Not all families feel that a traditional, religious ceremony is the choice for them but would still like to mark the arrival of a child or their marriage in a memorable way.
Covering Yorkshire and the surrounding areas, I offer unique, non-religious ceremonies, that reflect the individuality of you and your family.
Working closely with you, you will be able to choose every aspect of your special ceremony. From music to poetry and the location in which the ceremony will take place, the choice is yours.
Make your ceremony a truly special occasion:
"Thank you for such a lovely ceremony. The words were written and delivered beautifully. It was a really nice start to our special day."
Joanne and Colin, Newcastle
"Many, many thanks for a lovely day and for all your help and advice. We are so glad we decided on a Naming ceremony and asked you to perform it."
Fiona and John, Leeds
"Thank you, Michelle for a wonderful ceremony! We are not always very comfortable speaking in front of people but you put us at ease and it was a real pleasure to have you with us on a very special day.
It was great to have you there to give the children the confidence to speak, and your calmness in an often noisy and distracting environment made everyone feel ok especially when their own babies and young children were a little unsettled. You were unflappable!
The whole ceremony was so very personal and so many people said how refreshing it was to attend such a lovely 'christening'. Thank you for making our thoughts and words into a wonderful flowing story of our daughter's first year. From how we wished for our little girl to come into our lives to the fun we and her friends and family have had with her and the happiness she has brought to everyone already.
I hope that one day soon we will be standing with you welcoming another little person into our family."
Kim and David, Skipton
"Thank you so much for helping us make our wedding day so special! We have memories that will last forever."
Angela and Ray, Otley
"Thank you so much for the Naming Ceremony. It was so beautiful and everyone has commented on how lovely it was, even religious friends and family with babies who had only ever considered having a Christening."Laura and Keith, Knaresborough
"Thank you so much for helping to make our Wedding day so special - you did a fantastic job. Hopefully, we'll be getting in touch with you about a Naming ceremony in the not too distant future!"
Michelle and Zimmy, Manchester
"Michelle, thank you so much for all your help. Our Wedding Ceremony was so special, just what we wanted! Thank you again!"
Sarah and James, Harrogate
"The service was magical and thank you so much for the very large part that you played in it. Kate and Simon made a great choice of Celebrant."
Father of the Bride, Skipton
'We would like to thank you so much for your guidance and support in helping us to achieve the most perfect wedding ceremony! You made us feel at ease and comfortable from the start, and for this we are eternally grateful.'
Elizabeth and James, Harrogate
News feature from 'Families' Magazine May/June 2010 edition:
The birth of a baby is always special, so when our son arrived 3 years ago we wanted to mark his arrival with a really memorable celebration. Neither I nor my husband is religious so we didn’t feel it was right to have our little boy christened. So, knowing very little about what else we could do, we started to look for an alternative. We wanted something which would be just as meaningful as a religious ceremony but personal to us as a family and that is when we decided to have a Naming ceremony.
Naming ceremonies are a completely non-religious way to welcome, name and celebrate the birth of a child. Each Naming ceremony is unique as there is no set pattern or script that is followed and parents are able to choose every aspect of the ceremony for themselves. The other great thing about Naming ceremonies is that they can be held absolutely anywhere! Some families choose to have them at home or in their garden, while others hire a local venue.
This sounded perfect for us and on a sunny Saturday afternoon in April, 5 months after he was born, our little boy was named. Family and friends arrived and gathered in the library of the beautiful old building where I worked as a teacher. Instead of gifts, we had asked each guest to bring an item which best represented them to put in a ‘Memory Box’ for our son. A keen footballer brought a pair of his old football socks, our son’s Great Grandma put in a knitting pattern of a little jumper she had knitted for him and one friend compiled a CD of all his favourite music. All the items are now stored in a special chest for our little boy to explore when he is older. During the ceremony, my husband and I made special promises to our son, saying how we would help him grow up. We had chosen four of our close friends to be ‘Fairy Godmothers’(a bit like God Parents) and they took part in the ceremony too, reading a story to our son as he slept in his pram, (Yes, he slept through the whole thing!) Poetry was read, our favourite music was played, bubbles were blown and champagne flowed. It really was very special.
We were so glad that we hadn’t just opted for the expected, traditional christening as this really wouldn’t have been the right choice for us. Lots of our guests commented on how lovely the ceremony was and even my husband’s 90 year old grandmother, a real church-goer, said how much she had enjoyed it, even more so than some of the christenings she had been to!
In fact, it was so special that not long after, I decided to train as a Naming celebrant and 3 years on, I’m delighted to be able to help other families to celebrate the arrival of their little ones. I enjoy the contact I have with families, talking through the promises they want to make to their child and thinking about the poetry, readings and music they might want included in the ceremony. My job is to then weave everything together into a beautiful and individual ceremony. It can get quite emotional!
I also love the fact that every ceremony is different. So far, they have included a fantastic rendition of ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ sang by two Grandads, a shower of pink sparkling stars and hearts and the release of fifty blue balloons as the snow fell on a February day in Newcastle. Readings have ranged from Celtic blessings to A.A Milne to Dr Zeuss! And the children being named have worn everything from family heirloom christening gowns to a pair of pink Ugg boots!
A Naming ceremony really can be whatever you want it to be!
Other ceremonies include civil partnership, renewal of vows, adoption, joining of families after re-marriage and coming of age.
Please contact me to discuss how I can help to make your special day perfect.
(If you're not in Yorkshire but would like a ceremony, please contact me as I may be able to help or recommend another celebrant in your area.)
