Autumn Love!

In October, Sam and Edward welcomed family and friends to an outdoor ceremony at Sissons Barn. The weather was just perfect…not too hot and not too cold. The benches were filled with blankets in case but the warmth of the gathering was enough! They had opted to add a ring warming section to their ceremony. All the guests passed the ring from person to person and some chose to stand and speak to the couple. Sam and Edward shared their feelings about the ceremony with me. “Hearing our story shared so beautifully. You did it so much justice and picked out all the bits we are most proud of. We also loved the personal vows and how these were a surprise on the day and our ring warming too.”

Sam and Edward’s guests were fully involved with the ceremony by warming the rings and two readings were delivered. During the ceremony there was a wonderful atmosphere of love. It was clear that this couple were surrounded by those most important to them and all wanted to celebrate their relationship. “The guests said it was very personal and heartfelt. Most guests thought we had written the script ourselves because it was so accurate and true to us, although we could never have written something so well. Most of them had never heard of or seen a ring warming before so they enjoyed this aspect. They all talked about how warm and supportive Donna was.”

“We can’t recommend Donna highly enough! From the very beginning, Donna spent time getting to know us and really understood who we are as a couple. After just two meetings, she summed us up perfectly – our ceremony felt so personal and “us.”

We had so many compliments from our guests about how beautiful and heartfelt the ceremony was. Donna was kind, supportive, and genuinely invested in making sure our day was everything we hoped for. She thought of all the little details, like providing vow and reading cards for everyone, which made everything run so smoothly.

The rehearsal was also incredibly useful for our family and friends, helping everyone feel comfortable and relaxed on the day.

Donna made the whole process easy and enjoyable. If you’re on the fence about having a celebrant, don’t be – you absolutely won’t regret choosing Donna!”

Photos by Georgi Mabee https://www.georgimabee.com/

Out and About on the Farm!

Ella and Ash work in Agriculture and wanted a wedding day that reflected their love for farming and nature. Ella’s parents hosted the celebration at home and we held the ceremony in the garden. There were Wellington Boot planters down the aisle and home made pallet seating. This creative couple wanted lots of flowers and the green trees and hedges on the property gave us the perfect backdrop.

“Donna was absolutely fantastic throughout the whole process, from the first meeting over zoom, until the ceremony on the day! She was brilliant at creating an intimate and personal script for our ceremony with all the details and stories of our lives.
Donna was also fantastic at keeping both of us calm in a situation that we are not naturally comfortable in!
Our day also didn’t exactly go to plan when it started raining at the point I was meant to walk down the aisle for our outdoor wedding. We piled all the guests indoors, and Donna was more than happy to wait the hour until the rained stopped to ensure we had the perfect ceremony!”

Ella and Ash said they loved being able to pick their own vows and how the ceremony told their story as well as traditional elements of readings and a ring exchange. It was a wonderful wedding day!

Beautiful Burghley!

Jon and Zena planned their wedding at the Great Hall at Burghley House in Stamford. A wonderfully historic and grand venue that served as an excellent back drop for their wedding ceremony.

Burghley House is a grand sixteenth-century English country house near Stamford, LIncs. It is a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house built and still lived in by the senior branch of the Cecil family and is Grade 1 listed. The exterior largely retains its Elizabethan appearance, but most of the interiors date from remodelling before 1800.

Jon and Zena selected an elegant black and white theme for their guests to join in with. They also added a sand ceremony to their service to symbolise their union.

“Donna was simply fantastic. We met her for an hour or so and she listened intently to our story. When it came to subsequently writing her piece she absolutely nailed it ! Donna helped us plan our ceremony and had some fantastic ideas about how to make it just that little bit different. She is an excellent speaker who put us at ease whilst delivering an emotional, entertaining “service” to our family and friends. Thank you Donna for making the day such a special and memorable occasion.”

A Scottish/English Wedding in Elton

Sarah and Ross planned their wedding ceremony at The Black Horse in Elton. A great venue for a wedding. Ross is a proud Scottish man and Sarah an English bride so the wedding had hints of both cultures throughout. When I arrived I could hear the Scottish Piper from the car park and groomsmen were in kilts. The colour choices were bright and vibrant and the couple’s three children were involved throughout the ceremony. It was a wonderful day!

Sarah told me that the guests really enjoyed the ceremony, “with the personal vows but the added story and tit bits of our relationship.” Sarah and Ross felt that their celebrant led service was “so personal it was and fitting to my partner and I.”

“Donna was a pleasure to work with. My partner and I met her a couple of times before the ceremony to get the ceremony right for us. We were slightly overwhelmed by some areas as we are not publicly overly romantic however Donna listened to us and tailored the ceremony perfectly for us. The final script for the day was lovely to read and we were really pleased with it. Donna took the time to do a run through the day before the ceremony to make sure it all went as smoothly as possible. I would highly recommend Donna for a truly personal wedding ceremony experience.”

Unfortunately the weather was not our friend on the day, but Sarah and Ross took all the necessary changes in their stride and the wedding was a wonderful day! I was proud to be their Celebrant and give them the ceremony they really wanted.

Crown Hall Farm in the sunshine!

Laura and Richard booked an outdoor ceremony for April. We were all hoping for some spring sunshine and we were rewarded with a stunning, warm wedding day. We held the ceremony down on the lake in the boathouse with the guests seated on a gentle green slope.

“Donna was just brilliant from start to finish. We had great communication throughout, and nearer the time we had some face to face meetings where we had the time to discuss what we wanted to how we wanted it to flow. Donna was able to meet us the day before to have a run through and it helped so we knew exactly where we would all be on the day. The ceremony was perfect, everything went well and we will fully recommend Donna to our friends and family!”

Laura and Richard wanted to add a handfasting ceremony to their service. This was enjoyed by all the guests. The handfasting cord had been made personally for the couple and their three children had chosen the colours. We tied an eternity knot which the couple have kept to display at home. It was a lovely touch to add to their celebrant led wedding ceremony.

Photos expertly taken by Dan Waters. Check out his website if you would like to see more of his work. www.danwaterscreative.com 

Baby Boy’s Naming Day!

Steven and Stacey wanted to welcome their baby boy into the world in style and booked Orton Hall Hotel for a stylish ceremony. We worked together to make sure everyone was included as so many friends and family wanted to be part of this special day. Stacey shared some lovely words with me.

“Donna was helpful from the start, she met with us and was flexible with the words said as we had some family that were religious so the ceremony was personalised to have no religious words to it which worked great. Donna was patient and helpful.
Donna helped us prepare and organise ourselves and did not put too much pressure on us with returning our speeches because we did take quite a while!!
The day was amazing and we would recommend Donna to everybody thinking of having a christening or a naming ceremony, and also any other events!”

Stacey and Steven said that they loved all the personal touches I could bring to the service and their guests enjoyed experiencing a celebrant led naming ceremony. There was a beautiful reading from baby’s older siblings and gifts presented by his Nanny to all the children at the ceremony. Stacey and Steven made promises to their son and marked the moment of his arrival with their gathering.

Outdoors at Wood Farm!

Becky & Sam planned their wedding ceremony at the beautiful Wood Farm at Everdon. We met up before the big day and they were so easy to talk to and discover their love story. This couple were self confessed shy people and so we had to craft the perfect service that made them feel comfortable.

“Donna performed our wedding ceremony, it was lovely to have worked with her and be able to tell her our story. She was amazing at going back and forth changing anything we wanted to make sure it was perfect for us, which it was!”

Sam’s Mum delivered a beautiful reading during this outdoor ceremony and the couple prepared personal vows. The beauty of a celebrant led wedding is you can have the freedom to plan anything you want to make it perfect!

Thank you Becky and Sam for choosing me to be your Celebrant!

A Twist on The Loving Cup!

Chloe & Reece wanted something personal and slightly different for their August ceremony at Sissons Barn. They took The Loving Cup ritual and twisted it to include their favourite shot of Tequila Rose. This couple had shot glasses personalised and with some help from the wonderful venue staff we pulled off a drink at the end of the ceremony!

“Our guests absolutely loved the ceremony – they said how different and lovely it all was! Donna, you were absolutely incredible from start to finish. You helped every step of the way from preparing the ceremony and calming the bride down when she arrived in tears! (Happy tears) We were so relaxed with you, you spoke so beautifully and really understood our relationship. We are so grateful – thank you so much.”

Stilton Ceremony for the two Toms!

Thomas and Thomas (Tom & Tom or Tom squared!) chose to get married at The Bell Inn in Stilton. A gorgeous local venue! We planned a unity candle ritual to personalise their ceremony and Evie the dog accompanied the couple on their walk down the aisle!

“The unity candle was a really nice touch and we were able to personalise it however we liked whilst Donna guided us on what sort of thing to choose, where to put it etc. The candle ceremony was unusual to a lot of our guests but they really enjoyed it.”

Here are some of the words they shared with me after the Ceremony.

“Donna is excellent at her craft! From the very outset of our first meeting, Donna came across very invested in our relationship and especially our wedding. It was clear that Donna was very professional, whilst also being funny and keeping us at ease throughout the planning process. Donna stayed in consistent communication with us throughout the entire process through a WhatsApp group, which was extremely useful in the run up to the ceremony and if we had any quick questions. Donna was always quick to respond and very attentive to detail, particularly when we were crafting our ceremony together and putting together our personal vows. We felt Donna guided us with patience and kindness, whilst also giving us free rein to bring the ceremony together how we liked. Working with Donna, in one word, was ‘seamless’ and we would recommend her to anyone looking for a celebrant led ceremony.”

45 Year Renewal of Vows!

Mary and Jeff celebrated 45 Years of marriage this year and wanted to renew their vows on their anniversary with their close family. It was a pleasure to visit Lilypad Cottages and plan this ceremony that had the younger members of the family involved.

This gorgeous couple are still very much in love and wanted to celebrate in style with a Sapphire theme for their 45 years. They were not sure what to expect from the vow renewal ceremony as they had been married in church. They shared some kind words sharing their experience. “We loved the chance to listen to our life story so far with all our family around us.”

“Donna totally exceeded our expectations with her attention to detail and calm approach throughout. She made us feel at ease when discussing what we wanted for our day and when we thought about our story up until now. She relayed our story perfectly on the day in a way that brought both laughter and tears in just the right amount. She supported when needed and stepped back when appropriate. It was so touching how she had moulded our words into a beautiful ceremony and it could not have been better! If you are looking for a celebrant we would recommend without reservation – thank you Donna !!!!”