Shelley Bell - Independent Celebrant

15/07/2025

💕 Social Media Giving 💕

💕 Today is and so I thought I would use my Social Media to tell you about a brilliant way you can give to a worthy cause.

💕 You all know that I also work for a charity a couple of days a week, helping volunteers to befriend clients who are housebound and lonely. I do this because the health benefits of friendships has been well documented, not just for mental health but also physically, in terms of reducing blood pressure and heart rate, the lack of social connection does the equivalent damage to smoking 15 ci******es a day!!

💕 also supports people all over Essex to access help and support financially with benefits checks, practically with applications for bus passes and blue badges, help for unpaid carers with our carer navigation service, help for those living with or supporting those with dementia as well as navigating hundreds of people a week to services to help with everything from gardening to walking aids.

💕 is a brilliant way for you to sign up to help my charity with this incredible workload and it doesn't cost you a penny. Load the app onto your phone or tablet and as you go to shop on hundreds of websites it will ask you if you would like a donation - you simply say yes and then a percentage of your spend gets donated by the company you have just shopped with to our charity - simples!

Please sign up today and help us to make a real difference in the communities within which we live.

14/07/2025

💕 Monday Motivation - Starting Again 💕

💕 How many times have you started again?
Thrown away the old habits and brought in the new? A fresh notebook, a new way of thinking "This time, it'll be different" and it is....for about 3 days....

💕 There's a wobble, a missed day, a blot in the notebook and here we are again, mentally back to square one and planning the next big new start!!

💕 But starting again is never usually progress. Its often a way of ignoring our hurts or ignoring our progress that is causing us pain.

💕Think about that exercise programme you had planned. you were going to walk around the field every other night - a whole mile. You were going to up the laps week on week as it got easier. You brought the new trainers and everything..... by you, I mean me.
But I didn't walk, still haven't. The trainers hurt my feet so I couldn't. I had to much work to do. I missed it Monday so thats another week over.........

💕 You see real progress isn't perfect, its messy and inconsistent.
I didn't walk the field on Saturday but I walked around a craft fair.
I didn't walk the field on Monday so I walked to the shops on Tuesday.
I didn't wear my new trainers, I wore my old fall to pieces ones.
I might not get time to walk again until Friday or Saturday but I'll definitely do one.

💕 Starting again feels productive and tidy and disciplined but you know what - its not. Just pick up where you left off. Do something. Do more than yesterday Stop erasing history because its not new, tidy and fresh. Count the messy days too.

11/07/2025

💕 Bereavement Support Groups 💕

💕 You may have noticed that this post is slightly different to those I have posted before..... the logo for the charity I work for, Age Well East has been removed as we have had to close the End of Life and Bereavement Service. Instead I have posted the Logo for St Helena, our local hospice, and their number is in the listing.

💕 The stark fact of life is that Charities and Community Interest Companies are trying to make up the shortfall in services that used to be provided by other charities and local councils but as government funding has decreased so have the grants and funds that charities can bid for and this year we did not manage to secure funding to continue my role or service and I am really sad about this.

💕 I am looking into other options to see how some services such as bereavement groups can continue and the charity will continue to work towards further investment in the future. For now here are the details for some national support groups;
Cruse cruse.org.uk 0808 808 1677
Sue Ryder sueryder.org
The Good Grief Trust thegoodgrieftrust.org
National Bereavement Service 0800 0246 181
St Helena 01206 845566

10/07/2025

💕 Henry's Naming Ceremony 💕

💕 A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of conducting a special naming ceremony at the for the marvellous Henry and his family.

💕 It was a joy to meet Henry, his mummy and daddy George to hear all about his adventures this last 10 months, his parents hopes and dreams for his future ( ) and to plan his introduction to his community of friends and family.

💕 As always, I love to have a legacy gift at these occasions and so we planted a Rowan tree from which represents courage, wisdom and protection and is a great way of watching Henry grow as his tree does, whilst making a conscious choice to protect the environment. Henry's Godparents Bradley and Kelsey added soil to the tree with their special garden trowels.

💕 A celebration barbecue was held after the ceremony and Henry enjoyed lots of love and cuddles from his community of family and friends. I had a lovely time and shared lots of laughs with this great group of people and I wish Henry all the love and luck in the world as he grows into a the fine young man he is bound to become.
🌸 BTW he is not a cartoon baby, his parents have chosen to protect his image until he chooses to share it himself.

09/07/2025

💕 Disability Pride Month 💕

💕 You will know by now, if you know me at all that I am an advocate and ally for all peoples who still need to fight for inclusivity everyday of their lives.
June was Pride month and July is too but this time for those who live with disabilities.

💕 The top image on my post is from a website called Includability who have some fantastic information and resources available for those who want to better understand how to support people with additional needs in the workplace but they are common sense strategies so would apply to day to day life. Find out more here
https://www.weareincludability.co.uk/resources/what-is-disability-pride-month

💕 I've also been expanding my knowledge on all things neurodiversity via the handy videos at neurodiversityweek.com. It's astonishing how much there is to learn and even when you have a neurodiversity yourself you are by no means an expert on the differences people experience - I highly recommend them.

💕 To be truly inclusive you need to educate yourself and yours this to communicate to those around you how we could all do better for those who need us, after all, any of us could be moments away from a life change that could put is in a similar position.

08/07/2025

💕 Blogging Brilliant 💕

💕 I'm here, once again to remind you that I have a Blog. It's available on my website at www.shelleybell.co.uk and is, if I do say myself, something of a triumph.

💕 You see its not just me banging on about Weddings, its oh so much more....
🌸 Find out why I started Mourning Brew, my bereavement friendship group.
🌸 Find out what Myths exist in the Funeral Industry
🌸 Meet my Supplier Chums - this month sees Susie from Wivenhoe Flowers introduce herself and her business.

💕 There would have to be something wrong with you to miss it........well, what are you waiting for......get over there......

08/07/2025

07/07/2025

💕 World Forgiveness Day 💕

💕 Today is a reminder of one of the most powerful choices we can make: forgiveness.
Letting go of anger, resentment, and pain doesn’t mean you forget or excuse the hurt. It means you're choosing peace over poison — for your own mental health.

Studies show that forgiving others can:
🌸 Reduce anxiety and depression
🌸 Lower blood pressure
🌸 Improve sleep and emotional well-being
🌸 Free up mental energy for joy and growth

💕 Forgive not because they always deserve it, but because you do. You deserve freedom from the weight of past wounds. You deserve healing.

💕 This , consider releasing even just one grudge. Your mind and heart will thank you. 💫

04/07/2025

💕 Your Thoughts Needed..... 💕

💕 I wanted to draw your attention to a survey being completed by into Direct Cremations and their role in the funeral industry.

💕 Now, there seems to be some politics here in that certain voices are being promoted as to how Direct Cremations are bad, that they deprive people from being able to have a fitting goodbye for their person and even being able to view the body. There is a view that Funeral planning is a bad thing and that we shouldn't listen to the wishes of the person who has died because the ritual of a funeral is for the living and whilst I agree with the latter part of that statement, I fully believe we should respect the wishes of those who are nearing end of life or who have made plans.

💕 As always there is some miscommunication about direct cremations - the hidden costs, where your people will be taken and disposed of, what the lack of a 'funeral' may cause you to feel but we must also remember that not all of this information is communicated clearly by the average local funeral director when it comes to attended services either, so as always we should be looking to educate people about the pros and cons of both types of service - in my view.

💕 So, I am reaching out to you, my lovely people.
Do you have any thoughts on direct cremations - positive or negative?
What has your experience been?
Is there anything you wish you had been told before you booked a funeral OR a direct cremation?
What do your family think if you have chosen to have a direct cremation or made a funeral plan?

💕 Simply head over to https://www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk/direct-cremation/
and fill in the questionnaire - there is a direct link here
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdYmBC7StZyq9234g5bU_3iNpnvbJ8A4U_qXItkKuonWc0Xnw/viewform

Your thoughts are appreciated. 💕

03/07/2025

💕 Testimonial Thursday 💕

💕 Its always the greatest privilege to be able to tell someone's stories as we celebrate their life and recently I was asked to conduct a Celebration of Life for Sarah. Here are some of the comments I received from friends and family.

💕 The request was simple. The family wanted colour, music, humour and a light hearted feel for the ceremony. Sarah had died suddenly but she had such a vigour for life and a determined tenacity that would have hated all eyes being on her but would have loved the banter in the stories we told and been so proud of her girls who paid really touching tributes to her
You could tell how much she meant to everyone present when we had a round of applause in her honour, which nearly took the chapel roof off!

💕 There were some fantastic music choices from Bob Marley, to a visual tribute to Genesis and I loved having the honour of leading the shimmy and sing along to Lionel Richie as we left. All we needed to end the event was for her grandson to hand out bubbles to the brightly dressed guests, who then watched them float high above the crematorium gardens in a shimmer of colour and love.
🌸 Rest well Sarah.

02/07/2025

💕 Three Counties Crematorium Open Day 💕

💕 I am thrilled to have been invited to attend Three Counties Crematorium in Braintree on Saturday July 5th for their Open Day.
I've done plenty of wedding open days but this is my first crematorium one.

💕 As an advocate for those at end of life or in receipt of a life limiting diagnosis I am pleased to be able to talk to people about what a welcoming environment Three Counties is. The staff are all lovely and they will be conducting behind the scenes tours on the day to really demystify the whole process around cremations.
There will also be some funeral services and directors on hand to answer questions and refreshements available too.

💕 So come along, have a look around the beautiful grounds and the facilities, have your questions answered and then let's build a plan for your funeral, if you wish, so that you can get on with living knowing that you'll be looked after in death.

01/07/2025

💕 Mourning Brew - Bereavement Friendship Group 💕

💕 A reminder of our second group next Tuesday (8th July), I'm hoping to be able to support lots of people to move through their grief journey and also to make their world a little bigger as they meet other people with shared experiences.

💕 Please do share this on your socials and spread the word that we are ready and waiting to welcome anyone who is feeling lonely after a loss.

💕 Updates to follow :)