Hi, I'm Maria
Thank you for visiting my profile and huge congratulations on deciding to get married, elope or renew your vows. Here's a quick summary to help you decide whether to read on...
- Smiley, calm and easy to talk to
- Seven years of experience
- Inspired by nature
- LGBTQIA+ friendly
- Creative, organised and flexible
- Keen musician
- Born and raised in the South West
- Vegetarian
- Community focused
Sound like someone you'd get on with?
In the same way that each couple has their own unique love story, no two ceremonies are the same either. We’ll work together to create a unique ceremony, which can be as informal, traditional, fun or creative as you like. If you don't know where to begin, I’ve got loads of experience to help guide you through everything.
We'll meet up - ideally in person - so that I can hear all about you, your story, your lives together and what you treasure in your relationship. Then I'll write a ceremony that you can trust will reflect your personalities and your values. As with all humanist ceremonies, there are no "set words" and I'm happy to help by making suggestions about things like readings, promises, music, symbolic acts and special ways of including beloved friends or family in the heart of your ceremony. You need to be confident that your wedding or vow renewal is perfect for you, so we'll work on it until you're absolutely happy and ready to go! On the day itself, it's important to me that you can relax, be present and enjoy every moment.
Having grown up in the countryside, between the shore and the moor, I often find inspiration for my ceremonies in nature, but they can be reflective of any theme you wish. I particularly relish something a bit 'different' that reflects a couple's favourite hobbies for example. I'm also a musician and passionate about the power of music in the community, so I’m always up for live music in ceremonies and can even lead a sing-a-long if you like! I live near Cullompton in Devon, with my husband, teenage kids and scruffy "labracockapoo", Ziggy.
This one life we have is extremely precious. So, for me, helping a couple to celebrate their love for one another, and their decision to spend the rest of their lives together, is a huge privilege. There aren’t many opportunities these days to just pause and focus on one, single, special event without distraction, but ceremonies like these offer that unique moment to recognise the importance of love.
Maria was just wonderful! She made sure our special day was as perfect as we dreamed from beggining to end. Her kindness and caring nature shines through and we couldnt have picked a better Celebrant! We would say if you want a personal and perfect day Maria is the one to choose!
— Amanda and Paul
If you are looking for a unique, sincere and characterful wedding ceremony just don’t look any further and contact Maria. She visited us to get to know us both as a couple, we had a lovely afternoon of getting to know each other, sharing stories and just having a bit of a laugh reminiscing over our adventures together. For our ceremony we told the story of how we met and how our relationship blossomed. We had rituals that were meaningful to us and we chose our own vows. We also had two readings from our wonderful friends that were a complete surprise for Henry and I, so although the main body of the ceremony we had read through, there were still some surprises in there for us too. Everyone absolutely loved it! We had numerous people tell us how perfect it was and many more tell us that they had never laughed/cried so much during a ceremony. If it’s not already blindingly obvious I would definitely recommend Maria to anyone.
— Tara and Henry
Maria was fantastic. Everything we were looking for in a celebrant. We had a couple of meetings with her, they were so easy and it felt like chatting to an old friend. I cannot recommend her enough! Thank you x
— Aisling and Gary
We recently had Maria as our Celebrant and we’re so glad we did. We had no idea what to expect but it all flowed really well, from exchanging emails, meeting to talk about us and our story, writing the vows, adding a reading and even a hand fasting at the end. The whole experience was great and Maria really added to our day, bringing our story to life and taking our guests on a journey, ensuring it flowed throughout. Would highly recommend.
— Pippa and Seb
From the outset, Maria's professionalism, warmth, and dedication shone brightly. Her approach made planning our special day not just simple, but a true pleasure. With an effortless blend of flexibility and expertise, Maria ensured our ceremony was both personal and memorable. We're incredibly grateful for her commitment and the heart she pours into her role. For a day that felt truly 'us', we couldn't have asked for a better celebrant. Thank you, Maria!
— Dan and kelly
Totally wonderful. My now husband sang at a wedding she officiated about 3 years ago and came home with her card saying, 'when we get married, it has to be her', 3 years later - it was. She took the time to get to know us, understand what we wanted and it felt like she'd known us for years. Couldn't recommend her more!
— Murphy and Sam
When we first met Maria, we knew she was the celebrant for us! Maria played a huge role in the success of our wedding day. Maria got to know us over a couple of brunches in the lead-up to the wedding, so that by the time of the big day itself, it felt like a friend was performing our ceremony.
Maria made the ceremony so very personal, light-hearted, and sincere, it was a wonderful part of our day. Alongside the exchanging of rings, we opted for Maria’s suggestion of hand-fasting which everyone loved. It was the first humanist ceremony many of our family and friends had ever been to, and the feedback was unanimous; it was the most personal celebration they had ever attended.
Thank you, Maria, for playing a huge role in our wedding, the day wouldn’t have been the same without you! We cannot recommend Maria enough. Anyone choosing Maria as their celebrant will be in very safe and caring hands.
— Andy and Stephen
Just brilliant. Maria did an absolutely wonderful job as the celebrant of our wedding. We couldn't have asked for more in terms of personalisation, attention to detail, warmth and professionalism. She spent a lot of time with us ahead of the day, making sure that everything was perfect, and then when Covid drove a coach and horses through our plans she was brilliant with having to postpone and make all sorts of changes a year later. She made the handfasting ceremony the highlight of the day and we absolutely loved it. A perfect ceremony.
— Matt and Catherine
From our first meeting, right the way through to our ceremony, she could not do enough to give us the perfect start to married life. Maria was friendly and easy to talk to which made it easy to recall our story. She grasped the essence of our relationship and who we are as a couple which she portrayed in our ceremony perfectly. The ceremony was exactly what we had asked for, and I would not change a thing. Maria was proactive throughout our entire planning process, which made things run so smoothly on the day, and even printed out speeches emailed to her the night before the big day. She couldn't do enough to help us! Everyone commented to us and Maria, how great the ceremony was and it was said many times that it was the best wedding ceremony they had been to. You are truly in wonderful hands if you chose Maria for your special day.
— Rebecca and Elgan
Maria was the celebrant for our wedding a few weeks ago. We absolutely loved working with her throughout the process and she was so helpful and clear when we were trying to figure out how to make the event Covid safe. She did just the most fantastic job - the script she wrote was beautiful and super personal and she took so much time over it. She delivered the service with huge warmth, good humour and calm confidence - lots of our guests had never been to a humanist ceremony before and were so impressed with Maria and the service she’d created for us. We couldn’t recommend her enough!
— Hannah and Ben
Maria Thorne
Where I work
Right across the South West: Devon, Somerset, West Dorset and most of Cornwall. "Destination" ceremonies considered.
Fees from...
Price on application
How to contact me
maria.thorne@humanistceremonies.org.uk
Phone
Website
HUMANIST CEREMONIES™ is the network of more than 550 celebrants, trained by national charity Humanists UK to a gold standard to provide memorable and meaningful humanist ceremonies to non-religious people. Operating throughout England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, we deliver authentic, tailor-made and heartfelt ceremonies for life’s key moments. They are always inclusive and welcoming, regardless of the beliefs of those attending.
You can trust Humanist Ceremonies celebrants: We are DBS-checked, fully insured, and regularly peer reviewed for quality assurance. We are committed to a code of conduct, and have a transparent and robust complaints process in the rare case of a problem. We all pay a monthly fee to Humanists UK to further support the work of the charity, and are part of a regional network for like-minded celebrants for support and learning.
Humanist weddings
A humanist wedding ceremony is a wonderful option to celebrate your wedding in the way you choose: without religion but with meaning, and totally true to the two of you. They are uplifting and heartwarming occasions, personal to each couple to reflect your personalities and interests, and your love story. Sincere and significant, your ceremony will be crafted to create an occasion which is unique and fitting to you both.
