Sophie Colligan Ceremonies

Sophie Colligan Ceremonies Unique, creative, non-religious wedding and naming ceremonies led by an experienced celebrant. I'd It would be lovely to meet you.

Celebrant weddings are marriage or partnership ceremonies conducted in the way you would like, in any venue or outdoor location of your choice. Unlike a civil ceremony, which can only take place in a civic registered venue, a celebrant wedding can take place anywhere. It’s a privilege to work with people building up to, and on, such important days in their lives. As a celebrant, my job is to get t

o know you enough to make sure the wording, content and tone of the ceremony reflect you. One of the most difficult questions to answer is ‘What sort of ceremonies do you do?’ as each one is genuinely as individual as every couple I work with! If you would like to plan your own unique ceremony with me… or if you just want to ask a few questions, please feel free to contact me.

02/12/2022

Simply beautiful ceremony styling.
Styled by
Florals
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Celebrant
Dress

When you see your lil sis walking down the aisle... and you're the one leading the ceremony ♥️♥️♥️Bex and Nick 19.9.21I'...
22/09/2021

When you see your lil sis walking down the aisle... and you're the one leading the ceremony ♥️♥️♥️

Bex and Nick 19.9.21

I'll be spamming you with plenty of pics and deets about this wedding (obvs)... but for now, just enjoy the entrance and exit with a couple of giggles in between!

Swipe to the 2nd pic to see my face that says "Arghhhh. I can't believe this is happening!!! 🙌🏻🤩"

Ps. Doesn't Dad look proud?

Photo credit: Emily Ward

[Image description: 4 photos of a fun and vibrant outdoor wedding, a grinning Boho chic bride walks down the aisle, having got her hair wet from a swim in the sea despite the hairdresser telling her not to wash it! The groom is laughing, well-tailored and ridiculously tall. The arch is made of woven-willow with a log base, against a backdrop of gorse-covered headland, with the sea beyond.]


A Ginger Lily Florist appreciation post. No words needed!🌺💘🌸🌼🏵️💮🌺🦒Cool venue: The Giraffe ShedCool couple: Jenni and Mat...
22/08/2021

A Ginger Lily Florist appreciation post. No words needed!
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Cool venue: The Giraffe Shed
Cool couple: Jenni and Matt

A Jenni and Matt appreciation post ❤️💋🙌🤵👰🌺🥂[Image descriptions: 1. Newly_weds Jenni and Matt pose in front of their blac...
16/08/2021

A Jenni and Matt appreciation post ❤️💋🙌🤵👰🌺🥂

[Image descriptions: 1. Newly_weds Jenni and Matt pose in front of their black shepherd's hut at The Giraffe Shed. / 2. Cute kiss in front of the hut, showing off Jenni's veil cape. / 3. Guests crowd around the couple as they leave the barn after the ceremony, the air is full of confetti. / 4. In front of a grey and gold cake stand handpainted cake toppers, depicting Jen, Matt and pooch Ozzy. / 5. Jen stands glorious in the prep area, flanked by her bridesmaids.]

15/08/2021

The Giraffe Shed, you lived up to ALL our dreams!!! 🦒🦒🦒🦒🦒

Han and Neil are totally invested in creating memories for all of their couples ❤️ I can't recommended them and their venue highly enough.

Jen and Matt, what a day!!! You were FAB! 781 days of ceremony planning hey 😁 Thank you for trusting me with such honesty to tell your story. So glad you both swiped right!

Fab couple: Jenni and Matt
Venue extraordinaire: The Giraffe Shed
Flowers to die for: Ginger Lily Florists
Dress for a goddess: Stella York
Cape of dreams: W Collective
Smashin suits: Next
Mwah MUA:
Hairdresser: Hair by Kerri
Happy celebrant: Sophie Colligan Ceremonies

[Video description: A compilation of shots and clips from one wedding, including the interior of a ridiculously stylish barn with massive windows on the back wall throwing shapes on the polished concrete floor; sumptuous flower arrangements; gorgeous bride wearing a dress and veil cape, giving Greek goddess vibes; proper dapper and smiley groom; smoke bomb frolicks; celebrant trying to fit in with the cool venue vibe with a silver sequinned jacket.]

Ps. No, my film-editing skills haven't developed... my phone decided to make a highlight for me!

Gemma and Paul had the fab idea of leaving space in their ceremony for a few vows suggested by their friends and family....
24/07/2021

Gemma and Paul had the fab idea of leaving space in their ceremony for a few vows suggested by their friends and family.

I collected them on cards while guests were gathering in the ceremony area before the couple arrived... and then took the board up to them so they could choose their favourite few.

The vows formed part of the handfasting so I called up each person whose vow had been chosen, to lay a ribbon.

In total we had 10 ribbons for 10 vows... 4 joint ones, 4 guest vows and 2 individual ones. It was a gloriously multicoloured and slightly messy knot that perfectly represents love and life! 🌈💞

(And it broke my previous record of 8 ribbons!)

NB. The farting vow did *not* make the cut! 😏

Image description: Handwritten vows on cards, pinned onto a cork board. The vows cover various topics including happiness, laughter, fixing bike punctures, celebrating wedding anniversaries, farting and...

Baaaaaaack at work 💚First big wedding in 15 months... And it was HERE!And THIS was the dream team!Cool couple: Kayleigh ...
26/06/2021

Baaaaaaack at work 💚

First big wedding in 15 months...

And it was HERE!

And THIS was the dream team!

Cool couple: Kayleigh and Josh
Lush venue: Plas Dinam Country House
Ace photographer: Jasmine Andrews Photography
Flowers, "moongate" and my own flippin buttonhole 🙌 Dusky Blooms
MUA: Pretty Bow Makeup
Hairdresser: Occasion Hair by Mandy
Dress: Cardiff Bridal Centre
Suit: Whitfield & Ward
Cake: Nic's Classic Bakes
Catering: Wild Garlic Event Catering
Music: Blue Lion Band
We stayed at: The Old Vicarage Dolfor

Will post more pics some time soon obv...

After a few days away in the Lakes, I'm going to be fully throwing myself into finishing writing up all the love stories...
07/06/2021

After a few days away in the Lakes, I'm going to be fully throwing myself into finishing writing up all the love stories I'll have the privilege of sharing this summer.

So my social media apps are coming off my phone for a month or so!

My absolute favourite part of the writing process is the handwritten first draft. I've got a pile of scrap paper I work through. I grab my meeting notes, mull over what the killer first line or paragraph will be... then I'm off!! Immersed. ADHD hyperfocus and creative flow. Intuitive. I hear my voice telling a couple's story as I'm scribbling away.

The 2nd, typed up draft feels like TORTURE. My level of focus is best described by: "Ooh I'll just check my Insta/ I realise I need to catch up on my admin urgently / Gosh doesn't that shelf need dusting?" (But it's all got waaaaaay easier since I started using voice-recognition software to read out my handwritten version at my laptop!)

The slightly scary part is then sharing my baby, my script with my couples... but to be honest, we'll know each other well enough by that point for me to get the tone just right. (I'm actually getting more into offering couples the chance for some or all of the script to be kept as a surprise for the day itself. That can be really lovely!)

I'll defo post again once my summer weddings start again. (I'm booked up until October now but am still be available for enquiries via: [email protected])

Catch ya later!! 🙌

Artwork credit: Lisa Congdon Art + Illustration

[Image description: Illustration of bold and bright colours, with 2 eyes looking out and big colourful letters saying "Wherever you are, be there fully"]

The prompt for Day 7 of is: 'NEW THING'ANNOUNCEMENT! I'm launching a brand new service and am filled with a healthy mi...
03/06/2021

The prompt for Day 7 of is: 'NEW THING'

ANNOUNCEMENT! I'm launching a brand new service and am filled with a healthy mixture of excitement and (eek) nerves!

First, let me share with you that long before becoming a celebrant I used to love telling stories in class as the RE teacher: how Guru Gobind Singh began the Khalsa; the Diwali tale; the nativity; the Buddha's enlightenment. I noticed that when I went unscripted (having told a tale a few times before), it was as if the students were totally INSIDE the story landscape. I came fully alive too - no book in hand, all focus on communication, full eyes on my familiar audience.

I'd *love* now to bring this unscripted skill to my celebrant work too, to see how we can turn the ceremony into even more of an immersive part of the day. (My long-term dream is to work with around two couples each year who want to move away from their wedding ceremony relying on a script.)

Emboldened by learning new storytelling techniques at a workshop led by the gorgeous human Lonan Jenkins Ceremonies (of The Embers Collective), what I envisage this type of ceremony to be is a creative combination of my rehearsed but unscripted retelling of the couple's story, interactive ceremony elements on the nature of the relationship and how it works, all woven around readings or other contributions from friends or family members... to build towards the couple making their personal promises to each other.

I'm definitely not looking for couples who perform in their everyday lives: in fact, you may even be introverts who just happen to like taking creative risks, wanting celebrant, friends and family to take the physical centre-stage around your own story... or it could be that the power of chance and of moving away from perfectionism might resonate hard with you both.

If you've read this far and think you'd like to give it a go, here's what we'll need to do:

1. If you already have a ceremony date fixed in the 2022 calendar, check with me first to see if I'm available.

2. Fill in this website form with some basic details.
https://www.sophiecolligan.com/unscripted

3. Then email me at [email protected] (before June 14th) with more information on: why you'd love to work with me this way; why you want to be married; what makes your relationship work; what your perfect day off together is; maybe just how you're doing generally in the midst of a global pandemic! It would also be great if you could attach a favourite photo of you two together.

4. I'll get in touch by 21st June with all couples who have shown an interest in this offer, including the two I'd love to ask to take this creative risk with!

5. If we agreed to work together, the only fee to be paid would be a non-refundable deposit of £250... all free apart from that, as part of my celebrate the launch of this new service!

6. First steps would then be to agree a timeline of working together to give me enough time to practice telling your unscripted story so that it feels natural on the big day.

ps. If you want to hear more about this way of working, the fab Natasha Johnson - founder of Celebrants' Collective Community Group - discusses in a podcast episode what the differences might be between creating scripts and creating ceremony:
https://celebrantsurvivalpodcast.libsyn.com/episode-011-are-celebrants-placing-too-much-emphasis-on-writing-scripts-when-it-come-to-creating-ceremony

I can't wait to get started! 🙌





https://www.instagram.com/thejoyfulbrand_/

The prompt for Day 5 of the is 'PLANNING'.If you're working with me, you're lucky for two reasons:(a) You get THIS LEV...
28/05/2021

The prompt for Day 5 of the is 'PLANNING'.

If you're working with me, you're lucky for two reasons:

(a) You get THIS LEVEL of neurodivergent brilliance;

(b) AND you don't have to deal with the sheer chaotic behind-the-scenes element of this sort of brain! That's all mine, hun! 😂🙈 (I always get there in the end, don't worry!)

So, the way my ND brain works is pretty visual, 3D, playful, creative and intuitive. Over the years, I've put together a whole range of systems and activities to support our planning together.

So if you're planning your ceremony with me, you'll know that it'll definitely be a collaborative process. I'll explain what I know from experience but I'll trust you if you go "Hmmmm, yeah Sophie, that sounds like it'd normally work... but we want to do it this way instead." (I'm an expert on ceremony; you're the expert on you and yours!)

I'm an especially good choice for other ND folk who are allergic to filling in getting-to-know-you type questionnaires. I gather ALL the info I need from our face-to-face chats and from your own creative conversation 'homework' activity. You won't need to write a thing down for our planning! 🙌

(Different celebrants have different processes... so if you're ND, find someone you feel comfortable with whose processes suit you best. 💕)

[Image description: A really colourful collection of all sorts of Sophie's planning aides including... blocks of ceremony elements to use in planning meetings; paddles like the ones in the 'Mr & Mrs' TV programme; an activity around shared values plus a Venn diagram to fill in; and a box of ribbons to have a go at various handfasting techniques to see which you like best.]

https://www.instagram.com/thejoyfulbrand_/

Day 4 of , the prompt is 'MARKETING'.After soooo long after trying to fit into systems, I decided to look at who I alre...
28/05/2021

Day 4 of , the prompt is 'MARKETING'.

After soooo long after trying to fit into systems, I decided to look at who I already am and work my 'marketing' or self-promotion backwards from that instead! 🙌

The image on the right is a snapshot from the home page of my website! I put the whole website together myself... took flippin ages and it's still not finished but I think you'll find its very me. https://www.sophiecolligan.com/

My theory is, if I'm honest about who I am as a celebrant, the couples who really want to work with me will find me more easily.

And the couples who would prefer not to, swipe left! 😉

Photo credit on website homepage: Nicola Thompson Photography

[First image description: Early 1970s photo of little Sophie with her classic shriek of a laugh. She is wearing a dapper little 101 dalmatians top, bright red trousers and a chunky white cardigan. What a cool little lass.]

[Second image description: A screenshot of my website homepage, also showing me with that shriek of a laugh... this time with a fab couple getting married. There are colourful shapes dotted around the photo... a lively vibe.]

https://www.instagram.com/thejoyfulbrand_/

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Liverpool
L85AF

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 7pm
Tuesday 10am - 7pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 7pm
Friday 10am - 7pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

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+447884266077

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