The so-called humanist wedding ceremonies have gained popularity in the world for a long time, which are usually chosen by couples who do not want a ceremony with religious content, but want to say their "I do" words in a more sincere and emotional atmosphere, as offered by registry offices.

LĪGAVĀM explains what humanist marriage ceremonies really include and how accessible they are in Latvia.

You can get married when, where and how you want

First of all, we must start with the fact that humanist marriage ceremonies have no legal force, because the leader of the ceremony will most often be a person who does not have the legal power to do so in the country. Therefore, couples who choose to marry in this form will most often go to one of the registry offices before or after their wedding day to officially register the marriage. One of the biggest advantages of humanist wedding ceremonies is definitely that couples can get married when, where and how they want.

In such ceremonies, each couple can choose both the leader and what music will be played or what words will be said.

Marriage vows for friends and family

Humanist wedding ceremonies are most often chosen by those couples:

• who want a valuable and significant ceremony but are not religious people;
• couples who want to get married at specific non-standard times and it is not possible to arrange a legal representative (for example, at 3.00 in the morning);
• couples who want to determine the order, length, symbols of their ceremony themselves;
• as well as those couples who, for example, have already officially married in another country, but hold a ceremony to become husband and wife also in the presence of their closest people.

It is this aspect that characterizes humanist weddings the most - couples want to give marriage vows not only to each other, but also to friends and family members.

It was for this reason that Jeanette and Theo, who consider themselves atheists but wanted the wedding day to be no less emotional, chose a humanist marriage ceremony. "The humanist wedding ceremony is an opportunity for people without religious affiliation to still beautifully and emotionally celebrate the most important events of a person's life. In a humanist wedding, the marriage vow is not given to god, but to all the wedding guests, and the wedding guests also give us their promise to protect, support and love us," said the new couple.

And indeed – in humanist wedding ceremonies, a special role is given to marriage vows. Those couples can be written according to their own idea, without adhering to any standards, often the ceremonies also include the speeches of some particularly close people, for example, parents.

A humanist wedding ceremony allows everyone to become the author of the best scenario for their special day, which is why they tend to be longer than wedding ceremonies in a church or registry office, because they do not have a time limit.

Who will conduct the wedding ceremony?

There are various alternatives for leaders of such wedding ceremonies. The leader of the ceremony can be chosen from among the closest people, for example, entrusting it to a sister, brother, or a close friend. But you can also go the other way and hire a professional wedding ceremony leader.

In Latvia, it is usually done by actors of various theaters or wedding leaders with many years of experience. The most famous names could be Ģirts ķesteris, Valdis Melderis, Renārs Zeltiņš , Gints Andžans and many others.

Professional leaders of wedding ceremonies and celebrations often have a lot of experience and will be able to suggest the best ceremony scenario, as well as perceive the feeling that the couple wants to achieve on their wedding day.

Although often due to their lack of legal force, such wedding ceremonies are simply called theater, couples who have chosen to go this way will most often disagree, stating that marriage registration and marriage ceremony are two different concepts. Arī profesionāli kāzu vadītāji nereti norāda, ka ceremoniju vadīšana ir īpašs mirklis, kam viņi pieiet ar īpašu atbildības sajūtu, nekādā veidā šo notikumu nepadarot mazāk svarīgu vai pārlieku teatrālu.

PHOTO: ANDRIS SPROGIS, ANNIJA VELDRE , BAZALY PHOTOGRAPHY, JURĞIS RIKVEILIS , EINĀARS FREIMANIS , LINDA LAUVA