Every rite of passage or landmark can be recorded with photos and selfies. But how do we express the meaning of these events in ways that celebrate or heal, mark the beginning or ending of relationships? Is the event something to be commemorated in private or in a way that includes the significant people in our lives? Let’s think about Adoption, Engagement or Commitment, Anniversaries, Renewing Vows, or Separations? How might we do these in the name of Love?
Adoption
It is joy when a baby or child comes to a forever home. We want to celebrate their arrival but there will be as many different circumstances as there are adoptions. They might be coming to a single parent, to adults who cannot have children, to a same-sex couple, to a family where there are already children and these may be from different parents too. Let’s think of ways in which we can express the love in which the new life is welcomed and that will mean something when they look back on this day.
Engagement of Commitment Ceremony
The emphasis on so many celebrations has been upon the commercial and image-conscious model. Friends and family are expected to give presents and eat or drink a lot! A couple might choose to focus on their story, on what has brought them to the point of commitment and include their loved ones in a way that is grateful, naming their blessings and paying tribute to all who have helped them on their way.
Anniversaries
Isn’t it wonderful to celebrate an anniversary, whether it’s the first or the fiftieth? It is an occasion for thanksgiving and reflection, a time to tell each other and all who have been important in your lives what they mean to you. It’s a chance to take stock, to be grateful for good times, for weathering storms, and to renew your commitments. You might include elements of your wedding service, or write a letter of a poem to each other, or invite family and friends to pay tribute to your relationship over the time they knew you.
Renewal of Vows
Most relationships go through rocky patches – through illness, losses, family problems, financial difficulties, infidelities or just drifting apart. You might want a ceremony for just the two of you or to include significant others. There might be words and prayers of apology, forgiveness and reconciliation. Or you might just want to be jubilant for all the good things so far as you look forward to more. You might want to mark this new step with a blessing of the wedding rings, or new rings, or a collage of photographs. These are just examples of the creative thinking we can do around a bespoke celebration.
Divorce
The media like to create a drama and a war around divorce. Especially with the introduction of ‘No Fault’ divorce, a couple can be amicable and separate without acrimony. Sometimes, the relationship continues, even if it is no longer a married one. It can help both parties, and those who love them, to have a ceremony that gives closure but with an element of healing and moving on. It can mean that children, other family members and friends do not have to ‘take sides’ but can continue to love and support in the ways that all agree.
Certificate in UK Celebrancy
Jane Jana Celebrant 