How often do we use the word ‘courage’ to denote someone who acts bravely in the face of adversity? It’s certainly how most people understand the word and its tone of battle-like determination. Yet, when I reflect on what it means to live a courageous life, it is based on the original meaning. Courage comes […]
With the rise of celebrant-led wedding ceremonies in England, and registrars now offering ‘bespoke’ ceremonies, it’s important for couples to understand the difference between when a celebrant creates a bespoke ceremony and when a registrar offers a bespoke ceremony. Let me say at the outset, they are nothing alike, though you may think for the […]
You are warmly invited to a celebrant education day for celebrants in the north of England and Southern Scotland. Regardless of where we are in our celebrant career, ongoing development is essential for best practice. This education day, led by Veronika Robinson (President of the Association of Independent Celebrants), is suitable for […]
All marriages end. Whether by death, divorce or old-fashioned neglect, the rose-hued dreams we had for Happily Ever After become eroded in the passage of time. To love is to risk. Who here hasn’t gambled on love? And if we knew that someday it all would end, would we have taken even a single […]
Years ago, I came across the most beautiful postcard of a gorgeous wild-garden scene, with the words: The meaning of life is… The answer (if there was one) would have been written where the crumbled part of the stone wall was in the picture. It infuriated me. My curiosity really, really, really wanted the answer. […]
The words death and café conjure such different images, don’t they? The idea of placing them alongside each other evokes confusion or curiosity, but rarely is the response neutral. Grief, pain, torment, shock, loss, heartbreak, endings, finality. Cappuccino, cake, tea, scones, taste sensation, pleasure, companionship, joviality. How on earth do you link […]
Is ‘running off in secret’ something couples do to avoid dealing with complicated relations, permission, expensive commercialised wedding days and high-level stress or is the shrouding of the event in secrecy a form of magical intimacy? Culturally we’ve been somewhat conditioned to believe it’s rather anti-social behaviour, and often done in haste, but I would […]
Is the closing of curtains a vital ritual in the cremation service or an out-of-date tradition? A fundamental aspect of being a funeral celebrant is the ability to listen the needs and wishes of the chief mourner. One of the questions that we must ask, for those planning a cremation service, is “Do you want […]
Some of the oldest rituals transcend time because, when words can no longer express our deepest needs, we turn to the art of storytelling by imagery. This allows deeply significant symbolism to embed into our psyche. It’s akin to dropping an archetypal-rich anchor deep into an artesian basin to draw up ancestral wisdom and […]
As a specialist in handfasting ceremonies, I find it hypocritical (at best) and moneymaking (at worst) for humanist celebrants to officiate wedding ceremonies which include the ritual of handfasting. Why? Firstly, humanists denounce a belief in anything connected to deities. They are, in short, self-identified atheists or agnostics. A handfasting is a beautiful and ancient […]