Lorraine Dewison

Welcome and Congratulations

Whether you decided to get married ages ago or it happened this week. This is a great time, planning and organising the big day. Don’t get stressed, get organised. You have probably found the perfect location for the wedding, the next bit is finding the right person to perform your ceremony.

If you want a truly unique and personalised ceremony where you make all the decisions, I would suggest a humanist ceremony is ideal for you. This is the most important day of your life, make it a day to remember. My job is to make sure your dream ceremony is all you hope for.

Humanist weddings allow you to design the ceremony you both want, I am here to help you do that, creating a truly bespoke non-religious ceremony that fits your personalities. This is all about you! I will also help you to choose readings, music, symbolic rituals or different ways to include those other important people or pets in your lives.

About Me

Hello my name is Lorraine and I am a humanist celebrant. I live in Broughshane near Ballymena with my husband Clive.

I have been involved in the wedding business for 25 years but three years ago I decided it was time for a change. So I gave up full time work and moved to Northern Ireland to be close to my family. The timing wasn’t great because as contracts were exchanged on our house, covid happened!

Why Northern Ireland? Because I grew up in Belfast and took the opportunity to return to what I have always called home. We have been made to feel so welcome by everyone, from the local pub, our lovely neighbours and we have sampled the delights of just about every coffee shop within a 10 mile radius.

I decided to become a humanist celebrant because I absolutely love what I do! When my daughter was about seven her teacher asked, what her Mummy did for a living? Pip quickly replied “my mummy doesn’t work she just marries people” Pip was right of course this is not a job it is a way of life and very quickly after moving here, I began to miss the excitement and buzz of weddings. So when I heard that Northern Ireland had legalised humanist weddings I thought, at last what an amazing opportunity.

Why Me?

Choosing the right person to perform your ceremony is a really important decision. You need to feel that you have someone you can trust, to be professional and make you and your guests feel relaxed and enjoy the day. Remember this is the most important day of your lives.

I have a wealth of knowledge about weddings both large and small. I get as excited about weddings of just a handful of people to one where I married a couple where they had invited 1,800 guests.

I know you want your wedding to be different, so the best part is creating a personal ceremony just for you! You want your dog or dogs to be best man or chief bridesmaid - great why not it is your day, you decide, you want all your guests to sing your favourite song, no problem. It really is starting with a blank sheet of paper and together we will create something really special and unique for your wedding day.

I only perform one wedding per day and I will arrive before the guests to stay as long as you need me.

My advice to you, is to chat to several celebrants to find the “right fit” for you as a couple, I may not have been the first celebrant you have contacted but I hope I will be the person you choose.

Finally, I am accredited by Humanist UK, so you know I am good at what I do! The training for Humanist Celebrants is tough and that is exactly how it should be.

Contact Me

I am always happy to chat about weddings. I would love to hear from you.

What is a Humanist Wedding?

Humanist weddings are non-religious ceremonies. Humanist weddings in Northern Ireland are legal, which is fantastic because this gives you the choice to choose the person you want to perform the ceremony. It also allows you to be creative about what you want the ceremony to include. It also allows you to hold a ceremony wherever you wish assuming you have the permission from the landowner. Gardens, beaches, woods or your favourite hotel. If you haven’t decided on a venue yet, perhaps I can help?

What Happens Next?

Give me a call, we can chat, I usually suggest we meet up at a time to suit you, evenings and weekends are good for me because this is what I do. We can do a zoom call or meet for a coffee that’s up to you. No obligation, you need to find the right person to conduct your wedding.

If you decide to book me as your celebrant this is what happens next:

We have an initial meeting to discuss you wedding in more detail and discuss the style you want your day to take.

I will write a contract and send that to you within 7 days of that meeting.

My fee is all inclusive, there are no extras and I am prepared to travel anywhere in Northern Ireland

I will create a personal script based on our meeting and send this to you within an agreed timescale. Some people like to do this way in advance, others like to wait until nearer to the time. You decide.

My fee includes attendance at a rehearsal at your choice of venue

Conducting the wedding on the day

A presentation copy of your wedding ceremony

I am also happy to chat, help with nerves, or concerns, this is all part of the role of a celebrant.