One – Ring Ceremony

The Ring Ceremony is the most wonderful ceremony idea where you include special guests, without them having to get up! Your wedding rings are looped onto ribbon and passed to your nearest and dearest, who hold them in their hands for a few seconds. They are asked to think of their love for you and their support for your marriage before passing them on to the next person.

By the time you exchange your wedding rings, the precious metal will have been warmed by the love of the people who love you the most. It’s a beautiful ceremony idea and very emotional – especially if grandparents are involved.

Two – Handtying

Handtying is a beautiful ritual where your hands are bound together with ribbons or cords. It symbolises the joining of two hands, two hearts and two lives.  Handtying fits perfectly in your ceremony at any stage, but particularly when you exchange your vows. The colours of the ribbons have significant meaning but you might also like to include material that is special to you. For example, lace from your mother or grandmother’s wedding dress, a strip of material from a loved one’s shirt, beach hut material, macramé cords – whatever you wish!

To clarify, Handtying is not a Handfasting. Handfasting is a pagan ceremony that involves calling the quarters and blessing the circle in which you are standing, amongst other things. For more information, you should contact a wonderfully experienced celebrant such as Rebecca at Willow Ceremonies.

Three – Blessing Stones

Blessing Stones – also known as Wishing Stones – are a great way of including everybody!  We ask your guests to write a lovely message on each stone and then put them on each side of the path used for your ceremony. It means you walk in and out on a path full of love! Your Blessing Stones can then be kept as wonderful keepsakes in your garden.

Four – Love Lock Ceremony

The words that accompany this ritual in your ceremony are wonderful. The symbolism of linking two padlocks and throwing away the keys works perfectly in a ceremony that is about the joining of two people in love. Linked but still individual! Family can be involved in the ceremony and you keep your locked padlocks for the rest of your lives. Perfect.

Five – Sand Unity Ceremony

Sand Unity Ceremonies is the last of our ceremony ideas for today (but oh, we have so many more!). This ceremony is perfect for blending families, where children can be involved. Our couples pour the first layer of sand and then each family member pours their own colour in turn. Each colour has a significant meaning, so we ask each family member to consider their personalities and values in life when choosing their colour. The result is a beautiful and meaningful keepsake of your special day!

It’s your choice!

Your Celebrant led wedding ceremony will always be unique and, by including beautiful ceremony ideas that resonate with you, the ceremony will reflect who you really are. Alternatively, you may want a beautifully simple yet sophisticated ceremony without any rituals. Whatever works for you is what you must have, so get in touch with us to find out more!

Photo credits and thanks to:

Francis Meaney Photography (ring ceremony)

Liz Greenhalgh Photography (hand tying ceremony)

David Waldron, White Rose Ceremonies (blessing stone & sand unity ceremonies)

TheLoveLockShop on Etsy (love lock ceremony)

The post FIVE Beautiful Ceremony Ideas appeared first on White Rose Ceremonies.

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.

The post Creating Memories, Your Perfect Wedding Ceremony appeared first on White Rose Ceremonies.

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!

The post You CAN have an outdoor wedding ceremony! appeared first on White Rose Ceremonies.

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

The post Planning your Wedding? Plan your Ceremony! appeared first on White Rose Ceremonies.

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!

The post Celebrant Wedding for Your Special Day appeared first on White Rose Ceremonies.

With the room flooded by light from the golf course, the chairs were decorated with white covers and lilac and mint green sashes, matching the bridesmaids dresses.  In recognition of the importance of parents, both Chloe’s father and her mother gave Chloe away to Kais.  Chloe’s dear grandfather was also mentioned in remembrance.

Rings had been exchanged in Turkey so Kais and Chloe chose to have a wedding ceremony in the UK that included hand-fasting.  The hand-fasting included the colours blue for tranquillity, patience, devotion and sincerity, lilac for power, piety, sanctity, sentimentality and white for purity, concentration, meditation and peace. 

Kais and Chloe exchanged wedding vows and signed a commemorative certificate with friends.  Also included in the ceremony was the beautiful “Doves Poem”, read by one of their bridesmaids:

Two doves meeting in the sky,
Two loves hand in hand, eye to eye;
Two parts of a loving whole,
Two hearts and a single soul.
Two stars shining big and bright,
Two fires bringing warmth and light;
Two songs played in perfect tune,
Two flowers growing into bloom.
Two doves gliding in the air,
Two loves free without a care;
Two parts of a loving whole,
Two hearts and a single soul.
Two dreams found before too late,
Two lives together bound by fate;
Two people cling to one another,
Two people in love with each other.
Two doves, can you see them soar?
Two loves – who could ask for more?
Two parts of a loving whole,
Two hearts and a single soul.
Author unknown

Kais and Chloe’s Golf Club Wedding Ceremony was full of love and laughter and we were so pleased to be part it.  Their friends and family were very happy to be present with them at their ceremony.  We could see this happiness, clearly reflected in the smiles and tears of all.

We received a lovely testimonial from Kais and Chloe and we wish them every happiness in the future.

“Rebecca is so lovely and made me feel very comfortable and calm with the ceremony in her hands, from the moment we met on skype to the actual wedding day. The ceremony was absolutely perfect, many of our guests said it was the nicest one they had ever heard. Thank you for everything guys, we had the most perfect day, which you played a huge part of”.

Venue: St Ives Golf Club, St Ives, Cambridgeshire

Photographs: Used with kind permission from Kais & Chloe

The post Kais & Chloe’s Golf Club Wedding Ceremony appeared first on White Rose Ceremonies.

The groomsmen wore tweed jackets with burgundy bow ties and the Bridesmaids wore blue tea-length dresses with polka dot bodices, edged in red.

Heather was escorted by her mother and made her entrance in a beautiful gown and shoes from Irregular Choice.  The track ‘Lover of the Light’ by Mumford & Sons was played.  There was such a lot of love for Heather and Geoff from their select group of guests, reflected in the smiles and tears as Heather joined Geoff.

Heather and Geoff put a great deal of thought into their Wedding Ceremony and wanted it to reflect their love of each other, the earth, nature and the wonder of the universe.  Geoff adapted the ‘Blue Dot’ reading by Carl Sagan which painted a perfect picture of where we, the Earth and love fit into the universe.

The ceremony included a Handfasting using the colour blue, representing sincerity, peace, honest and open communication, loyalty and patience. Green, representing physical health, affection, compassion and a sense of caring and gold, representing energy, intelligence and longevity.

Heather and Geoff wrote their own vows and promises of love to each other and Geoff’s brother presented their wedding rings in a rustic ring box, provided by White Rose Ceremonies.

After signing their commemorative certificate there were a few final words. Heather and Geoff then left to the music of ‘Ho Hey’ by The Lumineers.

A few drops of rain fell during Heather and Geoff’s outdoor wedding ceremony but that didn’t affect the enjoyment or happiness of the Ceremony itself.

We had a really super time with Heather and Geoff and thoroughly appreciated the thought and care they put into their Wedding Ceremony.

Their connection was real and their love for each other was there for all to see.  It was a real privilege to be part of their love story.  We thank them for that and the wonderful testimonial below.

Testimonial

“White Rose Ceremonies have been one of our favourite wedding suppliers to work with. We’ve enjoyed our planning sessions as Rebecca and David have taken the time to get to know us and provided a personalised script unique to us. There have been lots of laughs along the way too, they’re great fun! On the day the blessing was everything we could have hoped for and our guests commented on how touching the special words were. Thank you for helping us to make the day we’d dreamt of.”

Photographs: David Waldron of White Rose Ceremonies

The post Heather & Geoff’s Outdoor Country Wedding appeared first on White Rose Ceremonies.

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®

The post Sarah & Ben’s Boho Farm Wedding appeared first on White Rose Ceremonies.

Carole and her bridesmaids entered to the haunting melody of ‘How Long Will I Love You’ by Ellie Goulding.  The Wedding Ceremony focused on the love that Carole and Peter have for each other, which was reflected beautifully in their wedding vows. We enjoyed the story of how they met and laughed when we heard that Carole slept through a Guns & Roses concert.

Their wedding ceremony included hand-fasting with beautiful purple, cream and white ribbons signifying spirituality, balance and devotion. After the exchange of vows and rings we all sang ‘Stand By Me’ and were treated to Peter doing a little dance with Carole. And through it all, Peter never took his eyes off Carole.

After signing their commemorative certificate, everybody stood for their marriage blessing.  Their final piece of music was ‘Mr Blue Sky’ by E.L.O and they left to congratulations and happy applause.

We had a wonderful time with Carole and Peter, getting to know them and being allowed the privilege of leading their Wedding Ceremony.  Carole and Peter have given White Rose Ceremonies a wonderful testimonial which we hope you enjoy.

“Thank you so much for a beautiful wedding ceremony last Sunday. Everything was perfect. Both Pete and I knew from the very first time we met you that we wanted you to perform our wedding at Colwick Hall in Nottingham.

You encouraged and helped us to create a truly individual and very special ceremony that we will remember for the rest of our lives. All our guests were just blown away by the personalised words and readings and said how perfectly the ceremony reflected and symbolised our love for each other.

We are so glad that we chose White Rose Ceremonies for our wedding as together we created an amazing and very special day. Thank you once again Rebecca and also thanks to Dave for the fabulous photos.”

Photographs:  David Waldron, White Rose Ceremonies®

Celebrant: Rebecca Waldron, White Rose Ceremonies®

Dress: Ribbons & Pearls, Cookham

Shoes: Pink Paradox

Flowers: The Flower Room, Radcliffe-on-Trent

Hair & Makeup: Nicola Hodgkinson

Venue: Colwick Hall Hotel

The post Carole & Peter’s Wedding, Colwick Hall appeared first on White Rose Ceremonies.

Mark and Brent had the complete support of their family and friends as they prepared for their wedding ceremony. They conducted the legal side of things in a routine appointment at their local Register Office two days previously, saving their wedding vows and exchange of rings for the ceremony conducted in the Social Club of HMP Whitemoor.

The main room of the club was transformed into a beautiful venue when decorated in sumptuous blue, white and silver. Tall and luxurious flower arrangements were displayed on each table and an aisle had been created with lavish candelabras, lit with blue and silver candles.

The Grooms were in long-tailed jackets with royal blue cravats and there was a great sense of excitement as the guests waited for them to arrive. Mark and Brent entered through separate doors, meeting at the beginning of the aisle before the wedding ceremony began.

Mark and Brent had thought long and hard about their wedding ceremony, using our White Rose Wedding Book for inspiration. They had all the elements of a traditional wedding ceremony and included handfasting to signify the bonds they have between them.

Two friends read poems which Mark and Brent had chosen from the extensive resource we offer. They also lit a candle to remember Mark’s father, a very emotional moment.

There were more tears as Mark and Brent exchanged their vows and you could hear a pin drop in the room, such was the attention of everybody there. After they signed the certificate which celebrates their marriage we closed the ceremony and they left to cheers and applause.

Celebrations followed with drinks and photographs outside, a bouncy castle, speeches and a disco that had everybody dancing into the night.

It was a wonderful day and we were overwhelmed by the love and support for Mark and Brent. It was a real privilege to be asked to conduct their wedding ceremony and it’s one we will remember for a long time.

Photographs taken by David Waldron of White Rose Ceremonies.

The post Mark and Brent’s Wedding Ceremony appeared first on White Rose Ceremonies.