We are delighted to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of legal humanist marriage in Scotland, with over 50,000 couples tying the knot with a Humanist Society Scotland celebrant since 2005.
Today, 18 June 2025, marks exactly 20 years since Scotland made history with its first legal humanist wedding. On 18 June 2005, Karen Watts and Martin Reijns were joined in marriage in a ceremony at Edinburgh Zoo conducted by humanist celebrant Ivan Middleton. This ceremony didn’t just changed the couple’s lives; it changed the law.
Since that landmark moment, over 50,000 couples — more than 100,000 people — have chosen a ceremony with Humanist Society Scotland. Thanks to our pioneering campaign, couples in Scotland have had the freedom to celebrate their love in a way that reflects their own beliefs, values, and personalities.
Our case was simple: under European human rights law, humanists with a non-religious belief system deserved the same rights as religious believers to legally marry.
Karen and Martin are still happily married 20 years on and live in Edinburgh. They will be guests of honour at our upcoming celebration ceilidh on Friday 20 June at Assembly Roxy in Edinburgh.
Karen and Martin’s wedding was the first of 82 humanist weddings in 2005. Each year afterwards, that number grew exponentially. Humanist celebrant Ivan Middleton, who also served as Secretary of Humanist Society Scotland at the time, recalls:
“Our case was simple: under European human rights law, humanists with a non-religious belief system deserved the same rights as religious believers to legally marry.”
The Registrar General agreed. Drawing on Article Nine of the European Convention on Human Rights — which protects freedom of thought, conscience, and religion — twelve humanist celebrants were given the same legal standing as priests or ministers.
Karen and Martin weren’t religious, but they still wanted a ceremony that was meaningful, personal, and full of heart
Since then, humanist ceremonies have become a defining feature of Scottish weddings. In 2019, humanist marriages overtook Christian weddings for the first time. By 2022, there were more humanist weddings (9,140) than all other faith and belief-based weddings in Scotland combined.
Karen and Martin chose a humanist ceremony because they weren’t religious, but they still wanted something meaningful, personal, and full of heart. That remains the driving force for thousands of couples each year. Mandy Evans Ewing, one of the original twelve celebrants and still conducting ceremonies today, says:
“Every humanist wedding is different — that’s the beauty of it. Whether it’s on a beach, up a hill, or in someone’s living room in their jammies, it’s all about what matters to the couple. It’s their love, their story, their way.”
Today, Humanist Society Scotland is the largest provider of humanist ceremonies in the country, with over 130 celebrants offering weddings, funerals, and naming ceremonies. We continue to campaign for a fairer, more secular Scotland built on respect for human rights and freedom of belief.
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Our campaign work is funded by the generous support of our members and supporters. Support our campaign work and help to create a fairer Scotland and world.
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Your membership will help to fund our campaign work to make Scotland a more secular, rational, and socially just country, and to ensure everyone in Scotland has access to humanist ceremonies to mark important life events.
Title image: Rod Shearer
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