Four Weddings and a Funeral (Training)
Last month I completed my Certificate in Funeral Celebrancy with the Fellowship of Professional Celebrants. As with my Family Celebrancy training way back in 2017, the course was led by Terri Negus, one of the pioneers of celebrancy in the UK. Terri led the course with her usual warmth, generosity and care and even though we were meeting virtually there was a real sense of camaraderie among us students. We all came from different backgrounds and there was the generous sharing of life experiences throughout the course that...
New Beginnings
For me this is a season on new beginnings. I’m currently completing my funeral training with the Fellowship of Professional Celebrants, learning from the brilliant Terri Negus that I trained with for my Family Celebrancy. When I first thought about becoming a celebrant, I remember feeling strongly that I didn’t want to be a funeral celebration as I was worried that I wasn’t emotionally ready. Providing support to a family during a time of great loss means creating a space for them to feel safe, held and heard. And...
What’s In A Name?
Writing naming ceremonies is always fun as, for a name nerd like myself, I love speaking to parents about the story behind their child’s name. For some it’s a name they’ve loved since they were a child. For others it’s a name that seemed to come out of the blue once they saw their child for the first time (ultrasounds don’t count, who can name their baby based on those often strange little pictures). The latter is true in my case. We had a list of possible monikers but...
A celebrant’s guide to your perfect alternative wedding
When you start planning a wedding you enter into a world you never knew existed. It’s filled with chair covers, wedding favours and seating plans that push you to the brink of mental stability – enough to make any sensible couple want to run as far away as they can from salmon-pink bridesmaid’s dresses and clashing aunties. What makes this whole situation so frustrating is that it can commodify weddings into a cookie cutter production line that spoils the whole ethos of getting hitched. Sounds awful doesn’t it?...