Humans love ceremony. We also love to celebrate. Though, weirdly we often forget to celebrate ourselves, but that is another conversation for another time.
Being able to hold ceremony for life's celebrations is wonderful. For me, as a Celebrant to hold that space for you, to help you celebrate those special occasions, feels utterly privileged. Even better, I can let you in on the secret that any life occasion can be celebrated with ceremony!
Yes, you can have a ceremony for practically anything, depending on what is the most important to you & you partner or you and your family.
That said, I don't do every single type of ceremony (though if you have an idea and would like to run it past me, do get in touch! And, if I can't bring your idea to life, I will know a fellow Celebrant who can!)
Here is a run down of the 7 types of ceremonies I have done and / or offer:
Weddings
Baby Namings
Vow Renewals
Business launches / Studio Openings
Funerals
Life Celebrations
Renamings / Trans naming
1. WEDDINGS
Getting married is still very important to so many people, even with the decline in weddings since the 60's, there will be approx. 131000 weddings this year! Weddings so far, are my most popular booked ceremony.
I love doing non-traditional weddings in traditional buildings. I love that there are truly no rules for your wedding ceremony (even though everyone seems to think there are). Yes, you have the legal aspect to sort out*. But every other bit to do with your ceremony is essentially ceremonial. For example, if you wanted to walk down the aisle together as a couple, you CAN! If you didn't want to exchange rings, you CAN leave that out. If you want to have a flash mob dance in the middle of the ceremony, you CAN!
There are genuinely so many options and ways to make your day uniquely yours. And it doesn't have to be over the top extravagant to achieve that either. One of my most beautiful wedding ceremonies was a couple, their two children, myself and a photographer. We decorated with bunting and streamers right before the ceremony. We stood out in the garden of a rented airbnb. The bride still walked down to meet her groom. A hand-tying which included the children & family promises was their symbolic element. Once the ceremony was over, we chatted while eating homemade wedding cake. It was delightful
Helping you create a personalise, memorable & fun wedding ceremony is what I am here for!
2. BABY NAMINGS
Now, most everyone knows about Christenings, but we don't all know what a baby naming is. A baby naming is an equivalent ceremony, but not in a Church and usually doesn't include any religious aspect to it. Though you can include an element of religion if you wanted to, if you use an Independent Celebrant, which I am!
A baby naming is a wonderful way to welcome your new person into the family. Some welcome their new person when they're a few months old, others when they're a bit older. There are no rules. And it's a great excuse for a party!
It is also a wonderful ceremony to have for welcoming your adopted child to the family. If they're a bit older we could call it a "welcome to the family" ceremony or in fact use the term, adoption ceremony. Either way, it is definitely a joyous way to get everyone together to celebrate a very special occasion
3. VOW RENEWAL
This is a ceremony to celebrate an important number of years you've been together or been married. (and no, you don't have to have been married to have a vow renewal)
It is expected that it should be a big number, such as 20yrs married/together or 40, 50, etc. Truly though, it can be whatever amount of years that is significant & special to you. If that happens to be 5yrs or 10 or 12 or 17, so be it. Any amount of years is ok. After all, it is your special occasion, you decide!
Perhaps your original wedding was a disaster (yes, this happens) and you'd like to change that up, a vow renewal is a great way to do that!
4. BUSINESS LAUNCH / STUDIO OPENING / BOOK LAUNCH, etc
I was overjoyed and over the moon when my friend Jill asked me to do her studio opening. I think more people should be doing business launches. These are big, significant occasions and should totally be celebrated.
It takes a lot to launch a business, open a studio, start something new! You should absolutely celebrate that as a life occasion! I cannot wait to do more. I will also speak about this more in a future blog post.
5. FUNERALS
No explanation is required, but this is a life occasion every single one of us will experience at some point or other. Being able to remember a loved one in a significant way is so important. Again, there are no rules - the ceremony can look how you want it to look and include what you'd like it to include. There are usually time restrictions, if using a crematorium or the grave yard. And if you truly want something different that doesn't fit how a funeral director does things or how a crematorium does things you can have a ...
6. LIFE CELEBRATION
This is a passion of mine! To have a party to celebrate your loved one. This will very likely look and feel different to what you'd usually expect of a funeral. As it should.
If the usual, traditional way of saying goodbye to your loved one is not what you are looking for, a life celebration is the way forward. Usually held in a hall or event venue of some kind or even outdoors. It can take any format you'd like, but will include a chance for people to say words to their loved one, drink, eat and talk about their loved one and come together as a community to say goodbye.
I will speak more about this type of ceremony in a future blog post. In the meantime, if this is something you are interested in, get in touch!
And finally
7. RENAMINGS
I have not done one of these ceremonies yet, but I would love to. This would be a ceremony for those who have changed their name, whatever the reason. It is also sometimes known as a trans naming ceremony. It offers a person a chance to share their journey so far & their wishes for the future with their friends and family, when they feel safe to.
(c) Theresa Ribeiro
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I'd love to know your thoughts on today's post, please leave a comment in the box below or come chat with me on Instagram: Ribeiro Ceremonies
Next week: "A chat with a Wedding Supplier"