Celebrating You

14/07/2024

Baby Bilbo asleep amongst the noisy pub crowd during the match 🥰🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿💙🐾

27/06/2024

🥰

19/06/2024

It’s me!

Featured Favourite!

Celebrant Paula McDonnell of Celebrating You is ready to sprinkle some magic onto your big day! Paula is here to help you celebrate your love story in the most unique and beautiful way imaginable!

From exchanging vows to incorporating beautiful rituals, Paula will make sure your wedding day is an unforgettable celebration of love, laughter, and happily ever after!

Celebrating You covers South Yorkshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire & Manchester.

https://www.thecompleteweddingdirectory.co.uk/CelebratingYou/fo2ec3ee1dcc

30/04/2024

10/04/2024

⭐️ Featured Favourite! ⭐️

🎉💕 Celebrate your love story with Paula McDonnell of Celebrating You! 💍✨ Paula is an enthusiastic celebrant ready to join you in celebrating your unique love and the beautiful bond you share. 🌟💖

Imagine a ceremony imbued with warmth and relaxation, creating cherished and enduring memories for all. 💫✨ Paula can incorporate beautiful rituals limited only by your imagination, making your wedding day an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. 🌟🎉

No matter the scale or budget, Celebrating You promises a wedding ceremony that will forever remain etched in your memory. 💕💒

💍 Celebrating You covers South Yorkshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire & Manchester.

https://www.thecompleteweddingdirectory.co.uk/CelebratingYou/fo2ec3ee1dcc

06/03/2024

⭐️ Featured Favourite! ⭐️

🌸💖 Celebrate your love story with Paula McDonnell, your dedicated celebrant! Whether it's your first journey as a couple, a same-sex partnership, a blended family, or including beloved pets, Celebrating You is thrilled to join you on your wedding day! 💒🐾

👩‍❤️‍👨 Together, you'll collaborate to fashion a deeply personal, exquisitely crafted, and entirely distinctive wedding ceremony that resonates with both you and your guests! 🥂✨ This approach creates a ceremony imbued with warmth and relaxation, fostering cherished and enduring memories for all in attendance! 🌿🌟

🎊 Let Paula make your wedding day an unforgettable experience!

💍 Celebrating You covers South Yorkshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire & Manchester.

https://www.thecompleteweddingdirectory.co.uk/CelebratingYou/fo2ec3ee1dcc

14/02/2024

I’m a Celebrant (in case I’d not mentioned it!) and I celebrate love in all its forms. On Valentine’s Day I wanted to share some thoughts accompanied by these 3 photos.

1. My parents who were married for almost 63 years and showed me (& still do even though they’ve passed away) the meaning of love.

2. Me and my husband on holiday right now in Thailand. We’ve been married for almost 26 years. It’s been a rollercoaster 🎢 yet we’ve managed to hold on tight. Love isn’t always easy. Love grows and changes and gets poorly and recovers and its angry and patient and evolves and hurts and soothes and laughs and cries and tests and pulls every damned nerve in your body and comforts and waits but hopefully never completely dies.

3. Love presents itself in many different forms so if you’re not in a romantic relationship don’t let that define you because you can still celebrate today 🥰

Love is special. Nurture it tenderly 💞

04/01/2024

Celebrant-led weddings and commitment ceremonies are wonderful celebratory occasions, made completely bespoke to each couple.

09/12/2023

Read my new blog post! Some food for thought 💭

Embrace the beauty of life while honouring the departed. Comment below to let me know your favourite way to honour and celebrate life!

https://www.celebratingyou.net/post/5-ways-of-celebrating-life-and-honouring-death?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=blog.post-promoter&utm_campaign=daefac0f-087b-49d8-b123-3438183b9071&fbclid=PAAabHyc8cdhsdAwdvaH0pafSqKjh84Aewjea0BGFxNg4BxEbZv3lHPCJeEXM_aem_AavafR1Rkc5gqsb2RDD2f14ypEZ6q_G2jXTV7CrPhqHcaNSjNLuLUwtNOOBGJS-HDCE

Birth, marriage and death in the UK all involve a legal process and a financial outlay. Whilst we invariably have the time in planning, often in great detail, the birth of a new baby (or adoption of a child) and a wedding celebrating a legal marriage, we do not always have this luxury prior to the l...

21/11/2023

One of the things that made me very happy about this fantastic review Amber and Martin left for me was their acknowledgement of the great value for money they got from the service I provided. Several of my couples have said that I go above and beyond. Some have said I should increase my prices! Regardless, find suppliers who are passionate about what they do and who really care. 💕

21/11/2023

A lovely review from a lovely couple. For me the second time a female Owl married her male Blade. IYKYK 😉 💕

19/11/2023

Day 7/7 for World Celebrants Week 2023 and my final post. Hope you find my advice useful!

18/11/2023

Why I decided to be Celebrating You ♥️⭐️

17/11/2023

I love the huge array of diversity and skills that Celebrants offer. Being self employed can be isolating, so it’s important to make connections and support one another and learn. All of these great Celebrants inspire me in different ways.

16/11/2023

A selection of the comments I have received from some of my clients during my time as a Celebrant. Always grateful that they take the time to feedback to me. There are many Celebrants available for you to use. They each have their own qualities. If you would like to see whether I am The One to be Celebrating You - then do get in touch for a no obligation chat. Check out my website for all my contact details: www.celebratingyou,net

15/11/2023

15/11/2023

14/11/2023

There’s blooming 100’s of reasons to be honest but here’s 3!

14/11/2023

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you… 🎶🎤🎵 Day 1 of World Celebrants Week ❤️

01/11/2023

I’m having a flurry of emotion after receiving another 5* review from two very special people. If you’re thinking about choosing a Celebrant to help you celebrate life and love with laughter involved, then please get in touch for a no obligation chat 💬

27/10/2023

After yesterday’s post of two reviews I recently received, lo and behold if I didn’t get notification last night if another two that had been written. Lucky 🍀 old me. I will never stop feeling grateful to my clients taking their time to talk about how they have found working with me.

26/10/2023

Thought I’d share a couple of reviews I’ve received in the past couple of weeks. Always makes me feel grateful that people@are happy to take the time to share their experiences working with me.

10/10/2023

Read, digest, reflect, change as required...
Remember that a friend is one of the nicest things to have, and the nicest things to be 🥰

25/08/2023

Today I fly away 😎
Technically working Saturday 9th as I’ve a wedding for a gorgeous couple known as the 🐧 & the 🐼 💕

21/08/2023

This is a long but important post, sorry!

Recently I’ve been asked a lot about what I do and I’m always proud to share that I’m a celebrant. I’ve received a lot of wonderful feedback about how it takes a ‘special kind of person’ to do what I do and I agree, it does. But I’ve also had some comments about how my job must be easy just reading from a script all day! So here’s a little snapshot of my celebrant life and what it takes to create and deliver a 30 minute celebration of someone’s life.

For families 🖤

• I provide 24hr support for families from the moment I am introduced to them, making every meeting a comfortable experience for all involved.
• I listen intently when meeting with them to ensure I capture the essence of their loved one to enable me to write a personal, bespoke celebration of their loved ones life.
• I support families where there is a disconnect or tension, ensuring that everyone feels their input is valid and heard.
• I use my intuition to pre-empt any potential issues that may occur during a ceremony and sensitively make the Funeral Director aware.
• I utilise my resource library of readings, poems, and music for families to assist them with making choices if they need support.
• I provide a draft version of the ceremony for the family ahead of the funeral date to ensure they approve of the words written for their loved one and I pride myself that my drafts always receive glowing feedback.
• I’m flexible to make amendments to a ceremony that a family may request if they have overlooked an important sentiment that should be represented.
• I have spoken other languages such as Welsh and Afrikaans during ceremonies to make the occasion all the more personal for the deceased and inclusive for everyone attending, be that in person, or online from around the world.
• I will ensure that the deceased's religious beliefs are represented, including blessings, prayers, and readings from religious scriptures.
• I will bring different faiths together in a ceremony if the deceased aligned to dual religions.
• I will attend the chapel of rest on the family's request and sit with their loved one ahead of their ceremony to give them comfort.
• I communicate with my families the day before a ceremony to make them comfortable with the process on the day. I also advise them to eat and keep hydrated beforehand as the emotional energy can be draining and it's always useful to have something 'in the tank'.
• I provide pastoral care beyond the ceremony for families, including such things as checking in with them ahead of their loved ones' milestone occasions, providing grief awareness workbooks for the younger family members who are bereaved for the first time, and recommending pathways to specialist support such as bereavement care and referrals for vulnerable family members who now find themselves living alone after a loved one has passed.
• I pledge to only support only one family per ceremony day to ensure I am available for them exclusively should they need me before or after.
• I never leave the chapel place before a family to ensure they receive comfort and support in whatever form it is needed.
• I check in with families in the days after a ceremony has taken place to offer support and advice if applicable.
• I’m known and trusted locally and have been personally requested as a celebrant by mourners who have attended ceremonies I have delivered for my compassion, and delivery style.

For communities 🖤

• I am facilitating the Post-box to Heaven installation at Canley Crematorium for bereaved families to write letters to their loved ones to help with the grieving process.
• I am a supporter of the campaign with the NAFD to prepare children for bereavement before it happens and have pledged to help my local primary school to deliver PHSE lessons on the subject.
• I use my social media following over multiple platforms to start conversations which challenge the stigma surrounding death and bereavement.
• I continually support annual awareness campaigns such as Grief Awareness Week and provide signposting to professional bereavement organisations during seasonal holidays such as Christmas which are often grief triggers for the bereaved.

For my personal development, best practice and wellbeing 🖤

• I’m proud to declare that I trained with the International College of Professional Celebrants who provided me with the foundations I’ve used to become the Celebrant I am today.
• I seek and take guidance from my peers in the industry, whilst sharing my knowledge and experience to inspire and support others.
• I have completed creative writing courses with the Open University to enhance my 'real life' writing experience when creating a loved one's eulogy.
• I seek ongoing and annual feedback from those I work for to support my continual development and maintain good relationships to ensure my work is a positive extension of the Funeral Directors professional and caring service.
• I demonstrate that the funeral service is delivered by 'one team', regardless of the part that you play.
• I take my voice health and preparation ahead of ceremonies seriously and I refrain from consuming dairy for 48 hrs before a ceremony to protect the vocal cords and I also adhere to total vocal rest on the day.
• I have a unique ritual of practices on the day of a ceremony to prepare for being the best I can be, such as meditation, mindfulness, gratitude affirmations, and breathing practices.
• And finally, I’m beyond proud to say that I’m 5 Star Google rated as a local funeral celebrant and national wedding celebrant.

But ignore all that, it’s just reading from a script all day isn’t it!

Thank you for taking 2 minutes and 29 seconds to read through this post, it’s appreciated 🖤

21/08/2023

I love capturing that sense of fun shared by couples, S & A we’re fabulous clients and their Wedding Ceremony a complete joy to craft. 💜
Thanks to Ace Of Shades Photography for the gorgeous pic 😍

06/08/2023

If you’re in Cambridgeshire and in need of a celebrant, I can highly recommend the wonderful Bev, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077170874744

ICPC trained professional Civil Celebrant creating unique and bespoke ceremonies for all occasions.

06/08/2023

If you live in Norfolk and are in need of a celebrant, I can highly recommend the wonderful Jillian, https://www.facebook.com/thecelebrantcompany

Professional Qualified Celebrant; I will write you a beautifully bespoke ceremony.

06/08/2023

If you live in Coventry or surrounding areas and are in need of a wonderful celebrant, I can highly recommend Laura, https://www.facebook.com/EternalCelebrant

Civil Celebrant creating bespoke ceremonies including funerals, weddings, bow renewals and baby nami