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Once upon a time, all ceremonies were traditional. No matter what background you came from, the majority of ceremonies contained religious passages and prayers. But now the 21^st Century has caused a stir and modernised ceremonies forever and this is where the work of a Celebrant comes in.

You may be wondering what a Celebrant does? Well most of them conduct ceremonies for weddings, funerals, renewal of vows, baby naming ceremonies and civil partnership services.

With Celebrants becoming even more popular, I’m told my ceremonies are standing out from others and I’ve taken the South by storm!  I’ve simply found there is a huge demand for elegant and romantic ceremonies which I offer and endeavour to conduct with complete calmness. My services are unique and tailored to each client. I work closely with couples and families giving them complete flexibility to choose graceful, comforting or romantic words for any desired ceremony.

With church ceremonies strictly religious and registrar ceremonies completely the opposite, I try to find the right balance for clients on their day. If clients want to include religious or spiritual readings or maybe just graceful passages, I’m happy to incorporate the client’s choices and am there to guide them every step of the way.

An example of this was when I was contacted in by a lovely lady who had seen my website and was enquiring about a naming ceremony. She gave me a couple of possible dates in August and two preferred venues and was waiting for confirmation from each. I already had bookings in August but the suggested dates she mentioned were free as both were Sundays. Both her chosen venues were very fine country hotels, one in Gloucestershire and one in Worcestershire. We exchanged a number of emails and tried to meet but my racing around the country to visit clients and conduct weddings didn't fit in with her busy days filled with all the responsibilities of parenting. We eventually managed to chat by phone where I gathered and was offered some wonderfully heartening and enlightening details.

The naming ceremony was not for one baby, but two. Twin girls who by the time of the ceremony would be 8 months old. Much loved and wanted by their parents after more than one tragic attempt to become a family before, these darling babies were the light of their parents lives.  I drove to Hertfordshire to meet the family and had a proper cuddle with these gorgeous babies for the first time at the very trendy hotel they were staying at for the weekend

I put together a draft of the ceremony for the parents consideration but could see it was going to be logistically tricky. With 6 Guiding Parents appointed and twin babies to hold and amuse for the duration of a ceremony which was going to be longer than usual.

Two Guiding Parents had chosen beautiful readings and the babies’ father had written an incredibly moving speech, describing his daughters’ early arrival into the world on a cold and snowy December night. As a parent myself, it took all my self-control and composure to remain dry-eyed but as I looked across the room most of the guests were dabbing moistened eyes with hankies as he spoke.

With Puccini's Mia Bambino playing quietly in the background, and the father explaining that just 3 years earlier almost to the day he and his wife had married in the same beautiful Cotswold stone manor, it was a touching and emotional day.

The ceremony concluded with a release of butterflies which had been bred especially for the day while champagne was being poured and the sunshone. Each guest was presented with a box with a single butterfly inside to release and the butterflies flew off into the sunshine as the mother of the twins read a poem about mothering and teaching children how to fly.

A few days later I received the most beautiful email thanking me for doing a fabulous job, and saying that she and her husband have already said they’ll be back to me for any more naming ceremonies and for their wedding vow renewals!!

They also left this comment on the Guest Book page of my website:

Dear Diana,
We all wanted to say a huge thank you for the wonderful naming ceremony you held for our twin daughters. Having two people to name could have been a bit repetitive but the way you ran the ceremony made it interesting and unique to each of them. It was a privilege to work with you and to meet you. Your skill, professionalism and commitment to getting everything so right was so appreciated by us and our twin daughters, MIa & Bo.
All our guests commented on what a fabulous job you did. Your input and dedication in the months leading up to the day was so valuable and you really supported me with some very sensitive and personal family matters surrounding the day.
We all thank you from the bottom of our hearts and would not hesitate to strongly endorse you personally and professionally and can't wait to use your services again!!
You made our day so special for our twin daughters - we were honoured and feel like we gained a new friend!

All Our Love,

I’m always deeply touched to receive feedback like this. I work very closely with couples and families before each ceremony and there is a huge element of trust and openness. They confide in me and share personal information to help me capture the essence of their relationship. Learning afterwards that it has been captured accurately in the presentation to their guests at a public celebration in their honour, is very gratifying and also humbling. They deserve all my admiration, support and confidence and I hope they know they have this.

The work of a celebrant is greatly rewarding and I would encourage all families who yearn for a public celebration to welcome their child or children into their family to consider a celebrant led ceremony.

 www.gracetheday.com

Kicking off Business Mums Week we have some great news that we now have a new franchisee of our 'Warwickshire' Branch, Stacie Calder.

Stacie has a great story that has made her get to where she is now, running her own Networking Mummies Branch alongside her own growing business.

Back in May 2011 Laura made the big decision to leave Bournemouth and Joanne and the Dorset branch to return back to Warwick to be closer to family. Stacie had been a friend of Laura's ever since Primary school and on moving back to Warwick and after staying in touch they spoke again via emails. Laura had decided the best way to grow Networking Mummies was to open a 'Warwickshire' Branch and as Stacie was on maternity leave she encouraged Stacie to come along to the first meeting that was held in Cheeky Chimps in Waarwick.

Stacie came along and so did a few others! Within those other people was a lady called Sharon Bott and she had been recommended to come along to the meeting by two people within our Hampshire Branch! Sharon is a leading team leader within the Forever Business and herself and Stacie set up a date in the diary on the day to meet again and have a chat. Now nearly 18 months down the line Stacie has succesfully grown her own business and has also signed someone in her team within the Dorset Branch!

Stacie is very happy to now be the new owner of the Warwickshire branch, so Laura can concentrate on the other parts of Networking Mummies.

Laura quotes 'I am so pleased that Stacie is the new owner of this branch. I started it 18 months ago and she has always helped me out and been by my side anyway so I know it's going to a great person who will grow the branch'

To find out more about Stacie click here. (P.S. Some of this page is still being updated, so do check back!)