Cherish-Ceremonies

25/11/2022

Such a beautiful room for a very special ceremony today 🥰.

25/11/2022

22/11/2022

Maybe a good thing I was sitting on my own / I don’t want to give anyone the heebie-jeebies with my choice of reading material! This book by Tony Walter is certainly giving me food for thought

09/11/2022

Leaving the Light On.

04/11/2022

There are a number of wooden crosses in the cloisters at Salisbury Cathedral.
This was the original cross used as a grave marker, from Colonel Symon’ s grave, and which was replaced by a Commonwealth War Grave headstone.
Lest We Forget.

28/10/2022

Enjoy life like a spaniel enjoys life 🧡

26/10/2022

What I do as a funeral celebrant is about so much more than writing the funeral ceremony. It is about listening so carefully to a family, and then holding the space to enable them to do what they need to do to say their farewells. Whether they want hymns and prayers, or no religion at all, whether they wish to write and deliver the ceremony, or would prefer me to do it for them… any special touches they would like, I’m there to guide, to suggest, to help.

It is, after all, their ceremony and not mine .

"Dear Judy,

Thank you so much for taking the service for Mum on Thursday. You did a fantastic job and gave us as family the support & courage to get through a very emotional time.
So many people at the Plough afterwards remarked on the whole service and in particular how professional ,kind and considerate you are.

You gave us all the confidence to do our bit
& we are all very grateful to you.

Thankyou so much Judy.

Kind Regards
[Name.....] "

15/10/2022

For all the babies, and all the parents who will never forget 🙏🏼 Wave of Light

23/09/2022

Penny perfectly camouflaged in the bracken 🧡

10/09/2022

A beautiful quote, which King Charles III used in his speech about his ‘dear Mama’.

09/09/2022

Our Union Flag at home has now been joined by the Royal Air Force Ensign to honour the Late Queen. She was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force, and my husband’s boss for 26+ years of his time in uniform.
He went out this morning and quietly put our flags out 💔

Per Ardua ad Astra

09/09/2022

Paying our respects at home to the Late Queen . The flag will return to full mast at 1pm for the Proclamation, and then return to half mast this afternoon. I’m glad I have a retired military officer as a husband who Knows These Things! 💔🤍💙

10/08/2022

Happy Anniversary greetings to two Cherish couples - they both enjoyed beautiful sunny weather at their very different wedding ceremonies . Clare and Gareth tied the knot at a French Château 3 years ago, and Paul and Tracey said ‘We Do’ at a Rothschild mansion 8 years ago.
Big Love to both couples
💝🥂

25/07/2022

Lavender for Marion , my mum in law 💜

Six years ago, it was her funeral service and she is still so very much missed 💜

10/07/2022

No apologies for another glorious Turneresque sunset; no filter, just an iPhone snap from the window 🧡

08/07/2022

615am. 🔆

04/07/2022

4th July greetings to all my American friends, wherever in the world you are. Have a wonderful celebratory day ❤️🤍💙 🇺🇸
[view of Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline]

02/07/2022

A little vase of scented loveliness from my garden - roses, sweet peas and lavender in a sweet little vase from

02/07/2022

I made my brothers birthday cake. It’s not brilliant but I’m proud of it all the same. I’m just about to deliver it ….I hope he likes it too!!

02/07/2022

Yesterday’s service was for a lady who loved her garden, especially the yellow flowers. It was very touching that many people attending wore a touch of yellow, and some had yellow roses as buttonholes.

Everyone was invited to take a little bag of bulbs to plant in autumn, and when they flower in spring, they can remember her.

Yesterday evening I wandered around my own garden, looking at my yellow flowers as I wished Diane ‘God Speed’ 💛🌼💛🙏🏼

01/06/2022

Hello June! Kicking off Pride Month with tea in my lovely mug. ‘Love comes in all shapes and sizes’ - something we as celebrants know and celebrate so well 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

25/05/2022

This very interesting and well-researched article shows the disparity in availability and cost of weddings at Register Offices in England and Wales.

Do feel free to share it widely with couples, celebrants, and venues..

(2022). Trying to get a piece of paper from City Hall? The availability, accessibility, and administration of the register office wedding. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law. Ahead of Print.

16/05/2022

I had forgotten all about this podcast I was invited to make with Sheila back in January...

https://anchor.fm/sheila-west/episodes/What-is-the-role-of-a-Celebrant--Judy-Mansfield-reveals-all-e1ci4lr

Judy talks about the role of a Celebrant, and why you may use one. Judy says it’s being a story teller, talking to the families about their stories which can be very emotional and giving people an experience very personal and unique for each ceremony. We talk about the funny moments and the traini...

14/05/2022

Recalling the biggest hug after the coolest Soho Wedding for the nicest, kindest couple 🎶

"Is there a 6 star option?! Judy was one of the best choices we made in the whole of the wedding planning. Our guests said it was their favourite ceremony they’ve been to- with humour, sincerity, real meaning et al. Judy really felt like a part of the family - from the day-one preparation, to the pre-drinks the evening before, to the intimate ceremony itself. I could bang on for ages how much we loved her being there, and we would be honoured to have her by our side for all of life’s occasions going forward."

09/05/2022

I’m taking a little pause from my ceremonies (apart from those already in the diary) for the next few months, as we have Ukrainian guests arriving.

I’m going to help Galina to set up a local cleaning business, so I’ll be swapping my pen for a duster for a while 🥰
God Bless Ukraine 🇺🇦

01/05/2022

Happy 20th Birthday to Civil Ceremonies Limited! This organisation really is an excellent training provider.

The certificate you gain is not a ‘certificate of attendance’, but a real NOCN Level 3 qualification from a provider graded as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.

Courses are delivered by an experienced team so you get a breadth of input from your first written and assessed assignment, through the practical week, to the final day and the Final Assessment which goes for independent verification.

A Civil Ceremonies course is intense, rewarding and you make friends for life with your fellow students.

You leave with the firm foundation on which to build your celebrant career exactly how you want it to be, and with the knowledge that Anne and all the team really are there for you whenever you might need it .

Civil Ceremonies - Training Worth Remembering.

30/04/2022

Dr Stephanie Pywell of Open University shares some findings from her research into why couples choose celebrants

by Stephanie Pywell, Professor of Law and Social Justice at The Open University Law School The last 20 years have seen a very significant increase in the number of couples who opt to have celebrant…

29/04/2022

A very happy 11th wedding anniversary to William and Catherine.
In this photograph from the BBC, you can see them being ‘handfasted’ by the Archbishop of Canterbury - in the Church, the liturgy contains the words “Those whom God has joined together, let not man put asunder”.
Handfasting - or versions of it - has roots in many different cultures, including pagan, Christian and spiritual. It’s where the phrase ‘tying the knot’ comes from.
Celebrants can perform anything from a full Celtic handfasting or a symbolic hand tying ritual - but whatever you call it, the meaning is the same; the promise of fidelity for as long as love shall last .

23/04/2022

I just love when couples write their own wedding vows to one another. They’re written from the heart and read to one another with such emotion and sincerity - promises that only they can make, and that only they can keep.

For me, it’s the heart of their ceremony and I always have to blink away a tear at this point 💖