PERSONAL TOUCH

ELIZABETH and Bengtis Ericsson tied the knot in a humanist ceremony in April 2009, an occasion they describe as “everything we had wanted it to be”.

The East Lothian pair had enjoyed a 21-year courtship and were keen for their wedding to be as personal as possible. The humanist option best suited their dreams.

“We had both been married before and both divorced,” explains Elizabeth, 56. “My husband is not at all religious, so a church wedding was not an option. But we did not want to go down the route of the registry office either, which seemed a little ‘revolving door’ to us.”

The couple, from Eskbank, who were married at Greywalls Hotel near Gullane, had previously met Edinburgh humanist celebrant Tim Maguire at a funeral, which under “tragic circumstances” he managed to make “amazing”.

“We started to talk about having a humanist wedding and quickly realised it was what we were looking for,” says Elizabeth.

“It was wonderful. Our children were very involved, we wrote our vows and chose the music. It was everything we had wanted it to be.

“I remember my mum was very sceptical of the whole thing at first but, to this day, friends and relatives tell us our wedding was amazing because it was so personal.”