Weddings & Blessings of Unions

MARRIAGE

The SUA is the authorising body for celebrants who wish to undertake a Unitarian wedding in Scotland. We liaise with the Registrar General for Scotland in terms of ensuring that any Unitarian wedding ceremony is undertaken by an authorised celebrant.The SUA secretary can assist the intending couple to get in touch with such a celebrant.

THE MARRIAGE AND CIVIL PARTNERSHIP (SCOTLAND) BILL 2014

The Bill was passed in the Scottish Parliament early in 2014 making Equal Marriage possible from December 16th 2014.

Scottish Unitarians are proud to have been at the forefront of the campaign for Equal Marriage.

Our celebrants welcome all couples who wish to be married or to receive a blessing in our churches or at other venues.

All weddings are special but the last wedding held in Williamson Memorial Church in Dundee was particularly poignant.

Barry and Shirley’s wedding was our Sunday service on 23^rd May 2022. As you can see all were smartly dressed for the occasion; those who joined on Zoom were encouraged to wear hats and entered fully into the spirit of the occasion.

Barry and Shirley contacted the church looking for somewhere to get married and in the interim joined the congregation. Various things got in the way of holding the wedding and by the time it came to pass Shirley was very unwell. The service was tailored to suit them, including writing their own vows and picking the very special music. Much of it was repeated at a family celebration in Kent a few weeks later.

Lady Shirley, sadly, died in February 2023 and I was honoured to lead the celebration of her life that followed. Some of the wedding music was repeated on that day and there were other echoes of the wedding that we had celebrated too few months before. It is a privilege to be part of a tradition that gives us the freedom to work with people to write the rites of passage that suit them.

Rob Whiteman
Minister with Dundee Unitarians