Bronwen James Civil Celebrant

24/10/2024

Return season of "Reds" finishes on Sun 27th Oct. 2 shows as part of the Back to Back Festival, 4pm and 6pm. Talking about how my acting life and Celebrant life inform each other.

24/10/2024

Missing my Mum too. ###

15/04/2024

What a magnificent day it was on Sunday at Thorndon Park, Athelstone for a naming ceremony for this little poppet - so chilled throughout. A wishing tree, where family and friends wrote their blessings, a ceremonial candle, pressies and an abundance of love. Beautiful. Thanks for asking me to officiate such a joyous occasion, Tayla and Peter. xx

20/12/2023

I am acutely aware that Christmas is a difficult time for those who are grieving the absence of loved ones.
For me, it will be the first Christmas without our Mum, our family home of 50 years and multiple much-loved friends.
A lovely friend shared this post yesterday and I offer it to all of my clients and friends who it is my privilege to know and to have journeyed through some challenging times this year.
With love, Bronnie xx

26/10/2023

I talk about my role as a Civil Celebrant combined with my life as an actor in this show I've written, "Reds".
Come and join me if you can for one of my remaining shows, either tonight 27/10 @ 6pm or Sunday 29/10 . It's a marrying of the two amazing worlds that I weave in and out of.
Go to Star Theatres website for booking info.
Hope to see you there.
Bronnie xx

04/08/2023

Here's cheers to the end of a BIG week. 3 Funerals and a Wedding. Tears for all sorts of reasons and love expressed in so many ways. I never take for granted the privilege of being with people at these times. So my love goes out to Dallas, David, Andrew, Megan, Jake, Tanya and all of these people's loved ones. I'm thinking of you all tonight. With my love, Bronnie ###

05/06/2023

Had the great honour of officiating the Celebration of Life for the amazing DJ Ian Bell at Jive nightclub, Hindley Street yesterday arvo.
A line up of folk that snaked down the street and around the corner forecasted how enormous the love in the room for this legend was going to be.
With the help of fabulous stories from life-long friends and family, there were laughs, there were tears and, of course, an abundance of music and, the forecasted, love fest.
It was gratifying to receive the feedback from Ian's lovely wife, Jordan, that a person watching via the live stream described me as a "Non-denominational Angel" 😇.
I have to say I kinda like that job description.
My heartfelt condolences to all in Ian's life as you grieve his passing and thank you for the privilege of being with you at this special and delicate time. xx

17/05/2023

Beautiful weather for a wedding on the weekend at Oxenberry Farm, McLaren Vale.

22/01/2023

Thank you all for your wonderful words relating to Mum and forgive me for not responding individually.
I have posted an invitation to Mum's memorial on my private FB page so if you haven't seen it and would like to attend on 3/2, private message me and I'll send you through a copy. Thanks again for your loving words it really does help. Bronnie xx

16/01/2023

Thank you all for your beautiful words of appreciation for my wonderful van and your kind sentiments regarding our dear Mum.
She set off on her newest adventure, I'd like to think with our Dad on the horizon urging her on, at 2.35am this morning (strangely exactly the same time of day my Dad died almost 12 years ago).
She was a wonderful actress and singer so this is her in full flight as Dolly Levi in "The Matchmaker" the same character I played last year but in the musical version, "Hello Dolly" looking as vibrant as the birds adorning my new office. xx

10/01/2023

Having initially been a bit slow with the caravan renovating, mural genius, Nikky Create has worked her magic on my new office space in record time.. I'm going to tease you with these progress images from yesterday but if you drive by today, you'll see the finished product.

09/01/2023

To continue with caravan story . . . We had a lot of fun in early December trying to debog the caravan and get it to it's final resting place and were spectacularly unsuccessful. However, with a few more dry weeks under our belt . . . here it is with its bushland backdrop.

02/11/2022

After 11 years of juggling my meetings with clients in cafes, their homes etc due to not having a home office, I have recently bought a 1968 Viscount vintage caravan which I plan to convert into a nifty and cosy space to work in. I'm very excited !!!! Here it is. Stay tuned and follow the conversion process. Tee hee !!!

28/07/2022

Enjoyed a quick midweek escape last night at the Barossa Valley Novotel Resort and had delicious breakfast whilst gazing out at the majestic gum trees.
A wonderful venue and setting for a wedding.
Great staff too from reception, to dining room and room service.
Popped into Angaston for hubby to revisit childhood haunts including the Angaston Institute where we got married almost 24 years ago. Superb. ❤

29/06/2022

May your wedding day photos be free of photo-bombers . . but then again . . .

24/06/2022

Such a great idea for all those "in nature" weddings.

Instead of polluting the planet with confetti, hole punch leaves instead! Fully biodegradable, and so cute!🖤🖤🖤

source...https://www.instagram.com/bluemountains_ecoconfetti/

30/03/2022

https://fb.watch/c3op3icHFb/

21/02/2022

Fabulous wedding in beautiful Belair National Park on the weekend. Family and friends promenading with parasols!!

10/12/2021

A beautiful late afternoon wedding at the Sunken Garden in Botanic Gardens. Beaut spot for an intimate wedding.

24/11/2021

What a great alternative to the conventional, eco-unfriendly run of the mill options that are usually presented to us as the only choices. This makes so much sense both for the planet, financially and for the heart. An utterly true return to mother earth. Bring it on. xx

Dutch biodesigner Bob Hendrikx has designed a coffin made of mushroom—a "living cocoon" that will turn corpses into super compost.

17/11/2021

Today is my 10 year anniversary of being a Celebrant.
Never get tired of celebrating love in all its forms.

02/11/2021

Beautiful Murray River setting for wedding on the weekend.
I love my work. 💜

10/10/2021

I have been working with the amazing Putland family for the past month - officiating Sophie's funeral 2 weeks ago and her Memorial today. I had no idea about the issue of workplace bullying that plagues the vet industry. This has been a heartbreaking time for so many. "Not one more vet" should suffer like Sophie. Please consider contributing to her legacy fund.
Love Bronnie xx

Hi, I am Sophie's Dad. Sophie sadly took her life. VETs have a high su***de rate, one of the hi… Garry Putland needs your support for Sophie Putland's Legacy

30/09/2021

Amazing wedding this week. High on a windy hill. Bride, Groom, mum and dad and two witnesses. Thunder, lightning, rain, their barking, muddy pawed dog and sheep p**p. What's not to like about that. Love will find a way.

07/09/2021

If only the WHOLE of the farewelling process in our culture could be as calm and natural as described here. Hoping to connect more fully with service providers in the funeral industry who REALLY offer the very best heartfelt sincerity at this special time in our lives.

✨Expected Death ~ When someone dies, the first thing to do is nothing. Don't run out and call the nurse. Don't pick up the phone. Take a deep breath and be present to the magnitude of the moment.

There's a grace to being at the bedside of someone you love as they make their transition out of this world. At the moment they take their last breath, there's an incredible sacredness in the space. The veil between the worlds opens.

We're so unprepared and untrained in how to deal with death that sometimes a kind of panic response kicks in. "They're dead!"

We knew they were going to die, so their being dead is not a surprise. It's not a problem to be solved. It's very sad, but it's not cause to panic.

If anything, their death is cause to take a deep breath, to stop, and be really present to what's happening. If you're at home, maybe put on the kettle and make a cup of tea.

Sit at the bedside and just be present to the experience in the room. What's happening for you? What might be happening for them? What other presences are here that might be supporting them on their way? Tune into all the beauty and magic.

Pausing gives your soul a chance to adjust, because no matter how prepared we are, a death is still a shock. If we kick right into "do" mode, and call 911, or call the hospice, we never get a chance to absorb the enormity of the event.

Give yourself five minutes or 10 minutes, or 15 minutes just to be. You'll never get that time back again if you don't take it now.

After that, do the smallest thing you can. Call the one person who needs to be called. Engage whatever systems need to be engaged, but engage them at the very most minimal level. Move really, really, really, slowly, because this is a period where it's easy for body and soul to get separated.

Our bodies can gallop forwards, but sometimes our souls haven't caught up. If you have an opportunity to be quiet and be present, take it. Accept and acclimatize and adjust to what's happening. Then, as the train starts rolling, and all the things that happen after a death kick in, you'll be better prepared.

You won't get a chance to catch your breath later on. You need to do it now.

Being present in the moments after death is an incredible gift to yourself, it's a gift to the people you're with, and it's a gift to the person who's just died. They're just a hair's breadth away. They're just starting their new journey in the world without a body. If you keep a calm space around their body, and in the room, they're launched in a more beautiful way. It's a service to both sides of the veil.

Credit for the beautiful words ~ Sarah Kerr, Ritual Healing Practitioner and Death Doula , Death doula
Her original video link is here ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7mG0ZAym0w

Beautiful art by Columbus Community Deathcare
Always With Love