Do You Have To Train To Be A Celebrant?

 

Do you have to train to be a celebrant?

 

By Veronika Sophia Robinson

This is probably one of the first questions someone asks when they’re playing with the idea of a career in celebrancy. The short answer is: in the UK, no. Celebrancy, like the wedding and funeral industries, is (at the time of publishing this blog: December 2025) an unregulated industry. That means any old cowboy can set up and sell their wares. The question is: should they?

 

 

Celebrancy is ripe with stories of ceremonies ruined by incompetent celebrants. It’s heart-breaking because the people they are paid to serve will NEVER get that ceremony again. 

As someone who has been officiating ceremonies for more than thirty years, and training celebrants since 2017, my advice is: give this profession the respect it deserves. It might look easy to stand up in front of an audience of wedding guests or congregation of mourners, but that doesn’t mean it is.  Officiating a ceremony is a small part of the role. There are so many aspects to being a celebrant that to jump in, and be there to support people in their pivotal life stories, requires a full understanding of the role. And that’s not something you learn or pick up in two minutes or get off a quick online course or a two-day ‘turn up and get a certificate’ course. The standards for entering this profession should be rigorous, and led and maintained by those who have a long standing as celebrants (not those whose long background is in marketing or business and very little real-life celebrant experience).

 

Veronika officiating Sarah and Ned’s Wedding

 

One thing I hear from our celebrant-training students (and they say this after the first couple of hours on day one!) is that they can’t believe how much is involved in the role, and that they really had no idea.

Sometimes a potential wedding client asks “Do we have to have a celebrant? Can we just get a friend to do the ceremony?” My response is: “Yes, your friend can do it for you. No problem. But you might want to think really carefully about whether that’s the best decision.” There is a world of difference between a friend officiating a ceremony and an expert skilled in holding the space, with experience in getting the words off the page, and guiding people through the liminal space of their ceremony. Do they have the skills to deal with the unexpected?

It might be tempting to skip celebrant training and tell yourself you’ll pick it up on the job. There’s nothing to stop you doing that but is it fair for people (mourners or wedding couples for example) to have their once-in-a-lifetime moment in the hands of someone who isn’t 100% clear about their role?

It’s not dissimilar to insurance. It’s not a matter of can you afford insurance? Can you afford not to have insurance?

Can you afford not to be a professional celebrant trained to an excellent standard?

Extract from funeral script written by Veronika Robinson

 

What Google and AI Can’t Teach You About Being a Celebrant


I can, hand on heart, say that I’ve never outsourced the writing and creation of a single ceremony script to another celebrant or used AI to write one. It is becoming increasingly common for celebrants to engage in such a practice. There’s also a new generation of celebrants who have chosen not to spend money and time on seeking suitable training, and have decided to use Google and AI to give them entry into this vocation/career. While, on one hand, I can understand someone who has been asked to officiate a friend’s wedding turning to the Internet for help (because, let’s face it, they have NO idea how much is involved in this job), what I can’t (at any level) understand is why someone would base their new career on gathering titbits of information that they can’t know to be accurate, authentic or based on adequate experience.

We’ve had quite a few people come to us for celebrant training who’ve actually trained elsewhere but felt something was ‘lacking’. They’ve described the differences as like ‘night and day’. Their previous courses, they said, were not much better than scrolling the ‘net.

 

Veronika Robinson preparing to officiate a funeral at Ashgate Lane Cemetery Chapel



Here’s why Google (insert any other search engine) and AI won’t give you what you need for this role.

1. The key word here is ‘artificial’ (false, fake, faux, counterfeit, etc.) By choosing that route (to save time, money, or other) you are not getting the lived experience of someone who has successfully mastered the art and craft of celebrancy.
2. AI and Google will not show, demonstrate and explain the nuances of working with clients (especially ones who may be particularly challenging, for whatever reason) and how you navigate these relationships with care, compassion, understanding and expertise.
3. Any celebrant worth their salt will not be putting up well-written, beautiful bespoke scripts online so how the heck would AI the Poacher know what one looks like? The content of ‘order of service’ examples online is laughable, to say the least.
4. How does AI the Poacher (and his bestie Google) teach you how to use your voice to its best advantage, and guide you through learning presence over performance? There’s no point asking your partner or family member to give you feedback on your script or presentation because they don’t know what to look for.
5. Will AI and G-boy, rigorously go through your training scripts (like I do) and highlight all the areas which need improving? Do they know all the behind-the-scenes work involved in this job? Will they teach you what’s required to work in a crematorium, other chapel or burial ground; and how to seamlessly work with bereavement staff and funeral directors? Will they show you the ‘journey to ceremony’ regardless of the rite of passage? Do they understand the sensitivity required for working with the bereaved? No, no, no and no.
6. A and G have no ‘intelligence’ (emotional or otherwise) about the etiquette and practices required in this role. I once read a book on how to be a funeral celebrant and nearly passed out when I saw that to be a funeral celebrant all you need is a printer, paper and laptop. Nowhere in the book was any of the information that takes weeks and months (indeed years) to learn. It’s not just about writing a script, but understanding the logistics of choreography in any ceremony.
7. There’s a new trend in celebrancy for ‘unscripted ceremonies’. That’s all very well, but what about accountability? Even with a script, there are many, many tales of celebrants getting things wrong (because they didn’t show the client the script and have it approved or didn’t save the latest draft that was approved). You’re opening yourself up to a potential law suit if you don’t take responsibility for what you create and deliver. The only reason a scripted ceremony might be considered ‘boring’ is because the celebrant is unfamiliar with what they’ve written (that is, hasn’t rehearsed it many times) or it is poorly written. If the celebrant is enthusiastic about sharing the ceremony, that will shine through.
8. If you want to avoid the rigour which comes from excellent training (like ours, at Heart-led Celebrants), then you won’t last long with clients. They are, in effect, your employers. Your job is to take direction. If you’re unable to receive honest and open feedback from a celebrant trainer, then the day a client ‘tears your script apart’ will knock your confidence in ways you couldn’t imagine.
9. When I train someone to be a celebrant, I see their journey as a student akin to that of an apprenticeship. They are taking time to learn from someone who has spent years (and thousands of ceremonies) mastering their craft. They have seven-day-a-week access to tutor support, guidance and mentoring to help them on this path. As a trainer, I am invested in someone’s learning. I want the best for them, and I also care about their future clients. Do you think A and G will be by your side when you’re officiating your first funeral for a baby or a death by suicide? Will they be there when the bride is having an emotional breakdown in the minutes before her ceremony? Will A and G teach you the hundreds of small details that become part of an experienced celebrant’s ‘muscle memory’ of what does and doesn’t work? Will they be there for you when you’re heading off to officiate a funeral on the day one of your loved ones has died?
10. Your clients get one chance at their ceremony. Respect them enough to ensure you have the skills to know what you’re doing and the qualities to be a great celebrant. The latter has nothing to do with popularity or meaningless celebrant awards and has everything to do with professional integrity.

What you think you’re saving in time and money by choosing A and G over excellent training will cost you more in the long run. So much more. And not only that, it will impact every client you have.

 

Veronika Robinson officiating at Emily and Ben’s woodland wedding at Low Hall The Lakes




Veronika Robinson and Paul Robinson are a husband and wife team whose boutique celebrant training Heart-led Celebrants attracts people from around the world. Heart-led Celebrants has earned a reputation for excellence in celebrant training, and those who are certified exemplify the highest standards in the industry.

 

We promise that our celebrant-training courses exceed what you’ll learn on NOCN courses.

 

Veronika has been a working celebrant (internationally, and across all rites of passage) for more than thirty years. She generously shares her experiences with celebrants-in-training. Veronika is the author of many books including the popular Celebrant Collection: Write That Eulogy; The Successful Celebrant; Funeral Celebrant Ceremony Planner; Wedding Celebrant Ceremony Planner; The Discrimination-free Celebrant; The Five Elements. She earned her Masters Degree in Creative Writing from University of Cumbria.

Award-winning voice artist, Paul Robinson, has had a whole career centred around his voice and other people’s. He’s highly experienced as a celebrant, trained actor, drama coach, voice-over artist, singer, broadcaster, compère, and ventriloquist. Paul is an excellent communicator and teacher, and has a sixth sense about how to relate to individuals, groups and audiences.

 

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Celebrant Training School


© Veronika Sophia Robinson


Here in the heart of rural Cumbria, my husband Paul Robinson and I offer bespoke celebrant training through our boutique celebrant-training school Heart-led Celebrants.

What our celebrant training website (a portal into our world) deliberately lacks is the ‘slick, corporate look’. Why? Because there is nothing about the look or the reality of that sort of training that prepares you for real-life celebrancy. So, what do we offer? Down-to-earth, realistic, lived celebrant experiences that we generously pass on in our teaching. After my thirty years of celebrancy (across all rites of passage) and, for Paul, more than five decades earning his living from his voice and working with other people’s, you’re in the most capable and qualified hands. A lot of care, thought, time and energy investment has gone into ensuring each person is as prepared as possible before they take on their first ceremony.

One of our recent students, wrote:
“From my perspective, to be trained in something you have to build a depth and knowledge of your subject. You should fully understand it and the checking of that understanding should be robust. The training should stretch and challenge you, feeling structured and progressive, with support on hand to guide you if necessary. This has been my experience with you and Paul. All of the things I expected are there – and more. So, in short, thank you. I know how much time and effort it takes to get it right. That time and effort is reflected in every aspect of my time with you both, and it’s a pleasure to experience. Thanks again, Frank”

Although our role is ensuring that each and every student receives the same information, care, attention to detail and rigorous feedback to help them be the best celebrant they can be, we also understand that the learning journey is a co-creative process. As teachers, we can only meet a student as far as they are willing to learn, invest time, and develop skills. Our job is to help facilitate the change that will enable someone to step into their career as a Heart-led Celebrant with confidence, compassion and creativity. HOWEVER, it is the celebrant-in-training’s responsibility to enact that change.

There are many aspects to our training that make it stand light years ahead of other training courses (even those with the slick, corporate £4.5K price tag). Examples include our legitimate real-life experience as celebrants. I also keep my foot in the celebrant world, even after thirty years, by still taking on ceremonies. This gives our students the opportunity to ‘shadow’ me (if desired) at no additional cost, but with the continued one-to-one guidance.


Paul works with each student for bespoke voice, communication and presentation training.

We offer guaranteed lifelong tutor support to our certified celebrants. Most of our students reach certification. From our perspective, we will bend over backwards and do everything we can to help someone reach that point IF they are putting in the necessary work. It is important to understand that not everyone has the passion, curiosity, desire or dedication to continue the journey. I always say (and see it every single time) that the level of care, creativity and consciousness that someone puts into their training is a clear indicator of the way they’ll approach celebrancy.

Diploma in Advanced Celebrancy and Ritual 
Dear Paul and Veronika, Thank you for welcoming me into your home; for sharing your lovely home-made soup and biscuits – and all that tea! Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge, for your guidance, and above all patience. Much love, Judy

Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Without you two, none of this would be possible. You have unlocked a part of me that I never knew existed. The fulfilment I am getting from this is completing the hole I felt inside that I’ve never been able to fill.
Kirri Clayton

There have been many blogs written on the Heart-led Celebrants website about what makes our training different to other celebrant-training companies. One aspect is about the environment in which you’ll come for your training: our home (unless, of course, you prefer to train by zoom; you’ll be in your home).

What can you find at the heart of our training? Care, love, nurturing and a sense of family. The Heart-led Celebrant Family. Each certified celebrant is autonomous, and they certainly don’t have to pay an annual subscription to be ‘part of the club’. There’s no elite inner circle. Once you’re a certified Heart-led Celebrant, we’re all in the same family. No secret sub groups. No additional payments. As I always say to our students, our support is for life.

What you’ll experience during your training with us:
• cosy hot cuppas
• chatting on the sofa
• walks in the sunshine
• eating lunch in the garden
• learning, laughing, crying
• being authentic
• deep connection
• support

These are woven through our training, and even though there is a lot to learn it is done in an atmosphere of relaxation whether that’s by a crackling fire or in the summer sunshine beneath the apple trees.

One of our former students described her training as a ‘homely experience’. Home is one of my favourite words, and I love being at home. I’ve been self employed for over thirty years and although I work at all sorts of venues as a celebrant it is all done with the bulk of my hours worked from the comfort of home. So yes, I want people to think of what we offer as homely No slick, corporate glitz here. What you see is what you get: trainers who are authentic and have vast amounts of real-life experience. When you train with us, we not only remember who you are; we welcome you into our ‘family’ and look forward to a long relationship with you.

In the words of some of our former students:

I just wanted to thank you for sharing so much with me over the past three days.
Your cosy cottage.
Your beautiful smile.
Your amazing knowledge.
Your delicious cooking.
Your energy.
I hope I will take a little bit of Veronika magic with me wherever I go. Rachel xx


The face-to-face element was simply glorious, consisting as it did of deep, meaningful conversations about life, love and the universe. What could be better or indeed more important? The days spent in Cumbria were a sanctuary of spirituality and creativity; returning to the ‘real world’ felt harsh and challenging.
Catrina Young


What a life changing experience! My heart is absolutely full from celebrant training with Veronika and Paul Robinson. Highly recommend! It’s been so nourishing, full of smiles and so yummy!! I can feel I’ve changed so much, and know more will change as this is just the beginning of my celebrant path. I’m just so grateful to have had hands-on experiences from shadowing Veronika being her beautiful celebrant self at a funeral.. shadowing Veronika with a funeral phone call… To shadowing a family visit for funeral arrangements. Bex

Diploma in Advanced Celebrancy
The day I found Veronika Robinson, I knew I had found ‘the one’. Her ethos fits perfectly with mine. She is the most wonderful woman, as well as being a top notch celebrant and author, and a brilliant celebrant trainer. She was also RUTHLESS in ensuring that every piece of work I produced for her, through her Heart-Led Training programme, was outstanding. She taught me the difference between “That’s great”, and “That’s incredible”; and how to use words to create something personal and full of emotion, how to set the tone, and how to use elements within ceremonies to fix the moment in people’s minds.
Michelle Knight, certified Heart-led Celebrant


I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you (belatedly) for your welcoming nature, delicious food and expertise in my training.
In love and light, Sandie x


Dear Veronika,
There are not enough words to thank you for the truly life-changing time spent with you in your lovely home in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside. You are an inspiration, a mentor and an advocate. You helped me to value myself and the gifts I can bring to this new chosen career. You challenged me, but in a gentle and empathetic way that made me feel that it was going to be ok to try to get my words onto the page and then “off the page”. By the time I started writing with you (and it was very early on the first day), I felt that no matter what the result was to be, I had a soft place to land, and that you would support my efforts, no matter what the end product. And, as a result, I could take risks with my emotions and my words-not easy for anyone, especially an introvert like me. I learned more about being a celebrant from you in two days than I did in the entire nine months of my previous program. I now feel that I can, with grace, humility and hard work, develop and deliver celebrations that will honour and support events in anyone’s life journey. Thank you, thank you, Veronika for giving me the gift of “you”. You are a true, beautiful and rare gem. I shall never forget our time together. Thank you. Brenda Martin, Canada

Just wanted to thank you so much for making my funeral celebrant course such an enjoyable one. You were very kind and welcoming and have such a relaxed but professional approach. And we had some giggles! I was pretty nervous about coming up but I loved every minute; and if I can be half as good a celebrant as you, I will be very happy! Lots of love, Sophie


Thank you so much for the wonderful and mind-opening days I spent with you this week. I loved every minute of learning about celebrancy even though the tears it brought out may have suggested otherwise. You obviously have a gift for listening. My mind is permanently racing so I don’t listen as well as I could, and now I’m trying to slow it all down after meeting you.
Just wanted to say a heart-felt thank you. Amanda C.

The most amazing experience! Veronika is welcoming, calming, thoughtful, energetic, tireless and teaches in such a way that leaves you wanting more! Her heart-led methodology aligns perfectly with what I want to deliver as a Celebrant, and I can’t leave without mentioning her cooking…WOW! Her pear crumble is to die for please adopt me! Kathryn Britton

My thoughts wander to my training with Veronika and Paul and the delicious, heart-full time I spent steeping in, well… Feelings.
This training was, more than I could have imagined, a really personal journey, into the place where my heart meets the world. To be a Heart-Led Celebrant of course requires tapping into the territory of this deep well of emotion, which Veronika so skillfully walked me through. Considering so many aspects of potential clients- their stories, their emotional states, expectations to work with, I felt at moments overwhelmed, though soothed by the support of my two teachers on this journey. There were the very useful practicalities of being a celebrant that give me confidence in being able to begin this work, AND, what was so unique about this training was the space they held for real depth, beauty, sadness, to be welcomed. In order to really, truly serve those who choose me as a celebrant, I need this ability to really Listen, and to glean what is important to my clients. To do this I need to know myself even better.
I was given the opportunity to really feel the importance of this work, the possibilities of holding space for others to truly shine, to deeply feel their own connection with life and love, with death and grieving. The work of a celebrant is sacred, and Veronika and Paul, each in their own way, shared the skills that keep this work sacred. I am so grateful for such a rich, alive experience of this work through my training.” Kirsten Rose, Spain

We’re now in our eighth year here at Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training. A lot can happen in eight years, personally and professionally. One of the things I continue to do is maintain my celebrant practice (officiating ceremonies across all rites of passage). This is important to me for a number of reasons:


• I love what I do: making a meaningful difference in people’s lives during their transitions
• I keep up-to-date with styles, trends, legalities
• It allows me to offer shadowing opportunities to our students
• We teach best what was need to learn, and here’s the key thing: as a celebrant, you never stop learning (if you think you know everything, then you and your ego are best off finding another job)

 

When we started out training it was only meant as a one-off event: we attracted a group of six amazing women to train. We had such a FABULOUS time we did it again, and again. And then…someone asked me if we’d consider training them on a one-to-one basis. Sure! Why not? And here’s the thing: we’ve never looked back. This is because:
1. It opened a door to many other people who wanted the option of one-to-one
2. We saw the massive difference that one-to-one training offers (regardless of people’s learning styles or whether they’re introverts or extroverts)
3. When you’re learning on a one-to-one basis, there’s no hiding behind other students; there’s no coasting alone. As your tutors, you have our undivided attention.

When a master passes on their craft, it is akin to offering someone an apprenticeship. And a role like celebrancy? One that is based on an enormous foundation of responsibility? Well, then that apprenticeship becomes even more important. They are learning at your side and this undivided attention bestows optimal learning opportunities. Of course, a training is only ever going to be as good as the co-creative experience between the teacher and student. If the celebrant-in-training takes a lackadaisical approach to their studies, then they will only get as much out of it as they put into it and both they and their future clients will be poorer for it.

It’s not unusual for someone to contact me about celebrant training but what they’re really wanting to know is can they go and officiate a friend’s wedding without training. Well, there’s no law against it. However, what you don’t know is WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW. Almost every student we train says to me, within the first few hours of their face-to-face training, “I had NO idea how much was involved.” And why would anyone? If you’ve seen a (good) celebrant at work, they’ll make it look easy. It’s not. Their 20 to 30 minutes officiating is a small part of their job. It takes, for example, about ten hours of work behind a 20 minute funeral and about 20 to 30 hours of time behind a 30 minute wedding.

It is an honour and a privilege to officiate ceremonies, and one that I don’t take lightly.

It is an honour and a privilege to teach someone how to be a Heart-led Celebrant, and one that I don’t take lightly.

The training, however, is done with immense care, love, respect and a genuine desire to see our students thrive as celebrants and for their clients to have the best possible experience. I do this job knowing that I’m not going to live forever, but for each additional year that I’m a working celebrant I have hundreds more ceremonial experiences which I add to my vast teaching chest. You see, everything I learn helps the celebrant-in-training to learn from me about what works and what doesn’t work as a celebrant.


Veronika Robinson and Paul Robinson are a husband and wife team whose boutique celebrant training school Heart-led Celebrants attracts people from around the world. Heart-led Celebrants has earned a reputation for excellence in celebrant training, and those who are certified exemplify the highest standards in the industry.

Veronika is the author of many books including the popular Celebrant Collection: Write That Eulogy; The Successful Celebrant; Funeral Celebrant Ceremony Planner; Wedding Celebrant Ceremony Planner; The Blessingway; The Gentle Celebrant’s Guide: Funerals For Children; The Discrimination-free Celebrant; The Celebrant’s Guide to the Five Elements.

Award-winning voice artist, Paul Robinson, has had a whole career centred around his voice and other people’s. He’s highly experienced as a celebrant, trained actor, drama coach, voice-over artist, singer, broadcaster, compère, and ventriloquist. Paul is an excellent communicator and teacher, and has a sixth sense about how to relate to individuals, groups and audiences.

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Independent Celebrant Retreats

In my role as a celebrant trainer, I also offer not-for-profit retreats for celebrants and celebrants-in-training. Why? Because primarily we work in solitude. Coming together with others in our professional field offers a wonderful opportunity to share enriching experiences, forge friendships, live and learn together for a few days.

 

 

 

Our retreats are held here in the beautiful Eden Valley, Cumbria.

Celebrant Retreat: 5pm Friday 27th March to 10am Monday 30th March 2026, Eden Valley, Cumbria

At our next celebrant retreat, the theme is The Creative Fire. What does this mean? We will be exploring and experiencing different ways to be creative and how that nurtures us personally and professionally. Each tutor has been carefully chosen to offer sessions which will enliven you but also give you the chance to create something beautiful that you can take home for your celebrant practice.

Dine in the medieval hall

 


Creativity is the cornerstone of celebrant life, yet how often do we consciously think about what this really means? And, just as importantly, what do we do to stoke the embers of inspiration?

Creativity is manifestation: we are bringing something, that didn’t exist before, into being. During this retreat, you’ll learn to listen out for your creative voice and connect with your inner artist. We offer a gently structured and nurturing environment for you to ‘play’.

 


You will come away understanding and being able to implement the five corners of The Creative Fire and the three elements to sustain this through your professional (and personal) life.


Your tutors include:
• an internationally renowned potter
• a gilder
• a calligrapher
• creativity coach
• novelist and celebrant with 30 years experience
• a comedy writer to help you infuse humour and playfulness into your celebrancy

 



Apart from our structured sessions, there’ll also be time and space for resting, walks in nature, or taking part in crafting a druid’s besom or coffin-blessing brush, rustic vow-renewal booklet and gift cards for clients, and more.

Delicious (vegetarian) evening meals will be created by a private chef to ensure you feel nourished. Afterwards, you’re invited to gather around the firepit under the starlit Cumbrian sky and toast (vegan) marshmallows.

 



So, are you ready to settle back with a cuppa and enjoy? There’ll be brushes, pencils, yarn, clay, gold leaf, ink, watercolours, time to journal or even sing into a microphone if you like. If you have an open mind and a willing heart, then come and join us for an immersive weekend of play. Our weekend retreat is held in a luxurious five-star Cumbrian longhouse, and runs from 5pm Friday 27th March 2026 to 10am Monday 30th March. We deliberately keep our retreats small (max. 10), so that you can get to know each attendee. Places are available on a first-come first-served basis. www.heartledcelebrants.com/celebrant-retreats

 


Veronika Robinson and Paul Robinson are a husband and wife team whose boutique celebrant training Heart-led Celebrants attracts people from around the world. Heart-led Celebrants has earned a reputation for excellence in celebrant training, and those who are certified exemplify the highest standards in the industry.

Veronika is the author of many books including the popular Celebrant Collection: Write That Eulogy; The Successful Celebrant; Funeral Celebrant Ceremony Planner; Wedding Celebrant Ceremony Planner; The Discrimination-free Celebrant; The Five Elements.

Award-winning voice artist, Paul Robinson, has had a whole career centred around his voice and other people’s. He’s highly experienced as a celebrant, trained actor, drama coach, voice-over artist, singer, broadcaster, compère, and ventriloquist. Paul is an excellent communicator and teacher, and has a sixth sense about how to relate to individuals, groups and audiences.

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Diploma for Celebrants

Our Diploma in Advanced Celebrancy and Ritual is a rigorous and life-changing course in all aspects of celebrancy and rituals across all rites of passage.

It is taught by Veronika and Paul Robinson. Together they bring rich and varied real-life industry experiences and knowledge to ensure that you receive the best possible training, and that you’ll be confident when starting your new career.

 



Heart-led Celebrants is a dynamic movement of autonomous independent celebrants who have been certified by Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training. They are certified to rigorous standards in order to exemplify best-practice celebrancy. A Heart-led Celebrant creates, writes and officiates beautiful ceremonies with integrity, acceptance and creativity.

Celebrants who feature the Heart-led Celebrants logo are certified, and have professional indemnity and public liability insurance.



Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training is creative, practical, inspiring and thought-provoking (and for some people, completely life changing), but it also involves a huge level of commitment from the celebrant-in-training not only during the face-to-face training but afterwards with ongoing tuition.

Unlike some training organisations, our certificates and diplomas are issued on aptitude not attendance. This guarantees that our graduates become working celebrants of the highest professional standard in the industry. We make no apologies for our high standards as we take the role of celebrancy seriously, and we honour the fact that grieving families are vulnerable, and that all ceremonies will be remembered by the client.

Regardless of the type of ceremony you wish to create and officiate, we expect a high level of professionalism from all our graduates. This begins with the commitment they bring to their training.

 


Diploma in Advanced Celebrancy and Ritual
(This includes foundational content of the Certificate in Celebrancy PLUS covers all rites of passage/human transitions and bespoke ritual creation, narration and choreography)

Starts with FIVE days initial training
(Face-to-face training here in Cumbria from 9am to 5pm each day

OR

Three hours on Zoom each day followed by independent learning and course work for the rest of each day.)

 



One-to-one tuition in celebrancy with Veronika Robinson (Funerals, weddings, namings)
One-to-one voice and presentation coaching with Paul Robinson
Heart-led Ceremonies (book)
Guardians of the Threshold Study Guide
Workbook
2 years of back issues of The Celebrant magazine
FREE listing on the exclusive Heart-led Celebrants Directory
Monthly group CPD (various aspects of celebrancy)
Ongoing support and script appraisal
One-to-one tuition in other rites of passage
Masterclass: Mastering the eulogy
Masterclass: Mastering the love story
Masterclass: Mastering metaphysical marketing
Masterclass: Mastering a higher heart frequency
Masterclass: Mastering aligned client manifestation
Masterclass: Mastering bespoke rituals (for any rite of passage)
Masterclass: Mastering the use of nature in ceremonies
Copy of The Blessingway Book, Write That Eulogy,Funerals for Children & The Successful Celebrant



The learning outcomes for this course are as for the Certificate in Celebrancy, and also include any and all rites of passage, such as menarche, conscious conception ceremony, blessingways, miscarriage memorial, sagesse (wise crone), new business, divorce healing, parting of the ways, coming of age, inner child, and more.

The ability to create, write and officiate ceremonies for ANY rite of passage

Creative Writing

Word Medicine

Storytelling

Archetypes in Storytelling

Symbols, Rituals and Altars

Ceremonial Herbs

Developing a higher-vibrational heart frequency

Enhancing Intuition

Sacred Connections with Clients

Metaphysical Marketing

The Four Sacred Archetypes of Building Your Celebrancy Brand


Your Tutors:
Veronika Robinson is a highly experienced working celebrant with 28 years of experience. She has had the privilege of officiating in New Zealand, Australia and England where she has written and led all manner of ceremonies, including weddings, handfastings, blessingways, namings, divorce healing, miscarriage memorial, conscious conception, funerals, memorials, interment of ashes, sagesse, menarche, and house blessings.

Veronika has a Masters Degree in Creative Writing, from the University of Cumbria, and is an author (fiction and non-fiction), journalist, public speaker, workshop leader, and metaphysician. Her books for celebrants include: Write That Eulogy; The Blessingway; The Successful Celebrant; Wedding Celebrant Ceremony Planner; Funeral Celebrant Ceremony Planner; Funerals for Children; and upcoming books: The Discrimination-free Celebrant: unravelling our biases and prejudices; Metaphysical Marketing for Celebrants; The Five Elements.

 



She is honoured to be a celebrant for Gift of a Wedding, a charity which provides weddings for couples where one of them is terminally ill. Veronika is the founder/facilitator of Penrith’s first Death Café which seeks to open up honest discussion around death and dying. She is also an accredited Infant Loss Practitioner and Certified in Suicide Awareness.

Veronika is the editor/owner of The Celebrant magazine, an international publication which seeks to educate and inspire celebrants of all types and at all stages in their career. 



Paul Robinson
Paul Robinson’s whole career has been centred around his voice, and other people’s. He is highly experienced as a celebrant, trained actor, drama coach, voiceover artist, singer, broadcaster, compère, and ventriloquist. Paul is an excellent communicator and teacher, and has a sixth sense about how to relate to individuals, groups and audiences.

On our course, Paul shares insights and techniques on how to make the best of your personality, how to build your self-confidence, control any nerves you may have… and of course, your voice, your presentation skills and body language.

He will also look at how to engage with clients before a ceremony – and how to be the glue that holds any ceremony together.

https://paulrobinsonvoicecoaching.co.uk/

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The Human Touch: why AI won’t be part of my work as a celebrant and author


The world is changing. There’s no question of that. I’ve long held the belief that to live and thrive in this world it’s not so much ‘survival of the fittest’ but ‘survival of those who can adapt’. And this has always served me well both in terms of being a risk taker and rolling with life’s pulls and punches. It’s a kind of shape shifting that allows me to bend, like a willow, and make my way in the world no matter what. Increasingly, though, there’s an aspect to this world, and specifically how it impacts my work as a celebrant, celebrant trainer and author, where I have been questioning just how much I adapt to those changes. Am I just an old ‘fuddy duddy’ now I’m almost 56? Am I behind the times? Is it time to hang up my celebrant hat? I’m referring to the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

 



Bit by bit I’ve watched changes in the celebrant world, for example: celebrants using Kindle or some other technology to read their script from during a ceremony or various apps and programmes to store their client information. The latest intrusions into this world include celebrants outsourcing their scripts to other celebrants/writers and also the use of AI to write their scripts.

 



Here’s where I stand: I will never use a technological device from which to read my script. Apart from the aesthetics (my main aversion), there is also the risk of the device not performing on the day (for all manner of reasons). I also use good old-fashioned diaries and calendar to keep track of my dates (no risk of technological failure/theft), and use my funeral and wedding planners for essential details. I’m not suggesting it’s wrong for a celebrant to use a Kindle or to use an app like 17 Hats. I’m simply saying that it’s not my way. In the same way that I feel holding an A4 folder looks clunky compared to a smaller A5 one.

 



When it comes to outsourcing the writing of scripts to AI or other celebrants, I feel ill at the thought. (Ditto the number of professional authors now using AI to write books so they can publish more often.) What happened to heart? What about the joy of creativity? Surely this is what we want to bring to this work?

 


If someone employs me to be their celebrant, then they are choosing ME to create and dream and write their ceremony into being through my experience, imagination, creativity, wisdom, intuition, awareness and so on. AI CAN NOT DO THIS.

When someone buys one of the books I’ve written, they are buying non-fiction books based on my experience, skills and wisdom, or fiction books based on my imagination and creativity. AI CAN NOT DO THIS for me.

Are we, as humans, becoming so far removed from what it is to be human that we think and feel it’s ok, indeed preferable, to rely on technology rather than heart and the creative fire?

And if we’re going to outsource to another human then for reasons of ethics, integrity and data protection this needs to be clearly stated at the outset on one’s website and in all communications. The buyer of your services needs to know that they’re NOT getting your services! Outsourcing the writing of scripts has become prevalent in this industry. 

 



The celebrant industry (and make no mistake, it has become an industry whereby some celebrant trainers and celebrants have completely forgotten or never knew or understood the true purpose of ceremony and the place of a celebrant) is changing rapidly, for better and for worse, in ways that would have seemed incomprehensible to me when I started on this path in 1995. I’ve had so many moments in the past few years of not wanting to be part of this changing ‘industry’. It’s so far out of alignment with my approach to celebrancy that, despite my view and ability to ‘adapt’ to changes, I’ve contemplated walking away many times. And yet, I’m still here. I remain, for now. Why? I’m here for those people who understand (even if they can’t articulate it) ceremony to be a liminal place in time whereby the celebrant holds the space for those crossing the threshold (regardless of the rite of passage). I don’t, and never will, see rituals (such as handtying) as some sort of parlour game or joke or that it’s acceptable for people to arrive at a ceremony half drunk.

I can hand on heart say I will never outsource my work to AI or another celebrant. My sense of reverence for ceremony and the rituals within it don’t mean that I’m devoid of humour or can’t create a bespoke ceremony for a fun-loving couple or family wishing a joyous celebration of life. Far from it. What it does mean is that I understand the purpose of ceremony, and at each step of the way bring my whole heart, creativity, reverence, integrity and care.

 

 



To be clear: I’m not against technology. I’m writing on a laptop. I am grateful that I have a car and that a washing machine cleans my clothes rather than me standing all day long scrubbing them and wringing the water out of each item. These things all have a place in this world. I’m not against change or advancement. Ceremonies and storytelling, though? Let’s keep the heart there. In this rapidly changing world, we need it more than ever. Let us not lose touch with compassion, empathy, kindness, humour, wisdom, awareness of body language, curiosity and creativity, and dare I say: our innate sense of spirituality.

The day I don’t bring the human touch to my work as a celebrant, celebrant trainer and author is the day I step away.

 



Veronika Robinson has been a celebrant since 1995, officiating across all rites of passage, and is the co-owner and co-tutor at Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training in Cumbria. It brings her great joy to, alongside her husband Paul, teach others the sacred art of creating ceremonies from the heart.

She’s the author of over 30 books including the popular books for celebrants: Write That Eulogy; The Successful Celebrant; Wedding Celebrant Ceremony Planner; Funeral Celebrant Ceremony Planner; and coming soon: Funerals for Children; and Discrimination-free Celebrancy. On a daily basis, she is connected to the natural world and draws her inspiration from there.

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Celebrant Training: do you know the difference between certificates based on aptitude and those on attendance?

 

 

When searching for a celebrant-training course, it is vital that you’re aware of a distinct difference between outcomes. Some organisations give anyone who attends their course a certificate which declares them to be a ‘professional celebrant’.

 

 


As a celebrant trainer, there are deep concerns that I have with this approach. It means that people enter into what is already an unregulated profession with a lot of ‘cowboy’ celebrants. There’s no quality control over who ends up working with people during their rites of passage. Without assessing someone’s suitability for this profession, it leaves vulnerable people wide open to poor standards and no accountability!

Even amongst training organisations which require some work, the levels of assessment vary hugely from one training business to another.



At Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training, we make no apology for our rigorous assessments. This guarantees that our graduates become working celebrants of the highest professional standard in the industry. To be clear, not everyone who trains with us receives a certificate. It may be because they realise they aren’t suited to the profession, and don’t have the work ethic to generate bespoke scripts, for example. Mostly, it is because they just haven’t put in the required effort and have not demonstrated their willingness to learn.

As a tutor, I work diligently with each new celebrant in training to help them achieve their goal. The work required, however, has to come from them. I can’t do it for them.


We expect a high level of professionalism from all our graduates. This begins with the commitment they bring to their training and by abiding to our code of conduct.

There is a minimum of twelve weeks training (a mix of face-to-face via Zoom, written modules, vocal and presentation performance, and independent learning), followed by our monthly group CPD sessions, and life-long learning.



If you are a person who is committed to developing awareness of yourself and others, willing to train to an excellent level, and are creative, independent, inspirational, authentic and courageous, and wish to consciously create beautiful ceremonies in your community, then Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training welcomes your application. You will be required to submit all written modules and do your vocal and presentation work within twelve weeks.  We don’t have an open-ended approach to submissions because in the real world, as a professional celebrant, you will always be working to deadlines. As your tutors, we need to have a good idea of your ability to be disciplined, focussed and level of responsibility. The care, attention, enthusiasm, respect, communication skills, imagination and dedication you bring to your training are the foundation for an amazing life as a celebrant. It is our deepest desire to see this happen for you.






We take a holistic approach to celebrancy, encouraging ongoing personal development, and recognise the importance and value of ongoing skill building.

At the heart of our training, is that the life and work of a heart-led celebrant is based on integrity, self-awareness, acceptance and creativity.

If choosing to do one of our training courses, please ensure that you have the time and availability to dedicate to your training.




Veronika Robinson is the co-founder and co-tutor of Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training, editor of The Celebrant magazine, and has enjoyed being a celebrant since 1995. She lives in beautiful Cumbria and officiates ceremonies across all rites of passage.

 
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