Ross and Julia's wedding took place in The Caves in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town.
I am always delighted when I am asked to conduct a ceremony here as the vaults that lie beneath the South Bridge, which were lost for over 100 years, provide an atmospheric, historic and truly unique setting for a marriage ceremony.
Julia and Ross are both from Scotland originally, but now live in Vancouver. And so their first reading, 'Apache Blessing', was a fitting choice from their adopted continent.
Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be
shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be
warmth to the other.
Now there will be no
loneliness,
for each of you will be
companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
but there is only one life
before you.
May beauty surround you both
in the journey ahead
and through all the years,
May happiness be your
companion
and your days together be
good and long upon the earth.
Treat yourselves and each
other with respect,
and remind yourselves often
of what brought you together.
Give the highest priority to
the tenderness,
gentleness and kindness that
your connection deserves.
When frustration,
difficulties and fear
assail your relationship,
as they threaten all
relationships at one time or another,
remember to focus on what is
right between you,
not only the part which
seems wrong.
In this way, you can ride
out the storms
when clouds hide the face of
the sun in your lives
remembering that even if you
lose sight of it,
for a moment the sun is
still there.
And if each of you takes
responsibility
for the quality of your life
together,
it will be marked by
abundance and delight.
Their second reading, the charming 'A Lovely Love Story’ by Edward Monkton was chosen because when they first read it, it reminded them of each other!
One of the unique features of Julia and Ross's wedding was the Steel Drum Band playing on the balcony overlooking the main vault where the ceremony took place. It really is possible to bring some Caribbean sunshine into the candlelit Caves on a cold December day!
A big thank you to Julia and Ross for sharing these shots taken by their very talented brother-in-law Will Patterson at Luco Photography.
“ Fiona - a massive
thanks for doing such an amazing job of the ceremony and helping to make our
day so special. We have had so many comments about how much people enjoyed
it. Even our parents, who had never been to a Humanist ceremony before
said how much they loved it and how personal it was. You also made the run
up to the wedding very easy for us, especially planning from afar in such a
short space of time!"
