Registered Celebrant with the Humanist Society Scotland. Creating and conducting unique and meaningful humanist ceremonies in the Highlands of Scotland.  Hi, I'm Wendy and I'm a Registered Celebrant with the Humanist Society Scotland (HSS), a registered charity. I live in Brora with my husband, Bruce and daughter, Piper. I was born in Aberdeen and grew up in Lanarkshire, and I've had a long career as a nurse and counsellor/psychotherapist, which has taken me to many wonderful places in the UK and abroad. I moved to East Sutherland in 2007 to be close to family. Having strong ancestral roots in this beautiful part of the world, I feel very much at home. I completed my training to be a Humanist Celebrant in 2016 and I'm loving being in this role.

My journey towards training as a Humanist Celebrant started with our wedding in 2008. It was important to both of us to have a non-religious ceremony which would reflect our beliefs and which would be personal and unique to us. The ceremony was truly wonderful and many of the guests, some of whom have strong religious faith, commented that it had a depth of meaning for them too. A while later, I read an article in the Northern Times about Penelope Hamilton, who had recently completed her training as a Humanist Celebrant, and a seed was sown. Following the death of my lovely mum, Morag, in early 2015, I felt immensely helped by having a non-religious funeral ceremony that reflected the person she was and the life she had shared with her family and friends. I felt pulled towards being able to offer the same experience to others, and I began to explore the options for training to be a celebrant. I remembered the article that Penelope had written a few years before and started to research Humanism. The more I learned the more I realised how well the philosophical and ethical stance of Humanism fits with my own values and beliefs. I got in touch with the Humanist Society Scotland (HSS) and decided to apply to train as a celebrant with them. I’m very impressed with the professionalism of HSS which is reflected in the integrity and dedication of their Registered Celebrants and the high quality of the training. The Far North Celebrants’ Team is a warm and welcoming group to be part of and my colleagues are so supportive and inspiring.

I feel privileged to have an opportunity to work with people in my local community and across the Highlands to create truly meaningful ceremonies and celebrations of life’s important events.