Humanist Celebrant, Sharing Stories of Life and Love
in Beautiful, Non-Religious Wedding Ceremonies
across Newcastle upon Tyne, The North East,
Northumberland and North Yorkshire
Immersive, romantic, relaxed and memorable wedding ceremonies by Rachael Meyer, one of Humanists UK's Leading Wedding Celebrants. For all couples in areas around
Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, Corbridge, Hexham, Alnwick, Tynemouth, Sunderland, Middlesborough, Durham, Thirsk, Northallerton, York, Yorkshire Dales and Harrogate.
Humanist wedding ceremony at Hooton Hall with celebrant Rachael Meyer, North Yorkshire and North East. Photo by Ben Pollard
All smiles. Rudding Park Chapel, Harrogate. Photography: Z-Ten Media Wedding Photography and Video
Humanist wedding ceremony at Hazlewood Castle, Leeds. Celebrant: Rachael Meyer. Photographer: Sirastudio
Humanist wedding ceremony at Hooton Hall with celebrant Rachael Meyer, North Yorkshire and North East. Photo by Ben Pollard
"Our ceremony with Rachael was the highlight of our wedding weekend, and we cannot thank her enough!"
- Issy and Miles, Thicket Priory, York
(image courtesy of Charlotte Nelson Photography)
If you're planning a wedding day that speaks volumes about your personalities, your style and your story, a humanist ceremony is the perfect way to begin your celebrations of love and commitment. I'm a highly experienced celebrant who can help you begin your day in a way that's totally you.
Your Ceremony, My Pleasure
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IMAGINE a wedding ceremony that's as individual as you two.
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IMAGINE a bespoke script that's as thoughtful, full of detail and expertly presented as everything else that you're planning.
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IMAGINE a celebrant you've chosen and trust to write your story... which you and your guests will watch come to life on your wedding day , and that later, in print, you will treasure forever.
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IMAGINE beginning your wedding day with romance, colour, style, class, intrigue, passion and humour.
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IMAGINE unique entrances, poetic drama, inclusive symbolic acts, emotive words of love and commitment, guest involvement and incredible music.....
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IMAGINE the smiles, laughs and tears of pride and joy as everyone is immersed in the proceedings.
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IMAGINE all of these moments seamlessly and expertly blended into a completely unique wedding ceremony...... a highly engaging rollercoaster of emotions, prepared for you, and you alone.
With an experienced celebrant on board, you can relax, knowing that your wedding ceremony - whether it's traditional or modern, whether it's simple or extraordinarily complex - will start your party with a bang, and be the beating heart of a day that's talked about long after the last dance.​
I love weddings. I'm a professional writer and an enthusiastic, seasoned presenter. I've been a full time celebrant for eight years now, but no two of my ceremonies are the same because no two couples are the same. Some are traditional by design, focusing on a love story, words of commitment and heartfelt wedding vows with an exchange of rings. Other couples have included secret letters, poetry, a ring warming, a unity candle lighting, a tree planting, a hand fasting, a singalong, oath stone vows, the cutting of your cake, dogs, owls, or a shot of whisky! I love incorporating my couples' unique touches and music choices. Wherever I can, I work with live musicians to create a cinematic effect.
Whether you want a classic stance... or a fun-filled script that delivers a punch or two; and whether your ceremony is in a castle, a hotel or a high end wedding venue, in a barn, in a community hall, in a pub or on the beach, I will write and deliver to your exact vibe. I will work with you to create the ceremony of dreams. I will work with your venue manager and with your crowd. I'm very smiley, professional and exceptionally chilled. I'm up for a laugh and I've lived a little, so nothing fazes me.
I speak warmly and clearly (without any real accent) and can be heard without a mic, but I also have my own professional PA system that we can use to amplify voice and music if required. I am fully prepared for any eventuality.
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I was delighted to be asked to explain humanist wedding ceremonies for a BBC Look North feature. Please give it a watch!.
"We had so many compliments on the ceremony - it was definitely the favourite part of the day for everyone we spoke to afterwards"
- Georgia and Richard, Rudding Park, Harrogate
I am an authentic, accredited Humanist Celebrant and proud to be part of the national network of
"Reading the draft ceremony, which was a pitch perfect mix of emotion and laugh out loud, instantly put us at ease. Rache's advantage here is her writing background, she is a gifted story writer and teller, this is the most important part of a humanist ceremony. Of course, on our big day, she also delivered it all with aplomb. 5 stars doesn't cover it, don't hesitate in speaking with Rachael. - worth every penny"
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Kevin and Vicki - Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds wedding
"It was so wonderful -
All anyone could talk about was our beautiful ceremony"
- Polly and Nick, The Cruck Barn, Appletreewick
All my ceremonies are originals. With your voices front and centre, they're lovingly written by me, not AI, and not via a questionnaire. I never ask couples to write their own story. That's what you pay me to do. That's how my ceremonies include so much glorious detail about you!
Who am I? I'm a natural, creative and confident storyteller and a professional public speaker. My background is in professional writing, speaking, event management and photography. I weave all of these skills into my work as a humanist wedding celebrant - which has been a full time role now, for 8 years.
I'm buzzing with ideas, poetic licence, emotion, wit and humour to make your ceremony the best decision you ever made! With over 160 ceremonies under my belt, I'm proud to be recommended by loads of venues, suppliers and couples who've worked with me.
Where am I? I have lived in Harrogate (where I grew up and where I became a celebrant), in London, in Surrey, and have recently moved to live just outside the city of Newcastle, at North Shields (home of Sam Fender). It's a beautiful, vibrant, creative hub of a town with a working port, wonderful beaches and incredible sunrises.
Where do I work? I deliver authentic humanist wedding ceremonies across the North East, Northumberland and North Yorkshire. I regularly flit between Newcastle and Harrogate so work up the A1 as far as Alnwick, and down the A1 or A19 as far as York, Harrogate and Skipton. I am happy to work in other areas, on request.
Who do I work with? I work with couples from all over the world and all over the UK.
Are Humanist Ceremonies Legally Recognised?
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No - but it's coming. At the end of October 2025, ITV asked me to appear in a news feature about the law reforms that will affect humanist wedding ceremonies (hopefully next year). The visuals of weddings are of me in action - which will hopefully give you a flavour of how a humanist wedding ceremony with me looks and feels!
FAQs ABOUT A HUMANIST WEDDING CEREMONY WITH RACHAEL MEYER
What is a humanist ceremony?
A humanist wedding ceremony is a ceremony like no other. No matter what your culture, religion, age, situation or orientation, a humanist ceremony will add meaning, interest and sparkle to your wedding day celebrations. It's as far from a boring civil ceremony or religious ceremony as you can get.
Firstly, you've chosen your celebrant and built a rapport with them way before the big day. Your script has been expertly and thoughtfully written for you, and only you - with your personalities, voices, values and love story running through it, from start to finish. Your wedding ceremony is all about you, your story, your commitment and your celebrations. And you get to see the script before the wedding (and make any tweaks), so on your wedding day, you can relax and enjoy the ceremony, in the knowledge that you and your guests are in for best possible experience. No stress, no legal jargon (yet), no religion, no prayer. Just a fantastic beginning to your wedding day. A smiley, calming, friendly and experienced celebrant who's as excited as you, and helps you create a real buzz for your party.
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Top Tips for Choosing a Celebrant?
There are a lot of celebrants out there now - good and bad! Choosing the right one for you should be an enjoyable process, but I appreciate it's tricky to choose one from a website.
There are a lot of things to consider. Your wedding ceremony should be all about you, not your celebrant, however a good celebrant will MAKE a ceremony. Your wedding ceremony is something that you and your guests will remember forever, so choosing the best celebrant for your wedding day is of huge importance. My top tips would be to always read reviews, look at photos (there are no stock photos on my site - only photos of my couples' ceremonies with me) - and go with recommendations from couples, venues and other suppliers.
Talk to a few celebrants, ask questions about their writing style, their presentation style and their experience..... and if you like them, go with your gut instinct. Price isn't always a guarantee of quality, but it's an indication - as it is with everything. Look at social media feeds too to see how you connect. I keep in touch online with a lot of my couples long after their weddings - and love seeing their journeys unfold through the years - an indication of the close relationships I make with them. To make it easy, I've loaded my website with as much content as I can. Hopefully, the info I've shared will help you get to know me a little before we talk.
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Before you deep dive into my website, the first thing I would suggest is to read the reviews on my website (Apologies - "My Google Business" decided to delete my business listing and all my reviews when I moved to the North East, with no regard for all the historic reviews on there). Aaaaaghhhhhhhhhh. You will also find a few on Facebook, Instagram, Hitched and Guide for Brides. Some of them are a couple of years old now, but once bitten (by Google), I now ask for hard copies of kind reviews - for my own website - then I know they're safe!!)
Also, do watch a few of the videos dotted around my website that my couples and videographers have been kind enough to let me share; and look at the photos dotted around too. This should give you a feel for how it is to work with me, and how your ceremony could look. Read/watch/look at as much of the content as you can soak in! Then do ping me an email - I'd love to hear from you and can answer any questions in a "getting to know you" call on the phone or on Zoom.
What I can bring to your wedding ceremony
Each and every wedding ceremony I write and deliver is crafted with years of professional writing, presenting and event management experience. We meet. You bring ideas. I bring ideas. It's much fun. You won't believe how lovely the process is. And I will guide you through it all with positivity, clarity, enthusiasm and insight.
In a nutshell:
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I spent my teenage years winning awards and certificates for speaking poetry and presenting monologues, (fling me a poem or some spoken word, and watch me bring it to life before your very eyes!)...
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I was a PR account manager, and a professional copy and article writer for 15 years (I can muster a story out of anyone, and turn it into something magical).
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I'm a qualified, professional photographer and video producer (I'm conscious about where you stand and how things look. I am good at putting people at ease. I choreograph everything in your script with clear instructions; and on the day, I work extremely well with you, your teams, your photographers and videographers),
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I spent 10 years organising high end corporate events for a global organisation. (I'm unflappable, prepared for all eventualities, extremely slick and professional and orchestrate everything to be seamless, from music cue sheets to making each and every guest feel valued).
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I've been a full time, accredited humanist celebrant for 8 years, (I now work for Humanists UK as the regional coordinator for all humanist celebrants in the North East, I've represented Humanist Ceremonies on broadcast media on several occasions, I'm a mentor for new trainees, I organise and present celebrant CPD, and I'm a peer reviewer of other celebrants. I love my job and am constantly learning.)
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What's the difference between a humanist celebrant and an independent celebrant?
On the face of it, we provide similar ceremonies. But there's a lot more to it. We MAY get legal recognition before independent celebrants, but that's not why I chose to train and be accredited by Humanists UK.
Humanism is a non religious belief that as a human, you are a part of the natural world; that you should live the life you know you have to the best of your abilities; and that you should act with kindness and curiosity; thinking for yourself, and acting for everyone. These are values I believe in. I also support the work the charity does, their ceremonies training was gold standard, and it provides ongoing standards and benefits for its network of celebrants. (Couples who use our services definitely reap the rewards of these benefits - emergency cover/public liability insurance/ongoing CPD/network forums and meet ups, peer reviews and quality control).
Do we have to be humanists to a have a Humanist Wedding Ceremony
No. As long as you don't want collective prayers, anyone can have a humanist wedding ceremony! The celebration of love, devotion and marriage is something that connects each and every human heart - whatever our age, history, culture, situation, first language or religious belief. Wherever you come from, and however large or small your guest list, my ceremonies are incredibly inclusive of everyone. No-one feels left out.
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Will a humanist wedding ceremony feel and look like a 'real wedding' ceremony?
YES. YES. YES. 100%. More so. We can follow all the traditions you want to include, and more, but without any of the bs. I have no rules. You do you.You and all of your guests will absolutely love it. It will be incredibly meaningful but a lot more relaxed. I've lost count of the times that grandparents have come up to me after the ceremony to say, "All wedding ceremonies should be like that. It was absolutely wonderful. You totally got them."
Is a humanist wedding ceremony right for us?
YES, YES, YES. 100%. You might be getting married for the 1st time. You may be love's young dream and at the very beginning of your journey into "proper adulthood!" You may have a mortgage, a dog, a career and couple of children already. You may be getting married for the 2nd or 3rd time, and blending children from previous relationships into a new unified family home - or your kids may have flown the nest a long time ago. I've worked with many couples who have found love in their 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.
I specialise in multicultural wedding ceremonies, where my couples' families have differing spiritual beliefs, but they don't want to include any religion. I've done wedding ceremonies for a Muslim/Nigerian couple, a Philippino/English couple, many different European/English couples, a Chinese/English couple, American and Canadian couples, a Middle Eastern/English couple, a Ghanaian/English couple, and a Sikh/Muslim couple - as well as Scots/Irish/Welsh/English. Whoever you are, we can weave in all kinds of fabulous nods to different cultures, languages and traditions.
I work with young, professional couples, and older, retired couples. I've worked with people who are neuro-diverse or have disabilities. I work with straight and gay couples. I've delivered some amazing LGBTQ+ ceremonies. I've worked at some huge weddings with hundreds of guests, and also at some fabulous elopement ceremonies, where it's just me, the couple, and a photographer or a couple of besties. Whatever your story, I'm with you all the way.
My ceremonies are as they should be on your wedding day - about love, commitment, marriage and you - your story. ​​​
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My Style
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I have no rules. You do you. I go with your flow. Dogs? Yes. Children? Yes. Live music? Yes. You want to write your own vows? Yes.
In terms of my writing and delivery style, I admit I'm a romantic. I lean towards the traditional, classic, sentimental and meaningful side in terms of the big moments, but I do like to have fun with with your story too and I'm very happy to include a few light hearted promises and other components. Life and love are about balance, after all, I am passionate about the big stuff, but I do have a glint in my eye, and there will be some fabulous things about both of you that we can share, of which your family and friends had no idea!
I'm a calming influence, an event pro, and a shameless creative. As an ex-wedding photographer, I know where to position you for the best shots, and I always take photos that I will add to your presentation script, and will send to you after the event. I bring ideas that will ping, and will work seamlessly with your suppliers so that you have the best experience on the day.
I am a trained public speaker and storyteller, who can deliver a punch line, whip up a crowd, read a room, and induce laughs and tears. I can take you and your guests on a magical journey, with guests on the edge of their seats the whole way through.
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What's the Process?
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Email or call me to see if I'm available on your date.
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We have a ceremony intro chat on the phone or over Zoom.
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If you want to book me, I send you some paperwork.
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You pay a small deposit to secure the date in my diary.
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We set a date for our ceremony planning meeting.
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We meet, I write the script, you approve it.
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I bring it to life on your wedding day and
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You have a wedding ceremony beyond your wildest dreams.
Take a look at the fun and emotion of Sabah and Neal's highlights video, courtesy of Sabah, Neal and Midgley Films. Sabah and Neal had live musicians, and 4 songs crafted into their wedding ceremony.
"We couldn't have chosen a better celebrant. Your words were magic"
Josh and Beth (elopement) - Swinton Park, Masham
Thank you for being our celebrant - the ceremony was everything we could have wanted and more, we had so many people saying what a brilliant and unique ceremony it was and they’d never been to anything like it! We had such a fab day and the ceremony set the standard for the celebrations! -
Martha and Bertie - Halton Grove, Corbridge
“Thank you for putting together and delivering our ceremony – it was perfect for us and we absolutely loved it. It was the best way to kick off the day and was everything we wanted it to be.” ​
Laura and Karl – Ripley Castle wedding
"The way you delivered the ceremony was brilliant - I could watch you and listen to you for hours. The whole thing was both moving, insightful and funny, but the way you told their story, with all the little facial expressions and smiles, connection and pauses showcased you as a real pro. I'm a presenter and a voice coach, and I couldn't have wished to have seen or heard anything better." - wedding guest, Wood Hall wedding
SOUND ON for this highlights video below, of Olivia and Alex's wedding at Thirsk Lodge Barn, North Yorkshire on New Years Eve, which was created by the lovely James Turner Videography. It was the first time he'd ever used the narrative from a celebrant in such a way. I was very proud that he did. Words written and spoken by Rachael Meyer, Celebrant, North Yorkshire.
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Here's what my lovely bride, Olivia said, after the ceremony I delivered for her and Alex:
“We can’t thank you enough for making our wedding ceremony so wonderful. You made everything about the process so seamless and enjoyable, from our planning meeting, to sharing the script, to the perfect delivery on the day. Everyone commented on the ceremony – and said it was the perfect reflection of us both – exactly as we wanted!
You made our day extra special and we’re so glad that you were part of our love story and our singalong! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”"
REVIEW: "Rachael sent us the script around a month before the wedding and we were blown away. She had produced a script which was personal and matched the tone of the wedding perfectly. We really enjoyed reading it.
Ahead of the wedding she was in communication with the venue, other suppliers etc. We didn’t have to lift a finger and it was great to know that on the day Rachael would have everything in hand and it would just “happen” (which it did).
On the day…. Rachael was fantastic, she brought the script to life in ways we couldn’t have imagined. We loved it and throughout the day we had so many of the guests saying the same. - Jonathan and Rachel, The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle Gateshead
"Thank you once again for performing such a beautiful ceremony for us. When Paul and I reflect on the day, it is the part we love and talk about the most. You are like the Fairy Godmother of Ceremonies! We shared with you our story, and with a little magic and 'Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo' you made all our dreams come true! " -
Hayley and Paul, Skipbridge Country Weddings, York
