Civil Ceremony Archives • Page 4 of 4 • White Rose Ceremonies

Festival Wedding

3 May 2015/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

Emma and Dan’s Festival Wedding was a riot of sunshine, laughter and love. A sensational field setting with bunting, flowers, hay bales, a beautiful willow arch, vintage ice cream van, tractor rides, saxophonist, pizza oven, a marquee, pom-poms and some specially selected tableware provided a wedding that was delightful in every sense.

Emma was committed to the the tradition of keeping her nervous groom waiting and arrived very sedately in a vintage VW Camper Van. Guests who had been chatting and laughing together while waiting were all up on their feet, eager to get the first glimpse of the beautiful bride.

Bridesmaids entered the ceremony area first with Emma and Dan’s gorgeous baby girl which brought a few tears to Dan’s eyes even before he saw Emma. The wedding ceremony included a touching hand fasting, readings, music and promises of love.

We ended with signing of the certificate, a marriage blessing, cheers, applause and hugs all round.

The afternoon celebrations included Pimms, icecream and music. The wedding breakfast commenced after the speeches from the best man, the bride’s parents and, of course, the groom himself. Pizza was served from the mobile pizza oven. Dancing went on late into the evening with a silent disco finishing the celebrations.

We had a fabulous time leading the celebrations for Emma and Dan. It was a truly happy day for a wonderful couple, their family and friends.

Emma and Dan gave us a super testimonial:

Thank you thank you thank you!! You were amazing from the moment we met you. Everything was perfect and you made our day so special, we couldn’t have asked for more…xxx”

Acknowledgements:

Yokan Photography

Elsie’s Ices – Ice Cream Van and Bike

David Waldron of White Rose Ceremonies

We had a really fabulous day – thank you so much to Emma and Dan for asking us to conduct their Wedding Ceremony!

Barn Wedding Ceremony Civil Celebrant Rebecca Waldron

Romantic Barn Wedding

14 April 2015/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

We were absolutely delighted to be asked to conduct the Barn Wedding Ceremony of Lindsey and Matthew on Valentine’s Day this year. They chose to hold their romantic wedding ceremony in the beautiful Cromwell Barn, St Ives, Cambridgeshire. The barn had been dressed by their families with red berries, candles and ivy, lending itself to a sophisticated yet atmospheric Ceremony.

We all waited in anticipation for Lindsey to arrive and, when she made her entrance with her beautiful daughter, her smile dazzled everybody. Lindsey wore a long dress of sumptuous red, while Matt looked just the right side of nervous in a smart black suit with red tie and cream waistcoat. The fun and laughter present on the day was infectious, while the love felt during the Ceremony was not lost on anybody there. Neither was the celebration or sense of occasion.

During the Ceremony we conducted a handfasting with wedding vows and readings by friends and family. There were tears, cheers, laughter and applause during this very happy and celebratory Ceremony yet we still found time to remember those special people who had passed, a touching and poignant moment.

We spoke during the ceremony about Lindsey and Matt’s relationship, what was important to them and how much they appreciated all the support from their family and friends. This is just one of the ways we make our ceremonies completely unique to each couple. When we announced Lindsey and Matthew as man and wife, the barn erupted with cheers and applause and they left, dancing down the aisle, to Plan B. For a Valentines Day Wedding, this was a romantic, loving, fun and happy ceremony that everybody felt part of.

We thoroughly enjoyed working with Lindsey and Matthew and they gave us this wonderful testimonial…

“This lady is truly fantastic, she is so lovely and does such a fab celebration, Rebecca and Dave thank you for everything, you were totally wonderful and made our day so very special. It was an honour to meet you and an absolute privilege for you to say yes to do our ceremony, what a truly lovely lovely couple xxxxxxx”.

For more information about our ceremonies please contact us via our ‘Contact Page’ or call us on 07725 795316.

The beautiful Cromwell Barns isn’t advertised on the internet so it really is a hidden gem. We have the contact details if you would like to have them.

Photographs courtesy of David Waldron at White Rose Ceremonies.

Featured Wedding

2 February 2015/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

We are over the moon to have one of our weddings featured by the fabulous Amara Bridal Registry. We have a real passion for what we do and we love being involved with special life celebrations such as Weddings. For this Wedding we worked closely with the wonderful Dominique Douglas and her team from Stylish Events Wedding & Event Management. The photographs were taken by the very talented Kate from Kate Neilen Fine Art Photography.

Leila and Johnnie had extended wedding celebrations and they included special people in different ways throughout their weekend. They thought very carefully about every aspect of their Wedding. They meditated on the significance of their union with close family and friends before their legal ceremony at the Registry Office. The next day they enjoyed a joyous Wedding Ceremony with extended family and friends, followed by champagne and punting along the beautiful river beside the historic Trinity College and Kings College. To top it all off there were more celebrations at their Wedding Breakfast and evening entertainment.

When we conduct a Wedding Ceremony we talk to our couples and find out what’s important to them. We will listen to how they talk to each other and write the script accordingly. We include all the beautiful and traditional features of a Wedding and can add different elements if our couples want them. These include lighting a candle to remember those who can’t be present, singing, dancing (yes, really!), applause, fun and laughter.

Follow the link to see how much fun our lovely couple Leila and Johnnie had and how they made their day so special – enjoy! White Rose Ceremonies in featured Wedding!

If you would like to talk to us about your unique Wedding Ceremony please call us on 07725 795316 or email us via White Rose Ceremonies.

Funerals are Dead Serious – right?

12 December 2014/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

“You can’t do that at a Funeral” is a phrase I’ve heard too many times. It’s not surprising that people think that way. The common perception of a funeral service is that it is a sombre occasion when people mourn, cry, sing hymns and listen to a Minister read prayers before the coffin disappears into the fire or ground. But not at a Civil Funeral!

Now, I’m not saying that we dance in the aisles, although I have had Morris Dancers and Line Dancers at my services, but we do smile, laugh, clap and, sometimes, joke. The content of a Civil Funeral really does depend on the character of the person who has died. Of course it is a sad occasion too and people will cry. But, with a loving and relevant service it provides a time to say goodbye that is full of light and shade.

It is all about that person and not about a particular religious institution. You can light candles, have poems, music, readings and family tributes, standard bearers if the person who has died was in the military, flags on the coffins, even a slide show of photographs – whatever content is meaningful to the family. In some crematoria you can also have an audio recording or video recording of the service.

If the person who died had some religious beliefs then a Civil Celebrant can include hymns and prayers at the funeral, but if that person was very religious then, of course, a Minister is the right choice to lead the service.

The final part of a funeral service is known as the ‘Committal’. At a Crematorium you can choose to have the curtains left open or closed. Generally, in the UK, the coffin remains where it is, so there is no opening of doors, squeaking of wheels as the coffin moves and certainly no flames!

Some families choose to leave the curtains open so that they can touch the coffin before they leave or put single stem flowers on it, while other families prefer to have them closed which, in a sense, brings them closure.

It is our privilege to be able to lead these services and we work hard to make sure the service not only reflects the wishes of the person who died, but that it also brings some comfort to their family and friends.

I would like to finish with this blog with a good old-fashioned joke from Tommy Cooper, which was used at one of the funerals I conducted recently:

“I went to the funeral of a tennis player the other day. It was a great service……”

DIY Wedding vs Wedding Planner?

11 November 2014/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

Last year I married my wonderful husband and business partner, David. We tied the legal knot in Gretna Green with two witnesses who just happened to walk in after us. Then, in the summer, we had a Civil Wedding Ceremony on the beautiful beach at Wells-next-the-Sea in North Norfolk.

To save money we organised our ceremony in Norfolk ourselves and made a weekend of it with about 30 close family and friends. Our guests joined in with everything we organised and the only hitch was the high winds in the evening, which meant we couldn’t release Chinese lanterns across the sea.

However, when we talk about it my husband says “you didn’t cry” and he’s right, I didn’t. He is the man of my dreams and always will be but, on that day, I was not exactly ‘present in the moment’ at any stage. My mind was constantly thinking about what had to happen next. Would the hairdresser arrive? Would the flowers arrive? Where were key people? Where was the car? Will the rings get dropped in the sand? Will we get to the Reception in time…..etc.

If I had used the services of a Wedding Planner, I could have relaxed, safe in the knowledge that somebody was there ensuring everything would run smoothly and, even if it didn’t, I might not even have known about it and I certainly wouldn’t have to worry about sorting things out. I could have concentrated on the most important thing that day – my husband – and been totally engaged with every word, every smile, every kiss, every hug, every good wish and every moment there was for us both on that day.

DIY Wedding vs Wedding Planner? If I could experience that day again I would ensure I budgeted for and booked a Wedding Planner – there is absolutely no question about it.

There are lots of Wedding Planners out there, check their credentials and recommendations before you commit. Here are some fabulous Wedding Planners in our region that we have connections with. Have a truly wonderful and enchanting day, be present in every moment – you deserve it!

www.truly-scrumptious-events.co.uk

www.mjrweddings.co.uk

www.stylishevents.com

www.make-my-day-events.co.uk

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