At the time of writing this blog post, Great Britain is preparing to vote in what seems like the gazillionth General Election in recent years. As a result, you can’t move without bumping into a manifesto or yet another ‘promise’ being screamed from a billboard, bus, radio or television.
So naturally, I’m joining in the fun!
If you’re planning a wedding, a vow renewal, a funeral or any other type of ceremony, remember a vote for using a celebrant is a vote for creativity and freedom of expression. It’s a vote for having the ceremony that YOU want, not a rehashed version of the one everyone else has. It’s a vote for a ceremony that reflects you (or your loved one) perfectly. It’s also a vote for keeping your guests engaged and interested, not yawning in their seats.
What do I stand for? Thank you for asking! Feast your eyes, dear reader, on:
The Creating Ceremony Manifesto
In creating your ceremony, these are the tenets to which I hold fast:
Connection
Connection is paramount. It’s the very heart of what we are marking in ceremony. The connection between a couple, the connection between family members and friends, and the connection between you and your celebrant.
I develop a great rapport with the couples and families that I work with by spending time together getting to know each other, as well as literally connecting them together in ceremony, in the case of a wedding.
Collaboration
Creating your ceremony has to be a collaborative affair in order to make it reflect everything you want it to and sparkle with personality. To this end, I work closely with you and other suppliers (such as venues, stylists, FDs or planners where appropriate) to tailor your ceremony to you perfectly. After all, it’s not my ceremony, it’s yours.
Communication
I am at the end of the phone, email, text or WhatsApp message to reassure, bounce ideas off, challenge, enthuse or have a giggle – all the way through the process. That is in addition of course to the hours we will spend together chatting about your ceremony over a cuppa or three.
Courage
It’s important to have the courage to challenge wedding or funeral convention in order for your ceremony to be uncompromisingly you – but it’s not always easy. I will be there every step of the way to encourage you to question what will really work for you and cheer you on should you choose to gently (or outrageously) disrupt the ‘norm’.
Celebration
As a celebrant, my stock in trade is to facilitate the celebration of a milestone moment. Whether I’m telling a life story or a love story in your ceremony, it’s a celebration of personalities, experiences and union. It’s also the celebration of everyone in attendance and the role that they have played in your lives or the life of your loved one.
Creation
When we work together on your ceremony, we are creating many things:
- Space, which I hold for you to laugh, cry and be fully present to all that is going on in your ceremony
- Memories that will last a lifetime, for everyone at the ceremony
- A public declaration of your new status
- A gateway to a new part of your life
- (Sometimes), healing and closure.
And finally,
Conviction
I have utter conviction in the right for every couple and every family to be able to celebrate their love story or their loved one’s life story in the way that suits them. That might be in a ceremony that’s quirky, pared back, full of song, religion or stormtroopers. It’s one that is not to be dictated to by church, state or ‘that’s what we’ve always done before’ naysayers. It’s one that screams YOU in every moment, and isn’t filled with any fluff, nonsense or legalese. It’s YOUR ceremony after all, not Aunty Margaret’s or second cousin Bob’s, so I help you to stand strong in your conviction too.
So. Do you want to do things differently? Want a ceremony that people will remember for years (and for all the right reasons)?
Vote Creating Ceremony and get in touch today.