About the Gay Marriage Scotland Team
Whether you identify as LGBTQI+ or not, we are all here to offer you our help. We are Angie, Will and Jane, three interfaith ministers and wedding celebrants, available to help you have the perfect ceremony of marriage for you, regardless of your faith or belief.
If there is anything you would like to know about us that is not covered below, be sure to drop us a line - we'd love to hear from you.
ABOUT ANGIE
Rev Angie Alexandra – Celebrant (Inverness, Aberdeen, Highlands, North of Scotland) and occasional Micro Wedding Planner
I've lived in a few different parts of the UK including the north of England, the south west of England, and London, and have settled with my husband Will in Northern Scotland. We live in the charming town of Forres in Moray in The Highlands so are well placed for travelling around the north and we love to work together - me as your celebrant with Will taking photos. However we're not joined at the hip and both also work solo as celebrants, and we both have our own interests and niches - one of mine being that I love to speak foreign languages. I don't get to use them that often so am a bit rusty in that regard but I speak a little French and German with a good accent, good enough to hold your most of your ceremony in French or German if I can get help with the translation; I also love to include a bit of Scottish Gaelic or Doric in the form of a reading or blessing in your ceremony.
We live in such a beautiful part of the world that it's a delight to get out each day for a walk for fresh air and exercise - I also like to swim, go the gym and do a little bit of yoga and pilates. When I'm not being active I like a good film or box set, and with Will being a self taught chef standard cook, food and socialising with friends are important. I also like to be quiet and lose myself in a good book.
Will and I had four wedding celebrations when we got married, which led to my Ted X talk - check it out online 'Four Weddings and No Funeral'.
ABOUT WILL
Rev Will Russell – Celebrant and professional Wedding Photographer (Inverness, Aberdeen, Highlands, North of Scotland)
I’m half Scottish and half Australian with Scottish ancestry on both parents’ sides. I grew up in Australia and when I came to the UK and ultimately settled in Moray it was with no previous knowledge that my great grandmother was born in the area - it seems the Celtic blood runs strong in my veins.
The Scottish landscape has an amazing pull, and having just recently acquired a van and converted it to be a bedroom on wheels, Ang and I are now all set to travel around to wherever you choose to have your ceremony - and my goodness, you are spoilt for choice with some magnificent options to choose from.
When I’m not holding a ceremony or photographing a ceremony, I’m still often behind a camera, taking creative shots. I also like to work with wood and have nearly 40 years’ experience of working as a cabinet maker. I love gadgets and technology, cooking and eating, and love nothing more than to put my feet up and enjoy a wee dram or a nice glass of red!
ABOUT JANE
Rev Jane Patmore – Celebrant (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Southern Scotland and the Central Belt)
When I looked at getting married to my long term partner Derek in 2008, I enlisted Angie and Will’s services to hold and photograph my ceremony. It was through this association that I also signed up to train with the same organization, and I have been following my passion for ceremony ever since.
When I’m not holding ceremonies I love to spend time with my young grandchildren Eve and Calum. I love to cook, walk, read, and just recently Derek and I have acquired a camper van, planning ahead for our retirement, so "have van, will travel" very much applies to me too!
In 2016 I published a book all about weddings (available from Amazon). 'Celebrate Your Love - how to create a unique, modern and personalised wedding ceremony'.
ABOUT US ALL
We all feel very lucky to live and work in Scotland and would love to welcome you to the north of the UK.
We are really passionate about being available to hold ceremony for all couples who come to Scotland. We think that everyone should be able to celebrate their love for another person, whoever that person is, and whether society's labels do or don't resonate for us.
We hope this dedicated website helps to re-assure you that we will work together with you. That your ceremony creation is a team effort together with you, and if needed we will find other same sex friendly suppliers to be part of your wedding team, whether that's to find your accommodation, celebration meal, photographer, piper or legal witnesses.
As interfaith ministers we're happy to respectfully include an element of religion or spirituality if that feels important to you. Equally you can choose to have a ceremony which doesn't include anything religious or spiritual - we're here for you and happy to chat to see how we can best help.
Please find the answers to some general questions below.
Q Are the ceremonies you hold religious or non religious?
Your ceremony is all about you and your beliefs so we are very happy to hold your ceremony whether you like to define it as religious, or spiritual, or humanist or non religious, as well any ceremony that defies definition.
Q As Interfaith Ministers what do you do?
We have been trained, ordained and nominated to be fully licensed marriage celebrants by the organisation we trained with (One Spirit Interfaith Foundation). We hold ceremony for all who wish - weddings, funerals, namings, anything else people have need of. As we’re not affiliated to any one particular spiritual or religious belief or faith path, church or other house of worship, only the seminary we trained with, we consider we are ‘Ministers for People’ meaning that we have freedom and flexibility around how and where we create and hold ceremony for you.
We can hold legal same sex marriage and legal civil partnership.
Q What training did you do?
We all trained for two years with the One Spirit Interfaith Foundation and during our ordination ceremony we made personal vows and group vows to live according to a code of ethics.
During year one we explored the essence at the heart of the main religious and spiritual traditions found in the UK. Alongside this we questioned our own beliefs.
In year two we began writing and officiating ceremonies, as well as practising a simple counselling model based on acceptance, kindness and listening. The counselling linked with the ceremony, so we explored marriage together with relationship counselling, funerals together with bereavement counselling, and so on.
Q Say more about the organisation you trained with?
We trained with The Interfaith Seminary (IFS) which has been known as One Spirit Interfaith Foundation since 2011. This was founded in 1996 by Reverend Miranda Holden and was known as The New Seminary back when it began. Based in London Miranda offered an independent sister programme linked with The New Seminary in New York where Miranda trained and was ordained.
The New York Seminary was founded by Rabbi Joseph Gelberman in response to The Holocaust - that this must never again be allowed to happen. So in 1981 Gelberman joined with Hindu Swami Satchidananda, Catholic Priest Father Giles Spoonhour, and Methodist Minister Reverend Jon Mundy, to create a new organisation to promote unity, tolerance and peace.
Q So which church or religion are you?
We’re not associated with any one particular religion and we operate independently of a single church, synagogue, mosque, temple or other house of worship, and we don’t have assigned parishes or posts though some of our colleagues do.
We work as ministers in service to people from all faiths and none, and if you'd like to contact us we can say more about our beliefs if that's of interest, but for the sake of being clear here, because your ceremony is to honour your beliefs and those of your guests, we consider our beliefs secondary to yours.
Q I'd like a humanist ceremony - can you help?
Yes. We are here to hold ceremony for you however you define your beliefs or needs. Your ceremony can be humanistic, or anything else you wish (within reason!) (though we also add that we have yet to be asked to include something we have felt the need to say no to!).
Q What does the term 'interfaith' mean?
For us this means to be tolerant, accepting, open hearted and open minded, and understanding of people of different faiths as well as those who don't have any faith.
We in no way profess to be experts on religion, only to have a basic and small understanding of many of the different religions found in the UK today - for example, Buddhism, Hinduism, A Course In Miracles, Christianity, Judaism, Shamanism, Islam, Wicca, Paganism, Taoism. First Nation wisdom such as Celtic and Native American can often be included in a ceremony - more as a cultural aspect rather than religious, but we work with you to clarify what is meaningful to you.
We can create ceremony to reflect your personal and individual spiritual beliefs which are unique to you and can’t be defined or labelled.
We can help you if you regard yourselves as spiritual but you don’t regularly take part in traditional religion – this could be if you are grappling with issues your faith may not encompass (ie mixed faith marriages, divorce, your sexual orientation), or we can help if you're seeking spirituality but not necessarily religion, and we can help if your spiritual belief can’t be encompassed entirely by one faith.
Q What does the term 'ordained' mean?
Like some other traditions such as Buddhists and Christians we use the term ordination. As our definition may differ from theirs, we clarify that we use the term to indicate that we’ve been witnessed taking personal and individual vows as well as group vows in a public ceremony, during which we’ve been blessed and anointed by our elders and teachers.
Q What does the term 'minister' mean?
What we offer is in addition to what religious leaders offer. If you are very devoutly religious, most probably a religious leader within your tradition would be best placed to create and hold a ceremony for you, however if they are unwilling to help for whatever reason, we would be honoured to help.
We are a new modern kind of minister responding to society's evolving needs for ritual and ceremony – not members of the clergy or politicians!
The dictionary definition of minister is “attend to the needs of” and this is what we aim to do as ministers - we minister to the ever changing every day spiritual needs of our fellow human beings, whatever those needs might be.
“Thank you so much - the ceremony was amazing - we enjoyed every minute of it. So many people have commented on how heartfelt, upbeat and sincere your delivery was - you are all of those things. It has been just great having your support and guidance - we couldn't have done it without you.”
Julie and Robin