Marriage Celebrant Services
I trained as a Celebrant with AUT (Auckland University of Technology) in 2009, this was an unexpected delight – an opportunity to learn so much about the ancient value of ceremony and ritual as well as exploring the whole life cycle working with families in times of joy and sadness.
To date most of my ceremonies have been either Weddings or Life Celebrations/Funerals but I have also written and delivered several rituals for times of transition.
Since graduating, I registered as a Marriage Celebrant and I have had the pleasure of working with many couples, blended families, weddings of all sizes, budgets, themes and content.
Each wedding has been personalised and reflects the couples wishes, values and preferences.
Contact Sally and take the first step towards creating a wonderful wedding ceremony.
Life Celebrations / Funerals
Life Celebration is not a term I always use, as it depends on the situation, the family and whanau involved and the age of the deceased.
Sometimes, grief that follows death of a loved one, particularly a child, can be so overwhelming it can be hard for people to relate to the idea of celebrating a life and so my role is always to guide and advise, rather than lead, using the language that is appropriate to the family.
To assist in the grief process, I encourage the family to think about the person who has passed and how the ceremony we create, can best honour them. Reflecting on all life’s challenges and the fun times, personality traits, anecdotes and stories as well as the love that was shared.
Working with a family at this time is a great privilege and together we create a unique and personalised ceremony. Symbolic gestures such as candle lighting, live music, singing, balloon releases; are used to enhance the ceremony when appropriate and can create lasting memories for all concerned.
This does not change the fact that someone precious is no longer here physically, but it does help people to deal with their complex emotions and to begin to accept the situation.
Contact Sally to discuss your Life Celebration/Funeral ceremony requirements.
Pre-planning and Preparation for Life Celebrations / Funerals
Honouring our dead is something I feel very strongly about as financial strain seems to be encouraging people to choose not to have a service of any kind and to go straight to cremation. I think this is a sad situation. I know some people say they don’t want a funeral or any fuss, but the service has the potential to honour the person who died, strengthen family connections and assist in the grief process. When someone dies with no family or friends, I am happy to provide a brief ceremony to honour their life and to farewell their body.
Often people do not plan for their death in any way and death denial is a big issue. I have been involved with families in palliative care and at the end-of-life stages and I highly recommend every adult completes an Advance Care Plan- available online from the Ministry of Health. ACP is a process that asks us to consider how we feel about our life and our death and what choices we would make in the event of something happening that means we are no longer able to make decisions for ourselves. Accidents happen, sometimes causing acute and irreversible injuries that leave us dependent on our families and healthcare professionals to make decisions for us, if we have not left specific requests or choices.
Many of us are afraid of death and yet the fascinating thing is that once someone explores the reality of life – that our bodies will all die one day – we are free to live our lives more fully, with greater intention, presence and joy.
Life Celebrations/ Funerals can be meaningful and affordable and there are Funeral Directors available who are working in a less traditional way and are open to discussing reducing costs whilst still honouring the life of the person who has died.
Putting some money aside regularly for after death care as we advance in years, can relieve a lot of stress for the family members left behind and is a responsible thing to do.
Contact Sally if you would like help and/or support with honouring your loved one. My fees are negotiable when there is hardship, please contact me to discuss your needs.
