TL;DR — A secular humanist wedding film runs £3,000–£11,000 depending on venue, day length, and edit scope. No religious imagery, a BHA-accredited celebrant, and deeply personalised vows make these ceremonies some of the most emotionally resonant we film. Here is everything you need to plan yours.
What a Secular Humanist Wedding Looks Like on Film
A humanist wedding is a non-religious, non-legal ceremony led by a British Humanist Association (BHA) accredited celebrant — now operating under the banner of Humanists UK. Every element is chosen by the couple: the words, the rituals, the music, the readings, the structure. Nothing is inherited from tradition unless you want it to be.
From a filmmaker's perspective, this is both the greatest creative freedom and the greatest responsibility. A Catholic ceremony has a known structure; a humanist ceremony is entirely unique. We cannot pre-plan camera positions based on a standard liturgy — we build the shot list around your specific ceremony script, which we request at least 3 weeks before the date.
Humanist weddings in the UK are not legally recognised as marriages — couples must either hold a separate civil ceremony (at a register office or licensed venue) before or after, or complete legal paperwork independently. This means many humanist weddings are filmed alongside a short civil signing, giving you a structure similar to our Civil Plus Religious Wedding Film guide — but with a humanist ceremony in place of the church service.
- Ceremony led by a Humanists UK accredited celebrant
- Fully personalised — no standard liturgy, no religious imagery
- Can be held at virtually any venue: barn, garden, beach, museum, pub
- Legally requires a separate civil registration of marriage
- Average ceremony length: 30–60 minutes
What the Ceremony Covers: Typical Humanist Structure
While every humanist ceremony is unique, most BHA-accredited celebrants follow a loose framework. Understanding this helps us build the shot list and anticipate the emotional beats.
- Welcome and context — the celebrant introduces themselves, the couple, and the meaning of the occasion. Typically 3–5 minutes. This is the moment for a wide establishing shot and audience reaction cutaways.
- Readings and tributes — friends or family members are invited to read poems, personal letters, or meaningful passages. Often 2–4 readings. We position a dedicated camera on the reader and another capturing the couple's reaction.
- The story of the couple — the celebrant shares the couple's story in their own words, often humorous and deeply personal. This section runs 8–15 minutes and is the narrative heart of the ceremony.
- Personal vows — written by the couple themselves. These are the most emotionally charged moments on film and determine our tightest camera work — close on faces, slow motion, maximum audio quality.
- Ring exchange and symbolic rituals — unity candles, handfasting, sand ceremonies, tree planting, and similar rituals chosen by the couple. Requires advance knowledge to plan macro or detail shots.
- Declaration and celebration — the celebrant declares the couple married (in the humanist sense) and invites cheers, music, and the first kiss. Wide shot, confetti, audience reaction.
Filming Without Religious Imagery: What This Means in Practice
Secular humanist couples typically specify no religious imagery in their film — no cross shots, no church architecture, no religious iconography even in background frames. For most humanist weddings held at secular venues, this is naturally the case. However, some elegant UK venues (converted churches, chapel barns, manor houses with chapel rooms) contain architectural religious features.
Our approach:
- We conduct a venue walk-through (in person or via photographs) before the day to identify any architectural religious features
- We agree with the couple which features, if any, are acceptable as background
- Camera angles are planned to frame around any features the couple prefers to exclude
- In post-production, any inadvertent background religious imagery can be obscured or reframed in edit — we flag these in the rough cut review
Most humanist couples choose venues with no religious history whatsoever — a garden, a warehouse, a heritage railway station, a rooftop. These locations give us exceptional creative freedom and often produce our most visually distinctive work.
The Vows: Filming What Matters Most
Personal vows are the defining moment of a humanist wedding film. When vows are written by the couple themselves — not inherited from a liturgy — they carry a specificity and intimacy that standard vows rarely match. Our technical approach to personalised vows:
- 2 cameras in tight on the couple's faces simultaneously — never miss a reaction
- Radio lavalier on each partner (2 mics) plus boom backup — 3-source audio
- Slow motion insert cut for the ring placement and final lines of the vow
- Audience reaction camera positioned discretely to capture tears, smiles, children
We ask couples to share their vow script with us before the day — not to rehearse them, but to mark the emotional peaks so we know which moments to hold in tight and which to widen for context.
Packages and Pricing
| Package | What's Included | Coverage | Price Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humanist Essentials | 2-cam ceremony + drinks reception, 1 highlight film, 1 reel | 6–8 hours | £3,000–£4,500 |
| Humanist Standard | 3-cam, ceremony cut + highlight film, 2 social reels | 8–10 hours | £5,000–£7,000 |
| Humanist Premium | 3-cam + drone, full ceremony cut + 10-min highlight, portraits, 2 reels | 10–12 hours | £7,500–£9,500 |
| Full Day Humanist | 4-cam, drone, dedicated sound, 12-min highlight + full ceremony, 3 reels, behind-the-scenes | 12–14 hours | £10,000–£11,000 |
If your humanist ceremony is paired with a civil register office ceremony, add £800–£1,500 for register office coverage and travel. See our Civil Plus Religious Wedding Film guide for the full dual-venue structure.
Choosing the Right Venue for a Humanist Wedding Film
Because humanist ceremonies can be held almost anywhere, venue choice dramatically affects the visual character of your film. Here are 5 venue types MKTRL regularly films for humanist weddings and what each produces cinematically:
- Garden or country estate — natural light, landscape, seasonal colour. Best for golden hour portraits. Drone adds significant value here.
- Industrial or warehouse — high ceilings, raw materials, dramatic shadows. Strong visual contrast between the intimacy of the ceremony and the scale of the space.
- Barn or rural venue — warm textures, candles, fairy lights. One of the most reliably beautiful low-light filming environments we encounter.
- Heritage or cultural building — museum, library, gallery. Provides extraordinary backdrop detail for B-roll but requires strict permissions and often limits crew movement.
- Beach or coastal — dramatic but technically demanding: wind noise on audio is the primary challenge. We bring full wind protection and always recommend a PA feed or backup audio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a humanist wedding legally binding in England and Wales?
No — as of 2025, humanist marriages are not legally recognised in England and Wales (unlike in Scotland, where they have been since 2005). Couples must register their marriage separately at a register office. The humanist ceremony is the meaningful celebration; the civil registration is the legal step. We can film both on the same day.
Do we need to share our vows with you before the day?
We ask but do not require it. Sharing your vow script helps us plan the tightest camera coverage around your most personal lines. Some couples prefer to keep the vows as a genuine surprise on camera — we adapt in real time and have never missed a vow exchange.
Can we include non-English readings or vows in the ceremony?
Absolutely. Multilingual humanist ceremonies — English vows alongside readings in French, Italian, Welsh, Ukrainian, or any other language — are straightforward. If you want subtitles in the final film for international family members, we offer subtitle tracks from £60–£120 per ceremony hour of translated content.
Will you film symbolic rituals like handfasting or unity candles?
Yes — we love filming these. Tell us in advance which rituals you are including and we plan dedicated macro or insert shots for each. Handfasting requires a close detail shot of the hands and cord that is difficult to capture without knowing it is coming. We always ask in our pre-wedding questionnaire.
How does a humanist ceremony feel different to film compared to a church wedding?
More spontaneous. Church ceremonies follow a liturgy that is the same in every Catholic church in England — we know exactly what comes next. Humanist ceremonies are unique, and so our team has to be more reactive, more attentive, and more communicative with each other in real time. The result on film is often more alive — because the ceremony genuinely is.
Can we choose the music for the edit?
Yes. We offer a music consultation call during the editing process where you share your preferred tracks and we licence them for the film. Our base licencing budget covers most streaming-platform-cleared tracks. Premium or chart music licencing may cost £80–£200 additionally per track for full usage rights.
Do you have experience filming ceremonies where both partners are the same gender?
Yes — a significant proportion of the humanist weddings we film are same-sex ceremonies. Our approach to every couple is the same: we learn what is meaningful to you, we build the shot list around your story, and we film with complete attentiveness to every moment. We do not apply a template.
What is the earliest delivery time for the finished film?
Our standard delivery is 8–12 weeks from the wedding date. Rush delivery within 4 weeks is available for an additional £600–£800. A social media teaser reel can be delivered within 5–7 working days of the ceremony at any package level.