Sheraton Club Lounge Terrace

 

 

 

 

Humanism & Humanist Ceremonies

We're very excited to have booked a Humanist Celebrant for our wedding ceremony in New York.  I won't lie, Humanism is something that we're still learning about.  The first I'd heard of a Humanist Wedding Ceremony was when my lovely friend Heather and her fiancé Darren booked a Humanist Celebrant for their wedding in September.  When Heather first told me about it, I got to reading about Humanism and just loved the ideas and readings I came across.  I hadn't considered having a Humanist conduct our little ceremony until the idea was put to us by our photographer Amber who's own fiancé is a Celebrant.  This lead me to doing even more research and reading, and we really do think it's the right choice for us as a couple. I'm so excited to be getting a first glimpse of a Humanist ceremony when we go to Heather's wedding (where I'm doing a reading, too! agh!)

Here are some quotes I've found on the British Humanist Association website.

"Throughout recorded history there have been non-religious people who have believed that this life is the only life we have, that the universe is a natural phenomenon with no supernatural side, and that we can live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. They have trusted to the scientific method, evidence, and reason to discover truths about the universe and have placed human welfare and happiness at the centre of their ethical decision making."

"Humanist Ceremonies work on behalf of those who seek to live ethical lives on the basis of reason and humanity. We promote Humanism, a secular state, and equal treatment of everyone regardless of religion or belief. We encourage people to think for themselves about what is right and wrong, based on reason and respect for others to find meaning, beauty and joy in the life we have because we believe people can use empathy and compassion to make the world a better place for everyone."

"Humanism promotes an ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities."

So, that's exciting :)

New York Wedding Ceremony - Booked.

So today we signed a contract with our favourite photographer of all the ones we spoke to/ trawled the website and blogs of/practically stalked - and we couldn't be happier! Meet our photographer here: Amber Marlow Photography

Amber lives in Brooklyn and has been super keen to shoot our Christmas Eve wedding and to act as our witness.  Her fiancé Marley is also going to come along to conduct our Humanist Ceremony - so we've managed to score a bit of a package deal which absolutely suits us down to the ground! Amber's photos are so amazing. We're very keen to have photos that mainly focus on the City itself with us casually thrown in somewhere! We have a list of really awesome places we could hold our ceremony, some of them weather-permitting!  At the moment we've discussed using the gorgeous roof terrace in our very own hotel in Tribeca.  Which looks like this:

The very best part of this terrace is the view.  We'd have the entire Empire State skyline as the backdrop to our ceremony - you can see live webcam footage of the view from the terrace right here: Sheraton Tribeca View Cam which I am slightly obsessed with.  The only obstacle may be accessing the terrace if it's seasonal, but I imagine a smile and maybe a folded note would get us access for the super short ceremony and a few snaps.  If we do get there and decide that the terrace isn't going to work after all, I know that Amber will be able to suggest somewhere else that's really awesome instead.  No worries there. So we're all pleased with the latest developments and the new direction we're going with our New York Ceremony. 

Here are some of Amber's gorgeous photographs below - (I really hope she doesn't mind- they're fab!)

All images by Amber Marlow

It's All In The Music...

 
Michael and I are beyond delighted with our choice of wedding DJ's for the reception party!  Music was (and is) very important to us, and we were so chuffed to come across these two guys who share the same attitudes to us when it comes to tastes and the kind of music generally played at wedding receptions.  We've listened to a pile of their mixes, and we were dancing around our living room to each one - exactly what we were hoping for and more.  No wedding cheese here, thanks!  All booked and ready to rock!

"We are record collectors and music obsessives as well as being professional DJs. Not only do we use top of the range equipment but we believe that record turntables are musical instruments and each record should be creatively mixed together, for you and your guests. We have won several international mixing competitions and played alongside some of the most respected DJs in the world. We believe that as well as reading the crowd and giving them the best party possible, a good DJ should avoid gaps between records, not to mention talking over them. If you’ve been to events where the wedding DJ seemed to talk more than play music, then you can understand our policy of being “tastefully interactive.”

We are fully aware that our job is to get everybody dancing by playing music that they love. We love and play music from all genres, so you can expect to hear everything from pop, rock, indie, dance, funk, soul and disco on a typical night. We just avoid the tired old novelty songs that would inevitably turn your wedding reception into a generic wedding disco. Why would you want any single part of your wedding day to be anything other than completely unique? Our aim is to create an atmosphere like the best house party you've ever been at."

Very excited.