Embrace Civil Ceremonies

Embrace Civil Ceremonies I offer personal, uplifting and loving ceremonies. Funerals, Weddings, Renewal of Vows, Interments❤️

My Background

I am a Primary Teacher to trade and have 17 years experience working with children, their families and other agencies. I was seconded ten years ago to work across the city to promote health and this involved presenting at meetings and conferences, to small and large groups of adults. I have a passion for working with people and one of my key strengths as a teacher has been my abilit

y to reach out to those around me and support them in whatever way I can. Becoming a Civil Celebrant has been one of the most inspiring parts of my life to date. To work with families to celebrate the lives of those they love most is truly a privilege and honour. Embrace Funerals

The aim of my ceremonies is to provide a personal, individual ceremony which truly reflects the life of the person who has died. This may or may not have a spiritual/religious element depending on the wishes of the family. The focus of the ceremony is very clearly on the life of the deceased. I will spend time with the family discussing the person, getting to know them through their loved ones memories before crafting a service which is unique for them. The family will be as included in the service as much or little as they wish to be. I truly believe that a funeral prepared with a loving tribute for the deceased, carefully balanced with music and poetry can begin the healing process for the people left behind. I am the family’s voice and will speak from my heart on behalf of them at this difficult and emotional time. Embrace Baby Blessings and Naming Ceremonies

I offer a personal, engaging and loving ceremony to welcome your baby into your family. This will reflect the life of your family and take into account any beliefs you may have. The birth of a baby is the most special part of life and Embrace aims to make your day memorable by crafting a ceremony with words, poetry and music which will make your day extra special.

❤️ Happy Mother’s Day - usual day of chaos here - being a parrot mum was challenging this morning as Dolly trashed the k...
30/03/2025

❤️ Happy Mother’s Day - usual day of chaos here - being a parrot mum was challenging this morning as Dolly trashed the kitchen - the rest of the animal babies decanted to the sun in grandmas snug!

Despite the craziness everyday I am so grateful for my lovely boys and my mum.

Thinking of all my families today - my baby naming wee ones who are sharing a 1st Mothers Day; those who have lost their mum’s; the mum’s who have lost a child. Sending love to you all ❤️

💕This wee poppet smiled, chatted and clapped her way through her Baby Naming Ceremony this afternoon - I loved speaking ...
23/03/2025

💕This wee poppet smiled, chatted and clapped her way through her Baby Naming Ceremony this afternoon - I loved speaking for you Eva-Claire (and for mummy and daddy) ❤️

29 years 💔 Never forgotten 💔 In amongst our happy days live the memory of sixteen little ones and their teacher. Sending...
13/03/2025

29 years 💔 Never forgotten 💔 In amongst our happy days live the memory of sixteen little ones and their teacher. Sending love to Dunblane ❤️

❤️ Been a very busy start to March, have met lots of lovely families this week and had a wee jaunt out of town up to Ban...
08/03/2025

❤️ Been a very busy start to March, have met lots of lovely families this week and had a wee jaunt out of town up to Banchory to Baldarroch Crematorium. Set in the middle of open countryside it’s such a lovely place to have a service and to take that final journey. The most beautiful drive up in the sunshine with our wonderful chauffeur Rod ❤️

❤️ The most beautiful wee family - loved conducting Melanie’s Baby Naming Ceremony today. I first met Charlene and Jonny...
02/03/2025

❤️ The most beautiful wee family - loved conducting Melanie’s Baby Naming Ceremony today. I first met Charlene and Jonny for Hanna’s naming day ….. then again for Nathan’s and their family was complete ……or so they thought ….. a wee piece they didn’t know was missing arrived in their gorgeous baby girl Melanie who was a star - even giving us a wee dance half way through the service ❤️

❤️Happy Valentines Day - a day of celebrating love in its many forms. As a celebrant I’m so lucky to witness and celebra...
14/02/2025

❤️Happy Valentines Day - a day of celebrating love in its many forms. As a celebrant I’m so lucky to witness and celebrate love in every service I conduct ❤️

I love this Donna Ashworth poem - it’s not about the big gestures, love is in everything we do ❤️

Love isn’t all hearts and flowers,
Sometimes, love is asking if you’ve remembered to take your vitamins or drunk enough water.

Love is a friend who checks in on you, even when you say you’re fine.

Love is a family member who worries you’re making the wrong choices, and that can often feel like anything but love, but the truth is, they live in fear of you getting hurt because they feel every inch of your pain along with you.

Love can come in all shapes and sizes but never does unconditional love look like an expensive gift or a romantic weekend away. That’s just frosting.
You’re more likely to find it in a cup of tea, made just for you.

Love is real and ugly and shouty sometimes.
Lots of tears and lots of pain as the people involved break and bond and grow together as humans.

Valentines Day should be about counting all the love you have in your world and giving gratitude for it - that may not look like a steak dinner for two...
and that’s okay.

If you are loved my friend, at all, you are blessed.
And if you have found some love for yourself along the way, then you are really winning at life.
That’s worth celebrating.

❤️ Special dates remain special always - they are ingrained in our memories; birthdays, anniversaries …the date our love...
08/02/2025

❤️ Special dates remain special always - they are ingrained in our memories; birthdays, anniversaries …the date our loved ones died. Today my dad would have been 72 - the 8th of February will always be a part of my life because it was his day and we love and miss him; we wish he was here to celebrate.

Our rainbow at lunchtime made us smile - a reminder he is not far away - there was one outside the window the day my dad died, the dark, thundery sky broken by the bright colours. They often appear on the days I miss him most ❤️

❤️ I hear the word Cancer almost every day, it affects so many of the families I work with, their stories heartbreaking ...
04/02/2025

❤️ I hear the word Cancer almost every day, it affects so many of the families I work with, their stories heartbreaking and it has touched my own family deeply.

Today we think of those grieving a loved one lost to Cancer; those fighting on; the people learning to live with Cancer and the survivors. We think of those who have just been diagnosed and those who have faced a long battle; of babies and children - Cancer shows no discretion for age and of their parents facing the worst news. We think of those tonight saying goodbye for the last time because of this cruel, relentless disease.

I’m sending love to you all - LOVE is the one thing Cancer can not take ❤️

❤️ Next week I’ll be starting my visits for this years Baby Naming Ceremonies. 💕I love meeting parents and babies, there...
29/01/2025

❤️ Next week I’ll be starting my visits for this years Baby Naming Ceremonies. 💕

I love meeting parents and babies, there is nothing more special than seeing that bond and unconditional love - and getting a wee cuddle.

Bringing together family and friends, appointing Guardians and officially welcoming a baby into the world is a lovely way of celebrating one of the greatest privileges we are ever given - being a parent.

I still have dates to book through to the end of the year, please feel free to get in touch with any questions ❤️

16/01/2025

❤️ Wee Thursday night reflection - love Ernest Hemingway’s wisdom - one foot in front of the other, you can do it ❤️

“The hardest lesson I’ve had to learn as an adult is the relentless need to keep going, no matter how shattered I feel inside."

This truth is both raw and universal. Life doesn’t pause when our hearts are heavy, our minds are fractured, or our spirits feel like they’re unraveling. It keeps moving—unrelenting, unapologetic—demanding that we move with it. There’s no time to stop, no pause for repair, no moment of stillness where we can gently piece ourselves back together. The world doesn’t wait, even when we need it to.

What makes this even harder is that no one really prepares us for it. As children, we grow up on a steady diet of stories filled with happy endings, tales of redemption and triumph where everything always falls into place. But adulthood strips away those comforting narratives. Instead, it reveals a harsh truth: survival isn’t glamorous or inspiring most of the time. It’s wearing a mask of strength when you’re falling apart inside. It’s showing up when all you want is to retreat. It’s choosing to move forward, step by painful step, when your heart begs for rest.

And yet, we endure. That’s the miracle of being human—we endure. Somewhere in the depths of our pain, we find reserves of strength we didn’t know we possessed. We learn to hold space for ourselves, to be the comfort we crave, to whisper words of hope when no one else does. Over time, we realize that resilience isn’t loud or grandiose; it’s a quiet defiance, a refusal to let life’s weight crush us entirely.

Yes, it’s messy. Yes, it’s exhausting. And yes, there are days when it feels almost impossible to take another step. But even then, we move forward. Each tiny step is proof of our resilience, a reminder that even in our darkest moments, we’re still fighting, still refusing to give up. That fight—that courage—is the quiet miracle of survival.

❤️This is the amazing bit of being a Celebrant, listening to families speaking about their loved ones - speaking about t...
12/01/2025

❤️
This is the amazing bit of being a Celebrant, listening to families speaking about their loved ones - speaking about them in the present, not the past. Going back to happy times, sharing stories, memories of special moments; weddings, holidays, children being born, homes lived in; times they laughed together - anecdotes shared.
It is such a privilege to sit and listen; to be a part of those memories and then to be trusted to share them.

I will always want to listen; there is so much healing in those conversations ❤️

❤️ Very frosty but beautiful for this mornings service in Birkhill Cemetery - my little helper made an appearance, such ...
04/01/2025

❤️ Very frosty but beautiful for this mornings service in Birkhill Cemetery - my little helper made an appearance, such special wee birds ❤️🪽

❤️ Happy New Year, wishing you all lots of love, laughter and memories made with your family and friends in 2025.This wa...
01/01/2025

❤️ Happy New Year, wishing you all lots of love, laughter and memories made with your family and friends in 2025.

This was meant to be wee, few words but is typical Fiona fashion is lots of words 🙈

Moving forward from one year to the next is a huge leap which is celebrated and dreaded in equal measure. To those eagerly anticipating a new baby 2025 will bring joy; to those who are getting married the change to the new year brings the excitement of the countdown - I’m looking forward to a few special weddings this year.

But to some families they have lost a loved one at the close of 2024 and are waiting to lay them to rest in 2025; those families hold a special place in my heart, there is no harder time to loose someone special.

For lots of us New Year is a time we feel we are leaving behind those we have lost and are moving forward without them. That is really hard, although it’s only a day that change of year is huge especially if it’s the first one. But we carry them with us; our loved ones come on that journey in our hearts; in our souls.

The eternity of love is why I do what I do ……. it is reason I feel so passionate about my job- love is the energy that binds us: it brings us together, it’s a universal language, it entwines our lives, forges friendships and relationships. It is love which remains always; unbreakable even by death.

May you all go into 2025 with love in your hearts. I will, as always, speak from my heart for you all and it will be an honour to do so ❤️

❤️ Blowing the cobwebs away on the shortest day with two of my favourites. Bring on the returning of the light and the l...
21/12/2024

❤️ Blowing the cobwebs away on the shortest day with two of my favourites. Bring on the returning of the light and the lengthening of the days ……but for now a cosy fire, a Gin and family time ❤️

❤️ What a lovely turn out of people for our Christmas Memorial Service at Dundee Crematorium tonight. Lovely to work alo...
18/12/2024

❤️ What a lovely turn out of people for our Christmas Memorial Service at Dundee Crematorium tonight. Lovely to work alongside Rev Lorna Tunstall and to see all ages in the chapel. Thanks to all who came and joined us on the live stream ❤️

❤️Dundee Crematorium’s Memorial Service will be live-streamed at 6pm or available to watch back for anyone who can’t joi...
18/12/2024

❤️Dundee Crematorium’s Memorial Service will be live-streamed at 6pm or available to watch back for anyone who can’t join us in person but would like to be part of our Christmas Service - details below ❤️

17/12/2024

💔❤️
This time of year is full of light, sparkle, family, friends and hope for many but for some the darkness and life’s challenges become too much to carry.

This evening sees another rescue operation on the River Tay; that complete loss of hope is difficult for many of us to understand; the devastation for the families left behind impossible to comprehend. Su***de is still something we don’t want to acknowledge or speak openly about; it effects so many families and people of all ages, leaving many questions unanswered and conversations unspoken.

Donna Ashworth is local poet whose poems on loss don’t shy away from the most difficult subjects: this is entitled Peace at Last❤️

Every day I wonder
were you afraid
did you change your mind,
did you immediately regret
when you left that day?

Every day I wonder
Could I have done more
said something wise
to make you see that
there are other ways
to stop the pain?

Every day I wonder
if you are up there.
looking down
seeing what you had
that you just couldn't
clear your vision to see
when you were here?

If you are
I hope you have found
The peace
you so sought here on earth

The peace that outran you
at every turn
the peace that was never
within your reach.

Because you deserve that peace
At long last.

And I will try to take peace from that
I will try to take peace from that.

17/12/2024

❤️ Wee reminder for our Memorial Service at Dundee Crematorium tomorrow at 6pm - tea, coffee and cakes from 5.30pm. The service is for everyone - all ages and faiths welcomed to join in remembering loved ones who we are missing at Christmas and as we move into a new year. Candle lighting, memories on the tree, some carols, bagpipes and a chance to hear the wonderful Ancrum Road Primary School Choir. Please feel free to share with anyone not only those who have had services at the crematorium- all warmly welcomed ❤️

Address

8 Sidlaw Terrace
Dundee
DD25PY

Telephone

07739727415

Website

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