's wedding. My route from my dressing room - yes! dressing room! - to the ceremony spot.

All I can say is: if you haven't conducted a wedding on a stage in a retro theatre, where none of the guests knows what's going to happen and you wait in secret with the groom until the curtains open to reveal you standing centre stage, to the loudest and most raucous round of applause that Dorset has surely ever experienced.. well, if you haven't experienced that moment, then, well, I hope you do one day. Because it's amazing.

🎭 💕🥂👰‍♀️🤵 🎩 🎙 💍 🍾 💃 🎭

Shout out to Bridport Electric Palace for being wonderful, and to Zadie and Ian for being the most shining, shimmering, splendid, loving of all things music and theatre and delight, couple I have yet worked with.

All together now:
🎶 “Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme…”🎵

02/09/2021

Well, this was QUITE the return to the workplace. 18 months of working from home concluding with today's wedding at the spectacular Howsham Hall - well, it was like going from zero to a thousand in one day. Just awesome!

(Several more stunners coming up in the next few weeks too, including a top secret location next week that I cannot disclose in case the guests find out - how brilliant is that?)

But for today - massive congratulations to Stacey and Glenn, and huge thanks to the amazing staff at Howsham. 👰‍♀️🤵‍♂️🥂🎆

15/07/2021

“Party accordingly”.

My favourite phrase from Saturday’s wedding.

09/07/2021

Today is the day I discovered something about myself that I had never previously known, and never previously been troubled by until I began rehearsing this wedding ceremony:

I am totally, incurably unable to pronounce the word "veterinary".

*sigh*

Time for a last-minute redraft.