The Joy Celebrant

Yesterday’s Celebration of Life was a wonderful experience. When I trained as an End of Life Celebrant, I envisaged leading lots of celebrations like this, but the majority of people choose to go for cremations, graveside services or church ceremonies, which is the right thing for many families.But Direct Cremations are becoming a great deal more popular, for many reasons - whether it’s financial, a dislike of formality or anything else. For many families, they still want a send off that’s fitting for their loved one and a party celebrating their life can be the perfect choice. It can be as informal as you like, with symbolic elements, music, readings and anything else that’s meaningful for you! Your day, your way - that’s what I’m all about.If you’d like a chat with me about an end of life celebration for someone who has passed, for someone who would like to experience a party for their life with their loved ones as they’re nearing the end of their days, or indeed if you lost someone during Covid who didn’t get the send off that they deserved, please get in touch. #sendoff #fittingfarewell #celebrationoflife #endoflifecelebrant #endoflifecelebration

If you’d like a ticket for Keep on Blooming on Sunday please let me know asap xx

Let’s chat legals … if you want a unique wedding that’s all about you two, then it might be wise to consider having a legal ceremony in a registry office on another day (for less than £60) and making your main ceremony (that will have all your guests enthralled with your joyous story) be one that is led by a celebrant who will get to know you, become friends with you, and work with you and your suppliers to make sure that your wedding is everything you dream it to be, and more! I get not wanting to have the registrar / legal bit separate - in Northern Ireland, we were lucky that we could have a legal ceremony as we went with an incredible Humanist Celebrant, @chloecairns.thecelebrant so we didn’t need to do it as two ceremonies. But if you see the registrar bit as essential wedmin that can happen anytime before or after your big day then it means that your wedding day can be as perfect as you imagine it to be!! #celebrantoverregistrar #celebrantledceremony #celebrantwedding #personaliseyourwedding #yourdayyourway

For all of the couples I marry, I gift them a presentation copy of their script with a Polaroid of their newly married beaming embrace, so they can get it straight on the fridge while they wait for the professional shots to come through.With everything on screens these days, I love the tangibility of a Polaroid. The Polaroid I use was gifted to us for our engagement by great friends and we love experimenting with different film colours film. My hubby got us the strap and bag which are just so us with all their colours of the 🌈!I hope it’s something my couples enjoy as they reflect on the whirl-winding joy of their big day! Top tip with Polaroid pics - ignore Outkast when they sing #shakeitlikeapolaroidpicture - never shake a Polaroid!!#celebrantceremony #thepersonaltouch #polaroid #polaroidcelebrant #celebrantwithapolaroid #shakeitlikeapolaroidpicture#northwestwedding #weddingcelebrant #weddings2024 #weddings2025 #brideandbride #brideandgroom #groomandgroom #weddingjoy

I’m still buzzing away on my high after the most classy, elegant wedding with a stunning couple on Sunday @titanichotelliverpool - having been placed together in the same university halls in their 1st year at the University of Liverpool, it didn’t take long for T to fall for M’s beautiful brown eyes, sense of humour and he was fascinated by her as a person, having come all the way over from Perth. She was taken by his confidence to wear anything with no concern for what people thought of him and she found him to be absolutely hilarious. A night out, ending in Woody’s karaoke bar with him serenading her with ‘Live Forever’ and there was no going back. They are now settled back in her home city in Perth, with T’s scouse accent as strong as ever, ready for more travels together and weekends in their 4x4, hopefully with the addition of 2 puppies in the near future.Imagine the cutest 3 year old ring bearers kicking things off with their little toddle up the aisle as Canon in D transitioned in to Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls for M walking up with her dapper dad, looking utterly breathtaking with her 2 dazzling bridesmaids, happy tears leaking from their eyes. The very definition of a gentleman in his black velvet suit, T stood tall and proud as he watched his beloved moving towards him, all ready with his handsome groomsmen at his side. I wish M&T all the love and happiness for their married life together. Thankyou for having me as your celebrant, @meg__potts Their set up was so serene and sophisticated - @redeventscreative did an incredible job especially with turning around the room with staff from @titanichotelliverpool I’m excited to see the images created by @liviedwardsphoto and @dotmediauk #liverpoollove #liverpoolwedding #liverpoolcelebrant #celebrantledwedding #everlastinglove #allyouneedislove

Oh joy! These two beauties met in a Sainsbury’s Car Park en route to #Glastonbury where they worked at their mutual friend’s fancy pantsy Ravioli food van, gabbing the legs off each other til the wee small hours and dancing to The Chemical Brothers’ set. When they reconnected a couple of years later, they fell in love within no time and decided to do things their own way, mutually proposing to each other in the incredible romantic cliff top spot they visited to fossil hunt on their first holiday - except it was high tide and blowing a gale, so they had to quickly ask what they went there to ask! I loved the creativity Dave and Ffi put into their day, the joy their day brought to their families and friends and the enchanting woodland that they chose to say their ‘I dos!’ in - @thewoodsatoakley Their photographer, @sndportraits did an amazing job in capturing so much love and life in this couple and all their guests. Thankyou again for having me - I loved building a relationship with you to put together what I hope was the most perfect ceremony for you @ffididlydee #independentcelebrant #weddingcelebrant #thejoycelebrant #celebratinglove #2024wedding #woodlandwedding #outdoorwedding #rusticwedding #tipiwedding

As per tradition in our gorgeous bride’s Bulgaria, a beautiful symbolic element in Antoaneta and Chris’ wedding was the ritual of breaking and sharing pitka bread, baked that morning by her mother. This delicious pitka was dipped in salt and honey then fed to Chris by Antoaneta’s mother and fed to Antoaneta by Chris’ mother to show their children in law that they are welcome to their families and much loved by them. It also represents their wish of happily ever after for them. My goodness, but you couldn’t help feeling the love and joy beaming out of these 4! Bread and honey symbolise sweetness to resemble the hope that the couple will never have to want for much; that they never go hungry and always have enough. With salt, the couple show that they understand that life will not always be easy, but that together they will learn how to deal with and handle their struggles. It will make them grow stronger as a couple as they learn how to get through the harder times of life together. After their mothers in law fed them, our happy couple had a drink from a shared cup to symbolise that no matter what happens, they will always be there for one another. And after the ceremony, all the guests got to partake in eating the bread eating – another lovely way to share a meaningful ritual with those who matter the most to them.Photos of @antangelova and @ryanchris101 and their mums captured by @rawphoto @thereaderatcalderstones #symbolicceremony #culturalinclusion #personalisedwedding #celebrantceremony #celebrantledwedding #weddingcelebrant #liverpoolcelebrant #northwestcelebrant #wedding2025 #brideandgroom #inclusivewedding #celebratoryceremony

For their wedding day, it was important to Chris and Antoaneta to involve their 2 daughters in a child friendly way. So we opted for a Sand Ceremony and a brucey bonus was that it meant every single guest could get involved.As everyone gathered for a mingle over drinks and canapés, I got all the guests to pop some white sand in the foundation of the vessel that Chris, Antoaneta and their 2 daughters would use to create their own unique sand jar. They chose the colours of blue and green aswell as they’d daughters’ favourite colours, pink and purple, to represent their hopes and dreams and what they would be to each other going forward. So much meaning is attributed to colours chosen for a wedding ceremony in things like a sand ceremony, handfasting, smoke clouds, cocktail mixing and much more. For this gorgeous family, their colours represented the following: 💙Blue evokes peace and calm, we think of water that sustains all life and that can change and adapt to any form or environment. Peace, patience, tranquility and understanding are also associated with blue, aswell as trust, loyalty, strength, commitment and longevity. 💜Purple exudes power, dignity and strength and can symbolise a determination to overcome challenges and embrace personal strengths and promote personal growth. 💓Pink is associated with universal love, passion, romance, happiness and deep emotional connection. It symbolises tenderness, caring, self worth and acceptance. 💚Green acts as a seal of health, luck and prosperity. Through this vibrant colour is an expression of hopes for good health, abundance and a flourishing life. What colours would you choose? @rawphoto took the pics and it happened @thereaderatcalderstones starring @antangelova and @ryanchris101 #sandceremony #celebrantceremony #celebrantwedding #personalisedceremony #liverpoolwed

Today’s post is all about children at weddings. For Chris and Antoaneta, their wedding was not only a celebration of their love for each other but also a tribute to their family, especially their two daughters. Including children in their special day was a priority, and they made sure the event was inclusive and enjoyable for all the young guests.They had a few areas scattered around for the children to be able to be themselves, to be free, to play; with arts and crafts under the shade of a tree on a picnic table, lawn games in another area. The grounds of @thereaderatcalderstones were completely enclosed and secure, giving the children the freedom to run around safely. This allowed the adults to relax and enjoy the ceremony, knowing the kids were having fun in a safe environment. A particularly beautiful moment was when Chris and Ant’s daughters participated in their Sand Ceremony, symbolizing the blending of their family. This meaningful inclusion added a special touch to the ceremony and created lasting memories for the entire family - more on that tomorrow! And those memories have been beautifully captured by Kenny @RawPhotographyLtd For some people, children at weddings is a no no, but if you do want to include kids in your wedding day, I can help you with ideas to make it a fun and enriching experience for them and their parents. I was an early years teacher and special needs coordinator for many years so playing with littlies and supporting people with additional needs is my jam. #childrenatweddings #inclusivewedding #playfulwedding #celebrantledwedding #celebrantceremony