Well it certainly has been a strange, interesting, weird, odd, wonderful in some ways and awful in others, kind of time! I have heard so many people comment that this time has been a great leveller, but I am sorry I totally disagree with the “all in it together” mantra. If you were lucky enough to be largely unaffected in terms of health and wealth then you were one of the lucky ones. Losing loved ones is devastating and for families affected this must have been the most wret

Planning your wedding ceremony can feel like an arduous task but does it need to be that way? Having consulted with many wedding professionals and having read many an article, the best piece of advice is to make sure that the process is as fun as possible. When planning any event, it's important to start the work as early as possible. This means getting organised! Get your friends to help and begin by making a list. There are many great wedding planning templates online an

Social Media has become such a big part of most people’s lives and one of the great things about it is being able to share your good news. With friends living near and far away, it’s an instant and effective way to make contact. When we meet with couples, we always ask for their thoughts on Social Media usage on the big day. This usually results in a pre-ceremony announcement to guests where we ask everyone to respect the wishes of the bride and groom. After all, it’s nice

When planning ceremonies it is quite usual for people to want to mention those that cannot make the ceremony. For some this can mean those that are no longer living and for others simply those that cannot attend the ceremony that day. This can be an awkward issue for couples to negotiate. If they are people that cannot make the ceremony that day as, maybe they are on holiday or they are housebound, that is a little easier to deal with. A paragraph can be included that refe

One of the great things about using a Celebrant for your ceremony, apart from the obvious personalised nature of the work we do, is being able to have any readings you want included. They can be religious, poems, quotes or something that has been written especially for the day. However, what you will need to think about is who will read these for you as part of your ceremony. It is not usually a good idea to spring this on a family member or friend on the day as public spea

So now you have read our earlier blog about what a Celebrant actually is and why you need one for to make your ceremony totally unique….how does it work? Well if you have decided to engage the services of a Celebrant you are about to be taken on a very special journey in the build up to your big day. As one of the main reasons for engaging a Celebrant is having your ceremony totally bespoke and personalised you will be asked to take time to think about what marriage means to

No, I mean LITERALLY. Most people these days have heard of a hand fastening but do we really know what they are? Well for a start that is where the term “tying the knot” originates from so we all know more than we think immediately. Hand fastenings date back to the ancient Celts and are an ancient Pagan custom that are definitely having a revival with couples. It wasn’t originally part of the wedding ceremony but more connected to a typical engagement period. When a coupl

Celebrants are quite used to conducting sand ceremonies as these have become more popular of late for weddings, commitments and also naming ceremonies. But what is a sand ceremony, I hear you cry….a sand ceremony is a unity ceremony and the blending of the sand represents the coming together of two people and their families and friends one. There are many ways to include a sand ceremony and this is down to individual preference. Some couples prefer layering the sand whilst o

So recently the press has been awash with articles and stories about the new transgender marriage laws and in the last few weeks Transport for London announced that they are scrapping the use of the phrase “Ladies and Gentlemen” in their announcements. This really got me thinking about the whole raft of ways in which gender neutral and transsexual people must feel alienated by society. At present transsexuals are prevented from marrying in their adopted sex and are affected

A renewal of vows ceremony is something that we have all heard of…but why do people do it, and when do they do it? Reasons people may think about renewing are things like milestones ie 5, 10, 20, 25 years etc, the first wedding didn’t go according to plan, was done on the cheap, something more elaborate is wanted, you eloped the first time round, it seems romantic or maybe something darker, you have had some troubled times. These all seem valid, legitimate reasons to want to

Ever thought about a wedding afloat whilst on a cruise. This has to be the ultimate in wedding romance. There are the obvious benefits to this, for example combining your wedding and honeymoon dramatically reduces costs, your guests pay for themselves and, of course, cruises are usually inclusive of food so no massive food bill for the day. However, you need to think about whether you want a full family entourage on your honeymoon and this is not to mention the thousands o

Recently we conducted a wedding ceremony for Stacey and Ian who have their legal marriage booked in Cyprus later in the year. As with many couples they both felt strongly that they wanted their wedding to be abroad. However, not all of their family could make the journey abroad and in there lies the dilemma. A wedding is often a balance of what the bride and groom would like and what the rest of their families will find acceptable. It is a brave bride and groom that comple

So the Embrace Ladies have just taken a wedding booking for next month….whaaaat….yes next month. And this is the second in the space of a month. I have to confess though that my own wedding was planned in just over two months so I know this is totally doable. So why would anyone want to put themselves under this much pressure? Well deciding to get married at short notice is not only very romantic but also cuts out some of the stress...believe it or not. It may seem a daun

Have a ceremony written especially for you – Celebrants will spend time with you, getting to know you as a couple and ask you lots of questions in order to design and craft your personalised ceremony to reflect your personalities. Build up relationship over time with the celebrant – Celebrants will meet with you several times before your big day so that you can get to know each other. By the time your big day arrives you will already know them well. Include the things you wa

People often ask if a Celebrant ceremony is legal? The short answer is no.....BUT...don't let that put you off....READ ON! Here’s the secret…..it is possible to have a very short and simple wedding at the register office with just two witnesses. I can only liken this process to applying for a passport!! It’s basically a short legal process. Now not wishing to diminish the obvious great importance of the legal aspect of a marriage, you rock up, present your documents, rec

So here goes my first blog as a Celebrant. Back to basics….what’s a Celebrant? So I’m trying to reduce the number of puzzled faces here! If I had to choose one word to sum up a Celebrant ceremony it would be PERSONALISED. If you have your ceremony conducted by a Celebrant it means it will be totally unique to you. There will be no restrictions with the content of your ceremony, time or the venue you want to use. Did you know with a Celebrant you can have any readings yo