Celebrant profile:
Rebecca Robinson
After working as a performer, a writer and then a Life Events manager - helping to coordinate weddings, as well as funerals, memorials and naming ceremonies - becoming a Humanist Celebrant felt like a very natural step!
I've also worked for Make Poverty History, Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network and as a Humanist Chaplain for Migrant Help. I currently develop international partnerships for a social care and community development charity in Scotland.
I've worked and studied in India, East Africa, Australia and all over Europe and love to travel (see below). I also love to dance and am currently keeping my soul - and soles! - exercised with Barrowland Ballet's inter-generational dance company.
I view Humanism as an ethical approach to life with a concern for our common humanity that supports ideals such as tolerance, equality and social responsibility.
Here are some kind words that the lovely couples who I'm been lucky enough to marry have written after their wedding:
"We couldn't have been more pleased with how everything came together, we had so many compliments on both yourself, and the ceremony, we had such a fantastic day.... we'll certainly be wholeheartedly recommending you to all our friends, and family. Again, a huge thank you from us" (July 2023)
"Thank you... you made us feel very special before and during our ceremony. You have a rare talent to be able to get to know enough about a couple to be able to tell their story with love and sincerity" (July 2023).
"For anyone searching for a celebrant who is warm and friendly and who can conduct a ceremony that's wonderfully written, perfectly spoken and absolutely tailored to the couple. Rebecca is who you're looking for. Our marriage ceremony was something truly special" (Oct 2021).
"Rebecca was culturally sensitive and celebrated our diversity in her speech in the best way. She highlighted the most significant aspects in our relationship and was very articulate, funny and full of beautiful emotions. Two years later and we still remember her wonderful speech" (July 2021) .
"We cannot thank you enough for putting together and performing the most incredible ceremony for our wedding. It was everything we hoped it would be - such an incredibly happy occasion which involved some of our closest family and friends and even got everyone singing! You put us both instantly at ease and were such a fabulous speaker and celebrant. I cannot tell you how many compliments we received about you and the ceremony - it really was so incredibly special. Thank you for making that so, and for sending us off into married life in such a wonderful fashion!" (May 2019)
"We just wanted to say a huge thank you for being part of our special day ...You have been amazing throughout the whole process and have made us feel at ease about the ceremony. We could't have hoped for a lovelier person to marry us!" (June 2019)
"Huge thanks for conducting our wedding ceremony - it was just perfect. All our friends and family commented on how personal our ceremony was...It's amazing how you can build a picture of a couple through a few short meetings and get it so right that we're in 'happy tears'!!! ..You did a fantastic job and the whole day was just perfect. Huge thanks" March 2019
"The ceremony was without a doubt our favourite part of the day and everyone loved how personal it was. Thank you so much" April 2019
" I just wanted to say how lovely I thought the ceremony was on Friday at my in laws wedding. You are very good at what you do. It was very moving, funny and sincere" March 2019
"The ceremony was wonderful. Thank you so much for making it very special and memorable. The combination of rituals, poems and story was perfect " V and A, December 2018
"That was the first humanist celebration I’ve been to and was very impressed. I wanted to thank you for delivering such a wonderful ceremony for M and L …I knew from the minute I met you, you were going to put it all together well and you did. You made if very personal and fun too which is the way I think a wedding ceremony should be. I would certainly recommend a humanist ceremony to anyone now. Thanks again" Dec 2018
"Thank you for yesterday. Everybody absolutely loved the ceremony and thought you were fab. Some people said it was the best ceremony they had seen at a wedding. Thanks for making M and I feel at ease." Nov 2018
Check My Availability
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Wedding & Civil Partnership Ceremonies
Weddings contain a certain magic. Whatever the circumstances, or wherever the setting, whether a simple ceremony or a spectacular affair, at its heart a wedding is an incredibly intimate moment of love and public commitment. With a humanist wedding or civil partnership you have real freedom to create a ceremony that reflects you both and represents what matters to you as a couple.
At our first meeting I will talk you through a humanist wedding and give you some ideas about the kind of things you might like to include - such as readings or poems, communal songs to sing, or wedding rituals or traditions (such as hand-fasting, candle lighting, drinking from the Quaich, the Mexican hug or even jumping the broom!) We'll also discuss who you might want to include in the ceremony - perhaps members of your family, or friends, or any musicians or singers that you know or want to employ. We'll also chat through the legal process for getting the all-important marriage schedule and also the legal declarations that you will state during the ceremony and any vows you might choose to say.
After our first meeting we will then start the very enjoyable process of creating your ceremony from all the different elements that you want to include. I will then draft a first script and will send it to you both and will keep writing it until it is exactly as you want it to be. On the day I'll arrive at the venue at least one hour before the wedding is due to start and make sure that everything is ready and in place. After all my years as a Weddings Organiser I have perfected the techniques of securing flowers in buttonholes, swooshing wedding dresses to perfection and calming any jangling nerves so that the day and all its joys can be truly enjoyed to the fullest!
I look forward to using my experience and knowledge to help lead you through the process of uncovering the particular wonders and magic of your own unique and most special of days.
Please note – have passport, will travel – so, if you do feel that your wedding might be most suited to take place, for example, on a remote island in the Caribbean, rest assured – I will be there.
Naming & Welcoming Ceremonies
A naming ceremony is a wonderful way to mark and welcome a new life into the world.
Having a Humanist Naming Ceremony shows your wish for your child to embrace the values of humanism - of tolerance and equality, compassion and social responsibility.
As well as being a meaningful celebration, a naming ceremony is also a hugely joyful occasion - full of love and gratitude and hope and laughter and is a great opportunity to thank those around you who have and will continue to support your child's life journey.
I organised a naming ceremony for my daughter nearly twenty years ago and have really lovely memories of a wonderful, joy-filled day.
I received this note following a recent naming ceremony:
"Hi Rebecca, Thank you so much for conducting the ceremony for C's naming day. Everything you've done is just perfect! It means so much to us that you have captured what C means to us. You took everything we discussed on board and turned it into such a beautiful service.
You made everyone feel welcome and included. You made the day special with the poetry that you chose and read out for us, also the way you seamlessly managed to bring the whole service together was amazing. So many guests approached me afterwards to compliment the service you provided. One guest who'd travelled from Portsmouth said he'd never been to such a beautiful and emotional ceremony.
Thank you once again, you are a such a lovely person, with such insight into what we wanted for C's naming day"
M and D (March 2018)
Funeral Ceremonies
My first experience of a humanist funeral was for a close friend over twenty years ago. Having a humanist funeral allowed us to create a ceremony that was very personal - it was, as he wanted, a ceremony that celebrated his life and was full of joy and laughter as well, of course, of sorrow. We were able to choose what music we wanted, what we wanted to say and exactly what kind of ceremony we wanted it to be. It was an important process for us in our grief.
I hope that I can help you in this process of creating a funeral ceremony that will capture the essence and celebrate the life of the person you have lost. I will visit you and listen to your memories, stories and reflections about the path of their life's journey; look at photographs and hear about the things they loved. Once I've got a sense of your loved one and how you would like the ceremony to be I will then write the ceremony so that it is exactly as you want it.
Ceremony fees:
Contact me to confirm my fee