The Little Pink Book: The essential guide to planning your non-religious wedding ceremony

Congratulations, you’re getting married! 

‘The Little Black Book’ is a thing of the past. What you need, now you’re planning your big day, is ‘The Little Pink Book’ – better known as The Little Book of Humanist Weddings.

This little book will help you think about the vows, readings, and rituals you’d like to include in your wedding ceremony. 

So, grab a copy and snuggle up together to plan the best day of your lives.

The Little Book of Humanist Weddings

The Little Book of Humanist Weddings is filled with inspiration for your unique celebration of love and commitment. Created by Humanists UK’s President, Professor Alice Roberts, and Chief Executive, Andrew Copson, this beautiful collection brings together quotes and poems from humanist celebrants and some of history’s greatest writers and thinkers. 

This book will help you to think about the beliefs and values you share – and how you can reflect them in your vows, readings, and rituals on your wedding day.

What is a humanist wedding?

A humanist wedding is a non-religious, inclusive and welcoming ceremony based on a couple’s mutual love and respect. It gives you the freedom to express your love in an entirely personal way because your celebrant works with you to write your love story, which they will share with your guests on your wedding day.

Each humanist wedding ceremony is as unique as the couple and their love.

Why choose a humanist ceremony?

Humanist ceremonies reflect the humanist commitment to equality and reflect humanist beliefs, values, and ideas about marriage by focusing on mutual love and respect.

‘A humanist wedding ceremony is for anyone who shares those values – whoever you are and whoever you love.’

Humanists UK has demonstrated this by actions as much as words, having long campaigned for legally recognised same-sex marriage and having conducted same-sex humanist wedding ceremonies for over 40 years.

Theirs is the longest-standing network of professional celebrants in the world. Humanists UK has been conducting humanist ceremonies since its inception in 1896 – and has offered same-sex commitment ceremonies since at least 1979, decades before civil partnerships or same-sex marriages would become legal.

Celebrants trained by Humanists UK are trained to the highest standard, and undergo continuous professional development.

‘The story of our relationship was woven throughout the ceremony.’ Sinead and Hayley-Jane

An ethical wedding

Humanists UK campaigns on multiple issues, including human rights, equality, and inclusivity. You don’t have to be a member to have a humanist ceremony, but by choosing one of our accredited celebrants, you’ll be helping to further their work in these areas.

Where can we have a humanist wedding?

A humanist ceremony can take place anywhere (with the owner’s permission, of course). Indoors, outdoors, on a stage, on a hillside, in a barn, in your garden – it’s up to you – it’s your wedding, your way!

Wedding traditions

A humanist ceremony gives you the freedom to include traditions that speak to you and your heritage:

• A tea ceremony
• Drinking from the quaich (loving cup)
• Smashing a glass
• Walking seven circles
• Walking down the aisle together

“Weddings, where a partner is Polish, have included the exchange of bread, salt, and vodka. An Iranian partner has included a traditional Persian wedding table, with coins, specific foods, and other symbolic items.”

The Little Book of Humanist Weddings

The Little Book of Humanist Weddings features many ideas to celebrate your love as two equal people: exchanging rings, handfasting, ‘tying the knot’, sand-blending, and lighting a unity candle. 

Buy the book

You can learn more about traditions such as handfasting and ‘warming the rings’ in The Little Book of Humanist Weddings, which is now on sale at:

• Waterstones
• Amazon
• Blackwell’s
• Hive
• and all good bookshops at £7.99 RRP

It is published by Piatkus Books, an imprint of Little Brown.

Find your celebrant

To find your ideal humanist celebrant, visit the Humanist Ceremonies interactive map. 

If you’d like to know more about humanism, you can watch this video by Humanist UK patron Stephen Fry.