Shelley Bell - Independent Celebrant

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Shelley Bell - Independent Celebrant

Fun, full of zest and curiousity, I am a Celebrant who loves to tell your stories.

09/09/2025

💕 A Thank You to Our Everyday Heroes 💕

💕 As a small gesture of gratitude, I am proud to offer a discount on all my services to those who serve and protect us every day.
🌸 This includes all members of the UK Emergency Services (Police, Fire, Ambulance, NHS, Coastguard) and our Armed Forces.

💕 Your dedication, courage, and commitment do not go unnoticed – and it’s an honour to support you in creating meaningful ceremonies that celebrate life’s most important moments.
If you, or someone you love, is part of these incredible services, please get in touch to find out more.

With heartfelt thanks,
Shelley Bell Celebrant

08/09/2025

💕 Monday Motivation - Perfection Part 2 💕

💕 My job as a story teller and a grief coach is to prompt conversation and reframe opinions so that a different point of view could be found. After last weeks post about judgement and perfection I was contacted by my NLP Coach who told me it was a good post but it didn't go far enough..... let's explore...

💕 My coach said simply "If something's worth doing, it's worth doing badly.....because then you can improve"
My first instinct was to cower from this idea because I'm aware of my actions impacting other people who may already be vulnerable but then I got to thinking of a workshop I lead where I made a statement and seemed to cause great upset to one of the attendees.

💕 However, once I had parked my horror and trepidation we commenced a conversation about their beliefs and why they felt so certain that they should feel so terrible and so guilty about the death of their person and they deserved to feel terrible. And eventually, from this conversation they realised that they were hanging onto pain that was stopping them from experiencing pleasure, that there permanent upset stopped their remaining family enjoying in their company and feeling their love and that grief is a feeling big and overwhelming enough without needing more excuses for personal upset so why were they so determined to believe they were at fault??

💕 At the end of the session I was made to realise 2 things
🌸 The attendee of my workshop thanked me for getting them to consider a different point of view and told me they felt lighter as a result.
🌸 My coach was right - Imperfection is full of challenges but far more interesting, and that every time you start messy you're building experience from whence you can only improve.

So, this Monday I am prepared to start badly and improve from there and that perfection is so very imperfect.

05/09/2025

💕 Bereavement Support 💕

💕 As I mentioned yesterday its the International Day of charity today, so here on Funeral Fridays I wanted to let you know about some charities that support you with your grief. However, I would also like to remind you that as charities they need your support too, so if you can make a donation via the same contact numbers and websites then please do.

💕 Here are the details for some national support groups;
Cruse cruse.org.uk 0808 808 1677
Sue Ryder sueryder.org
The Good Grief Trust thegoodgrieftrust.org
National Bereavement Service 0800 0246 181
St Helena 01206 845566

04/09/2025

💕 International Day of Charity 💕

💕 Tomorrow is International Day of Charity and so I would like to draw your attention to a really easy way to raise funds for your chosen charity (hopefully the one I work for, age Well East) without having it costing you an extra penny.

💕 Easyfundraising is a brilliant app you can download on your phone, tablet or computer. In a few simple steps you can create an instruction that means when you use that device to do any shopping on any website, if the retailer subscribes to Easyfundraising, THEY will make a donation for a percentage of the amount you spend to that charity.
For example, every time I do my online shop for Tesco I get a little pop up that asks if I would like a donation of a percentage of my bill to be made to my charity, I click yes and when I pay my bill Age Well East gets a contribution made to them by Tesco and not me!!

03/09/2025

💕 Renaming Ceremonies 💕

💕 A name is so much more than a word – it’s identity, belonging, and the start of a new chapter.
As a celebrant, I can help create a renaming ceremony that honours your journey, celebrates your courage, and marks the moment you step fully into living as your authentic self. 🌈💫

💕 Whether you’d like something small and intimate with just a few loved ones, or a joyful gathering filled with ritual, music, and meaning, your ceremony will be uniquely yours.
Together we can weave words, symbols, and moments that reflect not just your name – but you.

💕 Because you deserve to be seen, celebrated, and called by the name that feels like home. 💜

02/09/2025

💕Alzheimers Month 💕

💕 Those of you who know me know that until earlier this year we were supporting a family member living with dementia and I also work in a charitable organisation that supports those living with and those caring for people with dementia.
As a celebrant working in ceremonies such as weddings and funerals which are about love, connection and belonging – and that includes those living with dementia.

💕 I always remind families that with a little thought and planning, someone with dementia can still feel part of these precious moments. 💜
🌸 At weddings, it might mean choosing familiar music, offering a quiet space, or giving them a gentle role such as holding hands down the aisle.
🌸 At funerals, it could be sharing photos, favourite songs, or comforting memories that spark recognition and help them feel included.

💕 Dementia does not take away a person’s heart, their love, or the value of their presence. With compassion, we can create ceremonies where everyone belongs.
Because at the heart of every ceremony I write is connection – and that’s something dementia can never take away. 💕

01/09/2025

💕 Monday Motivation - Perfection sucks! 💕

💕 Its quite a confrontational picture this one isn't it and its full of flaws.
'Judge Me' as a challenge, but there is only one forum in which I should be judged which is if I am being prosecuted in a court of law. Judgement assumes that we all share the same morals and values and whilst we might share the majority of them, there will always be difference and conflict.

💕 The second part is 'perfect' and I would argue that perfection is a construct that simply does not really exist and also that it is over rated!

💕 It's easy to let perfection block us from action
🌸 Speaking up in a meeting if the idea we have is not 100% fully formed
🌸 Starting a project if we don't have a point by point plan to finish it perfectly
🌸 To go for the big idea when we are constantly caught between doing and not doing, being ready and waiting to feel ready....

💕 The reality is that sometimes we need to show up and take action even if we are unsure, to speak before the speech is polished, to act only in the knowledge that the action is legal and won't hurt anyone, it's about stepping forward even if the steps are a little wobbly.

So this Monday, forget perfection, with hold your judgements and just focus on taking that first step forward, even if it is wobbly and slightly off target, at least your moving and with every step comes learning.

29/08/2025

💕 Introducing.......Blossome 💕

💕 I want to introduce you to a very special organisation run by a brilliant lady called Kim .

💕 Their mission is to help people learn how to heal themselves with self-care and the evidence based practice of self-compassion, and in doing so, end the generational cycles of addiction in families. They support those who are deeply affected by a loved one’s struggle with addiction. This often hidden group — family members and friends — faces immense emotional challenges, compounded by stigma and isolation. They carry the weight of keeping life together while their loved one’s addictions create chaos, leading to feelings of guilt and shame.

💕 Blossome provides a warm, trauma-informed community where people can feel safe to be with their experiences, share their experiences and heal, learning to process and manage their emotions. Their space encourages vulnerability and connection, helping individuals realise they’re not alone in their suffering. They believe that healing starts with self-care and self-compassion, and help people feel worthy of support and empowered to prioritise their well-being at their own pace.

💕 Blossome have a whole host of events and activities groups and workshops coming up including one designed specifically to help widows. So, if you know someone who has been affected by bereavement caused by addiction, who lives in North East Essex do direct them to www.blossome.support for more info.

28/08/2025

💕 Happy Anniversary To My August Couples......💕

💕 To all of those fabulous couples who have picked me to be their wedding celebrant, for all the laughs, tears, new locations, love stories, cultural influences, religious readings and unadulterated joy you have brought to me - Thank you and Happy Anniversary!!!

❤️

27/08/2025

🌸💕 Blogging Brilliant 💕

💕 I'm here, once again to remind you that I have a Blog. It's available on my website at www.shelleybell.co.uk and is, if I do say myself, something of a triumph.

💕 You see its not just me banging on about Weddings, its oh so much more....
🌸 How to write the most Fabulous Wedding Speech ever!!
🌸 Direct Cremations - What's all the fuss about??
🌸 Vow Renewals - A beautiful Celebration of Love
🌸 What Happens after the Funeral - A guide to the cremation process.

💕 There would have to be something wrong with you to miss it........well, what are you waiting for......get over there......

26/08/2025

💕 Weddings Without Misogyny 💕

💕 Your wedding day should be about love, equality, and authenticity — not outdated traditions that don’t feel right to you. 💍

With the help of Shelley Bell Celebrant, couples are rewriting the rules:
🌸 No “giving away” unless you want it.
🌸 Both partners get to shine equally.
🌸 Language that celebrates partnership, not possession.
🌸 A ceremony that reflects who YOU are, not old stereotypes.

💕 Because a wedding should never be about ownership or obligation — it’s about two people choosing each other, with joy and respect. 💕

💕 I'm here to make sure your “I do” reflects equality, empowerment, and love in its purest form. Get in touch.....

25/08/2025

💕 Monday Motivation - Momentum 💕

💕 Someone once said to me, "if you do nothing else all day, make your bed." and I thought 'yeah right'! But they are right.

💕 When I was a kid, if I had homework due on Monday I would wait until Sunday to start it, late Sunday and then be freaking out in an anxious frenzy that it was too much or I didn't get it and I might as well never go back to school again!! Where as, when I went to college, I completed or at least fully started them that evening and lo and behold - less freakouts - oh, what a fool I was!!

💕 Even in my dark times when I've found it barely possible to be out of it, making my bed did something to my brain, it got the message that "look out, were doing things now, lets keep going" and that might take me to brushing my teeth or having a shower before getting back to bed but for as long as I had the energy, I did something.

💕 The military get you to make your bed everyday because the basic discipline involved in looking after something and keeping things clean and neat are disciplines that help to keep us self and our weapons working properly.

💕 You see momentum isn't loud, it isn't a flurry, its five minutes - as in "I'll give it five minutes" and if I can I might give it five minutes more and before you know it I might have made the bed, washed up and hoovered and even replied to those emails I've been meaning to get to, all because I gave it five minutes.

So, this bank holiday Monday, start with making the bed and see where your five minutes takes you....

Address

Colchester

Website

http://www.shelleybell.co.uk/

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How Can I Help You?

My Independent Family Celebrant services provide beautifully tailored and unique Wedding Ceremonies, Vow Renewals, Naming Ceremonies and sensitive Funeral Ceremonies across Essex and East Anglia. Your ceremony is equally important to me as it is to you, so I take the time to find out who you are and pay special attention to what is truly important to you, as well as how you want the ceremony to look and feel.

Say goodbye to someone in a style that truly reflected them or usher in the future with a new spouse or welcome a child into the family in a ceremony full of joy and inspiration, there are no limits to what your ceremony can be.

With abundant choices and a multitude of elements to choose from in your ceremony it can be everything you imagined, with no restriction on location, licenses or legal requirements that are prevalent in civil ceremonies.

Whether you have a religious belief or prefer to incorporate other traditions, I have something for everyone and respect your personal spirituality and beliefs.