With lockdowns not that far behind us, this wedding season is sure to be another busy one, as more couples finally make it up the aisle after years of delays and disruptions.
On top of the typical church wedding, humanist weddings are growing in popularity, and bring with them their own traditions and expectations.
Stepping in for Ray D'Arcy on The Ray D'Arcy Show, Kathryn Thomas was joined by radio and television presenter and, now, celebrant Ruth Scott to discuss humanist weddings.
"Last year was an eye-opener for everybody because there were so many people trying to catch up on their weddings that there was calls coming in going, 'Can you do a Tuesday? Can you do a Thursday morning?'" she told Kathryn.
"What I really love is you get to make the couple the entire focus of the ceremony. Because a humanist wedding ceremony is secular so it's non-religious so instead of religious prayers and things like that, it's readings that the couple choose", she explained.
Some of the pieces Scott has come across include extracts from Dolly Alderton's novel What I Know About Love, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and even some lines of text from One Tree Hill, the popular 00's television show.
Humanist weddings are just one of three types of weddings available in Ireland, along with church weddings that are dictated by the faith the couple belong to, and civil ceremonies, which are organised by the HSE.
Scott is also a solemniser, which means she can legally marry a couple.
Scott's journey to becoming a celebrant started by becoming a member of the humanists, volunteering here and there. After some time she saw they were looking for applications to become a celebrant.
"Like a real job, Kathryn, you submit your application, you do an interview – which was done during Covid, my one happened to be – and then we did the training, and you have to pass the training, and then there's a probationary period."
Scott says the role is in "big demand", as well as being "a hard job to be able to get, but for me, it's worthwhile because I feel it is so important".
"What brought me to it is I'm an atheist", she said. "I grew up in the most Catholic of houses. There was rosaries, we used to be the Scott Family Choir on a Saturday night at mass and then again on Sunday. I did readings, I would have been an alter girl if I thought I'd get away with it."
She had her "own sort of epiphany" in her teens, while she was attending school in a convent school. This change started her thinking about what happens to you around the "rituals of life" if you're not a Catholic.
"There's these gatherings and I'm from a big family and we always got together for the baptisms and the confirmations and the weddings and all around religious ceremonies and I thought to myself, what's going to happen if I take myself away from all that?"
It's not just weddings, baptisms and confirmations either: Scott also performs humanist funerals.
Speaking about what drew her to humanism, Scott explained: "To me, humanism is good without God. It's not relying on a higher power, it's not relying on a sacred text and that's pretty much how I follow my life."
There are conversations about Darwinism and science through the practices, but Scott added that "a lot of it is about living your best life now, as opposed to thinking, when I'm in the afterlife I'll do this, that and the other".
Despite feeling a connection to humanism, Scott didn't attend a humanist ceremony until she had her own wedding to husband Rob Morgan. She brings this openness into her conversations with couples who are interested in a humanist wedding.
To listen back to Kathryn's conversation with Ruth, click above.
