The Joy Celebrant

01/12/2025

Day 1 of the Advent Challenge ✨
Thank you for posting this challenge and starting from a great place: VALUES.

When I trained as a life coach, we were encouraged to narrow our values down to three — and reminded that our values can change as we do.
So reflecting on mine today has been grounding and a bit emotional. And I struggle to stick to 3.

My values now are:
✨ Presence – because true connection starts with being fully here.
🧭 Integrity – always doing what’s right
💛 Compassion – meeting people where they are, with kindness.
🌈 Inclusion – from my work as a SENDCo and mental health lead, making sure everyone feels valued is at the heart of who I am.
🎈 Play – as a former early years teacher and now a mummy, play means joy, learning, exploration and deep connection.

I’ve long held Freedom and Connection as core values too, but this year I realised connection truly grows out of presence…

And freedom was a value I clung to during a period where I felt incredibly trapped. Letting go of that situation — and the need for “freedom” as a primary value — was powerful.

So now I’d love to know:
❓What are your values?
❓And how do they help you live your life the way you truly want to?
❓Share them with me below

26/11/2025

🧱Just like Lego, every great wedding ceremony starts with a strong foundation. 🧱💖

🕋When I meet a couple, we begin by building our baseplate — getting to know who you are, what you love, and the little details that make your relationship uniquely yours.

🌈From there, we mindfully add the colours, the layers, the quirks, the surprises… all the beautiful shapes of your story. And just like in a Lego build, those tiny symbolic touches can transform everything. ✨

💓By the end, we’ve created something heartfelt, personal, and completely you.
💓Because love isn’t one-size-fits-all.
💓It’s something we build together — piece by piece. 💖

26/11/2025

Wedding Fairs / Fayres / Open Days … numbers are down at all the ones I’ve exhibited at this autumn and I’d love to understand why that might be.

💖If you’re getting married, is there anything putting you off coming to these events?

💖What would make them more appealing for you?

19/11/2025

💖Woohoo! This Sunday I’m going to be at the crème de la crème of wedding fairs chatting all things celebratory ceremonies from 12–4pm with at the fantastic alt venue / blank canvass spaces and

💭Come by and say hello! You’ll get the chance to meet some brilliant suppliers you’ll definitely want on your wedding team. I’d love to chat about the kind of ceremony you’re dreaming of, and I’ll have a table with lovely little goodies for anyone who drops in ❤️

🎟️I’m also giving away 2 FREE general-admission tickets to the first person who comments or messages me with the words ‘CELEBRANT CEREMONY’😍 Just send me your name and email address and Mel will get your e-tickets sorted.

🎗️Sharing the event really helps spread the word and boost ticket sales, which in turn supports - a charity striving to end child marriage. A portion of ticket profits goes toward sending a girl to school for a year. Learn more at www. vowforgirls.org.

You’ll find the ticket link on my stories!

🪩Hope to see you there buzzing with wedding planning excitement!!!

10/11/2025

✨ What’s your Plan B?
It’s something no couple ever wants to think about… but life happens. Illness, accidents, car trouble — even celebrants aren’t immune!

That’s why every one of my couples has a clear backup plan built right into their ceremony journey.

Because your wedding deserves to go ahead beautifully with your ceremony exactly as planned (and stress free) — no matter what. 💛

05/11/2025

Flippy dippy doo daa!!! This is stupendous! Some kind soul seems to have nominated me for a Wedding Award!! Thank you to whoever you are!!

I’ll pop the link in my stories for anyone who has worked with me or seen me in action to vote for me if you can take the time to! Or send me a DM and I’ll forward the link to you.

The link is simply - www.countybrides.com/awards

30/10/2025

Wow — the response to my last reel has been incredible - thankyou 🙏

So many celebrants shared stories of couples being confused or misinformed by registrars about their ceremony choices. It’s clear there’s a lot of mixed messaging out there.

This shows just how much confusion still exists around celebrant-led ceremonies — but also how passionate our celebrant community is about change.

But here’s the thing — I don’t think most registrars mean to mislead. They’re working within a system that hasn’t quite caught up with modern love stories yet and maybe many of them haven’t seen celebrants in action or appreciate how hard we work to build relationships with our couples and learn their stories.

💡 Maybe it’s time we bridge the gap, work together, and show that there’s room for everyone in the celebration of love.

💡 Maybe the future isn’t competition… it’s collaboration.

💡 Maybe the real shift starts with empathy and education. Because at the heart of it, we all want the same thing — for couples to have a ceremony that’s full of love and meaning.

Because right now registrars are responsible for the legal side of things and if couples want a personal ceremony created just for them then a celebrant is the way to go for their main wedding ceremony. But times are a changing and in the foreseeable future, celebrants will be able to legally marry aswell as make every element of the wedding ceremony exactly as the couple want it to be.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments …

10/10/2025

💖Huge congratulations to these two beautiful souls, Tom & Alice, who tied the knot this day 3 weeks ago in the ever-elegant surrounds of One Fine Day. Their wedding coordinator and I actually chatted about how beautiful they are inside and out - passionately planning that their wedding would be sustainable!🥂

Their day was the very essence of elegance—candlelight glowing softly, dried flowers adding timeless charm, and heartfelt words shared through readings from Fleabag and Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love, delivered by their dearest friends. 💛 Alice looked sublime with the most beaming smile walking up the aisle to the exquisite track Tom wrote to propose to her, holding the most incredible bouquet of white orchids and lilies from .

The atmosphere was pure joy—full of laughter, love, and happy tears — and it was the greatest privilege to stand with them as their celebrant, telling their beautiful story and guiding them into their next chapter together. Witnessing them reading their personal vows to each other was such a moment. 🥰

Tom & Alice, thank you for trusting me with such a precious role. Wishing you a lifetime of adventure, laughter, and love as radiant as the magic you created on your wedding day. 🥂💍🌙

Thanks for this lovely photo!

03/10/2025

✨ Wedding law reform is in the news again… and as an independent celebrant, here’s my take 👇

I love that I can marry a couple anywhere, with complete freedom over content and style. My role is all about the relationship with the couple who choose me, their story, their joy, their love — not the legalities. The registrar takes care of that, and I respect it.

But here’s the catch: if only humanist celebrants are given the right to legally marry, to me that isn’t truly inclusive. I know this first-hand — I had a humanist wedding myself in Northern Ireland. It was beautiful, but I haven’t chosen to be a humanist. I don’t completely reject the idea of God. So technically, people like me… don’t quite “fit.”

Couples deserve choice. They should be able to marry in a way that reflects who they are — whether that’s humanist, spiritual, interfaith, or none of the above.

💛 Love doesn’t need a label. Let’s hope marriage reform creates more freedom, not less.

16/09/2025

15/09/2025

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24/08/2025

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Today we held our second Bereavement Support Group, and we want to take a moment to thank everyone who joined us ❤️‍🩹

Grief can feel heavy, but when we come together - sharing stories, tears and even moments of laughter - it reminds us that we dont have to walk this journey alone.

Your courage in showing up, opening your hearts and supporting each other makes these gatherings so meaningful.

The next Bereavement Group will be held September 27th 2025. 12 - 2pm

Our hearts are full 💕 Thank you to Una & Margi who are supporting us & being involved in helping to make a difference ❤️‍🩹

Jayne Sav & Emma ❤️