Festival Wedding Archives • White Rose Ceremonies

Creating Memories, Your Perfect Wedding Ceremony

3 December 2018/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

When it comes to your Wedding Day, you and your partner are creating wedding memories. For your guests, that starts with drinks on arrival, greeting family and friends. The care that you have put into creating memories for your perfect wedding ceremony will be remembered for many years.

But have you taken the same care with your wedding ceremony? If you have the bog-standard council ceremony, how memorable will that be? Will the interest of your guests fade? Rather than really listening to your wedding vows, will your guests just be waiting for the drinks, food and entertainment?

With a wedding ceremony led by a Celebrant, the anticipation and excitement of your arrival is aided by the Celebrant’s engagement with your guests. White Rose Ceremonies encourage the happy chatter and applause for when the first member of the wedding party arrives.

We make sure everybody is seated and check that everything is where it should be for the ceremony. It’s part of what we do.

And we make sure your perfect wedding ceremony is all about you.

It may well include the lovely traditional elements of a wedding ceremony, such as readings, vows, exchange of rings and the signing of a certificate. It might include symbolic rituals that celebrate your commitment to each other in different ways.

But your guests will be engaged and immersed in your perfect wedding ceremony as we tell your story. We have lots of ideas of how we can include special people without them having to get up and read. These are things that you won’t get with the council ceremony.

This is your day. It is all about creating memories. It is all about giving you your perfect wedding ceremony. These ceremonies can take place at any location, licensed or unlicensed. We provide you with the opportunity to have your perfect wedding ceremony wherever you want it. It can be in a formal venue, your home, your grandmother’s garden, on the beach or in a forest.

Your promises can be celebrated with as many people as you want and with the words, music and feeling that you want. Whether that is humanist, religious or secular (not connected with any particular religious or spiritual matters), it is your ceremony.

We have even conducted ceremonies with a translator for friends and families who don’t speak English and as for including pets – well, we are becoming quite the experts!

Creating memories for your perfect wedding ceremony is easier than you think. Contact us for more information!

Photographs courtesy of David Waldron, White Rose Ceremonies.

Simply Perfect Wedding Ceremony

14 February 2018/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

We have conducted many amazing weddings and what a privilege it is to do so! But one thing that strikes us is how much pressure couples are under to have “the best”. It seems that, nowadays, the simply perfect wedding has to be the most unique, the most noteworthy, the most memorable and the most expensive. They have to have all (and we mean all!) the finishing touches, the funniest moments and the biggest wow factor.

This is not to say it’s wrong to want these things. You should have what you want but the media puts a lot of strain on those wanting a simple day. So, we think the biggest ‘wow factor’ is how much stress is involved! Such pressure must surely take away from the true meaning of the day?

Your love for each other

Our wedding ceremony really was a simply perfect day, without the stress and it was memorable for that reason.

We had a long weekend up in Scotland and completed the legal paperwork at Gretna Green Registry Office with two witnesses. This was wonderful in its simplicity, happiness and lack of pressure.

But for us, our Wedding Ceremony on the beach was most important and significant day. We shared our heartfelt love for each other in our vows and exchanged wedding rings with a lovely ring ceremony. Our guests were all quite happy to stand or sit on the blankets that they had brought with them and to generally ‘muck in’.

We just stood in a circle in the place we love the most and celebrated afterwards with tea and cake. Refreshments were accompanied by sandcastles, bubbles and lots of laughter!

Simply perfect.

You really can have your Wedding Ceremony anywhere you want. We have written about outdoor weddings in our blog and you can read it here.

If you want to know how it all works regarding the legal side of things, please use our Contact Form and we will get in touch. We are always happy to share our knowledge and experience and we are here to help you make it the best day of your lives.

We hope you have a really wonderful time planning your simply perfect Wedding Ceremony.

White Rose Ceremonies

Who Can Conduct Your Wedding Ceremony?

8 October 2017/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

You know that old joke – a Celebrant, Registrar and Minister walked into a pub and…..? No, we don’t either, but who CAN conduct your Wedding Ceremony? Did you know that you are NOT restricted to having a Registrar or Minister? You can have a Celebrant – also known as Civil Celebrant or Humanist.

Here are a few points to help you decide who you want to conduct your Wedding Ceremony:

Celebrant

You have complete flexibility regarding the words and content of your Ceremony. This can include spiritual references, singing and lighting of candles if you wish.

Your Ceremony can be conducted anywhere you want. These can be on licensed or unlicensed premises or on public land. Remember to get the relevant permission from the landowner. Think about formal venues, fields, forests and beaches. Also at home, in poppy fields or bluebell woods.

Your Ceremony can be as traditional, quirky, emotional or as funny as you wish.

You will have met your Celebrant and spoken to them several times before your Ceremony. You can meet our team here.

These Ceremonies do not have any legal status.

You will need to complete your legal license in the registrar’s office (a ceremony room will cost you extra) with two witnesses beforehand. This will cost you around £50 plus license fees and takes around 10 minutes.

Then share your marriage vows with each other in your beautifully unique Wedding Ceremony.

The Ceremonies can involve your families and friends and sets a happy, celebratory tone for the rest of the day.

These Ceremonies are ideal for couples who are happy to put thought and effort into creating a personal Wedding Ceremony that is unique to them.

Registrar

The words will be those that Registrars are required to use by law. Find out more by clicking here.

You might have a choice between three very similar and standard scripts.

These ceremonies can only be conducted in licensed venues.

You will not know which Registrar will conduct your ceremony until you arrive for your ceremony.

You are not permitted to have any religious or spiritual references.

These ceremonies are legally binding.

These ceremonies are ideal for couples who just want to get the legalities done in a standard ceremony before the wedding reception.

Minister

These ceremonies will be about a God or religious belief and the sanctity of marriage. Find out more here.

Words will vary depending on the religion.

These ceremonies can only be conducted in a consecrated building (church, chapel, mosque etc).

In most religions, this ceremony is legally binding.

These ceremonies are ideal for those who follow a certain faith. They are particularly suitable for those who believe that the ceremony reflects their faith and who they are as individuals.

So…

…you know that old joke – a Celebrant, Registrar and Minister walked into a pub and….? No, nor do we but we hope we have helped you understand the differences between a Celebrant, Registrar and Minister.

Please contact us to talk about your very own unique and wonderful Wedding Ceremony.

Outdoor Wedding Ceremony

12 September 2017/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

You have the picture in your head of your outdoor wedding ceremony. A bright, sunny day, a light breeze, hay bales, bunting and happy laughing guests. There will be beautiful flowers with dancing heads, the happy clink of Pimms or champagne glasses and candles lit in the warm balmy evening.

And yes, your outdoor wedding ceremony can be absolutely wonderful. To help you achieve this and, based on our experience, we have compiled a list of things to take into consideration.

Noise!

If you are having your wedding in a barn and/or field on a working farm then get comfortable with the fact that there will be NOISE. Tractors, geese, donkeys and even a light aircraft taking off just 200 feet away are just some of the noises we’ve had to contend with at White Rose Ceremonies!

Have a chat with the owner and tell them that this isn’t just a wedding reception. Tell them that you are actually having an Outdoor Wedding Ceremony and it would be great if tractors, combine harvesters and planes could be kept under wraps for 30 precious minutes.

And if it is windy the voice of the officiant, the bride, the groom and anybody who is reading will be swept away.

So regardless of what the noise is, some of your guests won’t hear anything. Having a good sound system for your ceremony MUST be part of your budgeting. It’s a great shame if your guests can’t hear your vows and they will probably mention it to you afterwards.

If you decide to have your ceremony in a Barn, you may still have a tractor or two driving past. We’ve even had wheat being harvested!

Additionally, if you have a mobile bar inside your barn, tell the supplier that they must not set up their bar while the Ceremony is in progress. The noise of clashing bottles, unwrapping plastic beakers and the squashing of empty plastic bottles is distracting, to say the least.

Rain!

If it is drizzling or raining, don’t assume that a “bit of rain won’t hurt anybody”.

If you want your Outdoor Wedding Ceremony to be exactly that – outdoors – regardless of the weather, provide a big basket full of umbrellas. The umbrellas should be big enough to cover the whole guest, not just their head.

Have tarpaulin or plastic covers to cover hay bales or seats before the ceremony. You can delegate the removal of them to your groomsmen, family or friends before the guests sit down. Sitting on damp hay bales or wet plastic chairs is not a pleasant experience for anybody.

You might be completely engaged in what’s going on but your guests will be wondering how they can keep warm and dry. They certainly won’t be focussing on you as a couple and your carefully written vows. You really do need to have a Plan B!

Just remember – a soggy guest is not a happy guest!

The Sun!

Think also about heat. Will your guests be in full sun when your ceremony takes place? Advise them to bring sunglasses, a cover-up for shoulders, maybe a hat.

Consider having your ceremony under trees or big parasols so your guests have some shelter from bright rays. Even in the British sunshine the heat can be uncomfortable and having the sun in your eyes rather than a perfect view of the happy couple just spoils the experience.

Footwear!

It might seem obvious but, if your outdoor wedding ceremony is in a field on a working farm, make sure your guests know that they should wear suitable footwear. High heels and fields don’t work – broken ankles are not great on a wedding day. And if the field is normally used by sheep, cows or geese then somebody really does need to get a spade out to clear up before you get ready for the ceremony!

If you are having your ceremony on a lawn, think about providing heel protectors for all those who wear high heels. Even a little rain can make grass difficult to walk on. Otherwise your guests really will get that sinking feeling.

Enjoy your outdoor wedding ceremony!

If you take a little extra time to plan for these eventualities, your Outdoor Wedding Ceremony really can be every bit as happy and fabulous as you imagine. Just make sure your guests can hear what’s going on and that they are sheltered and comfortable.

We hope these hints and tips help and finally, here are ‘our’ geese! Have an absolutely wonderful day!

Conduct your Wedding Ceremony, Outdoor Wedding Ceremony, Rebecca Waldron, Civil Celebrant, White Rose Ceremonies

You CAN have an outdoor wedding ceremony!

5 February 2017/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

You can have an outdoor wedding ceremony in England and Wales. Just open your mind to a slightly different way of doing things! Outdoor wedding ceremonies are not limited to venues that have a license for a ceremonies in their grounds.

Think outside of the archaic marriage laws that exist in the UK and you can have the ceremony of your choice.

Many of our brides have had their outdoor wedding ceremony in gardens, in fields, by lakes and by the sea. They were more than happy to complete the “wedding admin” beforehand. They then had a completely bespoke wedding ceremony in a place of their choosing.

They chose to share their personal and unique promises of love with their families and friends through the very personal service that we provide. You won’t know who your Registrar will be until your ceremony starts, but you will always have developed a friendship with us, your Celebrants.

All you have to do, after completing the notice requirements, is arrange to go to the Registrar’s Office with two witnesses. There you can complete the legal administration of your marriage. You don’t have to pay extra for a Ceremony Room, you have the right to request the basic package and use a Registrar’s Office. (You will find that availability is limited. Your local council wish to make as much money as possible through use of the Ceremony Rooms).

After that you can have your outdoor wedding ceremony wherever you want! And it will be completely unique to you. We had our wedding ceremony on a beach in North Norfolk and it was so wonderful that we started our business!

If you have any questions about this please do get in touch. There is no obligation to book through us, we are more than happy to talk about what celebrants do and how they do it!

Planning your Wedding? Plan your Ceremony!

29 January 2017/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

Planning your Wedding? Plan your Ceremony! Start your special day with a Wedding Ceremony that will really ‘wow’ your family and friends!

We know that there is a lot to think about when planning your wedding. The venue, the dresses and outfits, photographer, caterer, entertainment, flowers, wedding favours. You spend all your time on Pinterest creating mood boards for the most perfect wedding.

But what about the perfect Ceremony?

Imagine your guests focussed on you both, laughing, clapping! Probably shedding a happy tear and totally engaged with you as share your promises of love with each other.

Want to sing? Well, let’s sing! Want to remember a loved one who has passed away? Let’s light a candle. Want your pet to be the ring bearer? Yes – let’s do it!

When you plan your Ceremony with a Celebrant, they provide you with a fresh and unique approach. Celebrants get to know you. They write your script and weave the story of your journey as a couple throughout the Ceremony, making it completely personal to you. Your script will never be the same as another couple and that is guaranteed!

Celebrants also have great ideas when it comes to including special people too! As for your venue, it can be wherever you want it to be. Inside, outside, at home, at a formal venue, in a tipi, marquee, in a forest, by the sea – anywhere you want.

And the legal paperwork? Just complete it with two witnesses in the basic ceremony that all registrars should offer. You don’t have to use a special room. The legal documentation can be held in the registrar’s office. Our couples at White Rose Ceremonies call it the ‘admin appointment’!

We love our team of Celebrants at White Rose Ceremonies but there are other fabulous Celebrants out there as well. So wherever you live, you can have an amazing Ceremony conducted by a Celebrant.

You can plan your Ceremony with us, of course! But there are also other amazing Celebrants who we highly recommend:

Katie Deverell at www.ceremonydesigner.co.uk

Ellie Farrell at www.alternativeceremoniesuk.com

Katie Keen at www.trueblueceremonies.co.uk

Judy Mansfield at www.cherish-ceremonies.co.uk

So – planning your Wedding? Plan your Ceremony! Have the most fantastic start to your wedding celebrations! We wish you lots of love, joy and happiness x

Chris Taylor Photography

Celebrant Wedding for Your Special Day

11 January 2017/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

Looking through the photographs of our weddings, we realise how privileged we are to become friends with many of our lovely wedding couples. And this is what happens when you book a Celebrant Wedding.

It’s important to form this relationship because ,when it comes to your big day, you want a friendly face and somebody who knows exactly what you want for your celebration.

Whether your celebrant wedding is on a farm, in a Labyrinth, at a formal venue, or in your garden, we make every effort to make sure that you feel comfortable with us and that you trust us to conduct the ceremony that you want.

Read on to find out how we do this…

We visit you several times and, without being intrusive, we get to know you. As part of your package you receive our Wedding Book. It’s full of resources that provide you with lots of choice for your ceremony such as unity ceremony, handfasting, rose ceremony and many other ideas.

We have lots of lovely ways to include special people – grandparents, children, friends and even your pets…

We include a rehearsal so that you become familiar with where to stand. We also talk to your ushers and bridal party about where they should be and, if they are not at the rehearsal, we will talk to them before the ceremony starts.

After your celebrant wedding ceremony, we wish you all the very best for your married life and that we hope to keep in touch. And we are so very happy that we do exactly that – keep in touch. Enjoy your day!

Alice-in-Wonderland Themed Wedding

3 August 2016/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

Kim and Ched’s whimsical Alice-in-Wonderland themed wedding at Fen Farm, Lincoln, was a fairy-tale affair full of fun, eclectic details.

Kim looked stunning in a short ivory lace wedding dress with shoes from Irregular Choice. She had made exquisite paper bouquets for herself and her bridesmaids who were dressed in blue and white dresses. The groomsmen wore light grey suits with light blue accessories and matching boutonniere.

The three page boys were dressed in matching outfits of shorts, striped socks, light blue blazers, bowties and trilbies, a fabulous interpretation of Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Kim and her brother arrived on a carriage pulled by The Mad Hatter and The White Rabbit – of course! Before the ceremony started, guests had written their good-luck messages on white stones and these lined the aisle where Kim met her groom, Ched.

An Oathing Stone was used when Kim and Ched’s repeated their wedding vows. In true Alice-in-Wonderland style, a little White Rabbit looked on throughout the whole ceremony. Readings were given by friends and the rings were presented by one of Kim and Ched’s dogs who both played key roles in the ceremony.

The celebrations then kicked off in style with a bar available from the 1966 vintage bus bar from Route 14 followed by a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in the barn and a hog roast in the evening.

Kim and Ched’s Alice-in-Wonderland themed Wedding was full of love and laughter and we were very happy to lead the ceremony for them. They put a lovely review on our Facebook page, which we also show below:

“Amazing job done by Rebecca and David. They are terrific, wonderful, kind and friendly people that were confident and calming, and helped us create a ceremony from scratch, that was us through and through. Top of our list if we decide to have a naming ceremony for little bump! And a few fantastic photos as well. Thanks guys! Take care of yourselves.”

Kim and Ched – it really was our pleasure.

Photographs courtesy of David Waldron, White Rose Ceremonies

Boho Farm Wedding, Rebecca Waldron, Handfasting, Sand Unity, White Rose Ceremonies

Sarah & Ben’s Boho Farm Wedding

10 July 2016/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

Sarah and Ben’s Boho Farm Wedding was a colourful ceremony, full of love and symbolism. The trees were decorated with pompoms and family and friends were seated outside on chairs and hay bales. An arch complete with bunting and flowers formed the ceremony area and this was where we stood to await the bride.

Sarah’s stunning Boho wedding dress was teamed with a dark green crocheted shrug and a beautiful bouquet of roses, calla lillies and eucalyptus. Sarah and Ben’s children formed the bridal party, a cheerful procession of white dresses, deep-berry shrugs, happy smiles, skipping steps and sunflowers.

The Wedding Ceremony included an emotional reading by the Groom, hand-fasting and exchange of vows and rings. Sarah and Ben also took part in a sand ceremony with all their children, symbolising the unity of their newly formed family. ‘Happy Together’ by The Turtles was played while three different colours of sand were poured into the jar in beautiful layers and ending with combined colours, bringing together the united family. Even the short deluge of rain didn’t succeed in putting a dampener on their happy day. The sand, together with the hand-fasting ribbons made by White Rose Ceremonies® provide Sarah and Ben with wonderful mementos of their happy day.

The colours of the sand were of special significance to Sarah and Ben. Green representing the family’s connection to the earth, growth and new beginnings. Blue sand, representing truth, moderation and sincerity. And pink sand which symbolises love, tenderness and acceptance.

Bouncy castles, a hog roast and even a steam engine formed part of the celebrations after the ceremony and festivities were enjoyed long into the evening.

We had a lovely afternoon with Sarah and Ben and thoroughly enjoyed preparing their completely unique Boho Farm Wedding Ceremony!

Photographs: David Waldron of White Rose Ceremonies®

Celebrant: Rebecca Waldron of White Rose Ceremonies®

Venue: Sarah & Ben’s farm

Dress, flowers, hair and makeup: Made with love by friends

Coloured Sand: Confetti.co.uk

Hand-fasting: White Rose Ceremonies®

Have the Wedding of Your Choice!

1 January 2016/in Celebrant /by Rebecca Waldron

You can have the Wedding of your choice. The only thing that you have to do is to make sure your marriage is legally binding. Traditionally this has presented you with only two options. To have your Wedding at the Register Office or to be married in church where the church ceremony reflects your faith.

If a standard Register Office or a Church Wedding is not for you, consider the third option – using the services of a Civil Celebrant.

Every Wedding is unique. No two people are the same. The circumstances in which you met are not exactly the same as anybody else. Your life ahead will not be the same as anybody else’s and so there is no reason why you should have the standard script delivered at the Register Office or Church.

We love beautiful weddings that ooze tradition but we also love alternative weddings that ooze individualism. Whatever your preference, imagine your Wedding guests leaving at the end of the day with praise on their lips about your special Wedding day.

We can help you achieve that if you can change your perception of a ‘real’ Wedding. Change it from a Register Office or Church wedding to one that is conducted in a location that you connect to emotionally, such as in a forest, a field, a beautiful formal venue, your home or a beach.

Your ceremony will be much more significant to you as a couple because you have been involved with your Celebrant in writing your Wedding script. And so, your ceremony will be much more meaningful, emotional and joyful than a standard ceremony.

We must emphasise that, in England and Ireland, you do need to go to the Register Office with two witnesses to complete the legal marriage. At the time of writing this blog, this takes 15 minutes and costs £46. This can be special in itself. Go with close family or friends in jeans and t-shirts or make it part of your celebrations and enjoy a lovely meal afterwards.

Then prepare for your wonderful ceremony with as many family and friends as you wish in the location of your choice. You can have a unique Wedding Ceremony that reflects who you really are.

Your New Year’s Resolution? To have the Wedding of your choice! Contact us for more information via our website at White Rose Ceremonies, email us at whiteroseceremony@btinternet.com or call us on 07725 795316.

Photos courtesy of:

Bill Bowman Photography

Yokan

David Waldron, White Rose Ceremonies

Chris Taylor Photography