Shelley Bell - Independent Celebrant

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Shelley Bell - Independent Celebrant

Fun, full of zest and curiousity, I am a Celebrant who loves to tell your stories.

14/08/2025

🌸💕 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....
🌸 How to write the most Fabulous Wedding Speech ever!!
🌸 Direct Cremations - What's all the fuss about??
🌸 Vow Renewals - A beautiful Celebration of Love
🌸 What Happens after the Funeral - A guide to the cremation process.

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

13/08/2025

💕 Prosecco Day - Raise A Toast 💕

💕 Today is Prosecco Day and although I wouldn't advocate midweek drinking, today I am making an exception.

💕 Today, I will b e holding a funeral for a gentleman who was a real pillar of his local community, from kids football manager to scout leader and market trader, today I will raise a toast to John.

💕 It's almost time for my wedding season to get started properly, its been lovely having a summer of planning, strategising and self development but I've been missing the thrill and adrenaline rush of celebrating the marriage of two people who are each other's world so I will be celebrating those that are celebrating anniversaries this month and looking forward to those that about to have their 'Shelleybration'.

❤️

12/08/2025

💕 Colchester Pride 💕

💕 Thanks to my good friends at I will be exhibiting at this years .pride at Firstsite, Lewis Gardens, Colchester between 11am and 7pm.

💕 If you would like to join the parade, we will be meeting at the Mercury Theatre at 10:15 ready to march at 10:40, before coming together at for a day of celebration and entertainment - I am so excited for this.

💕 Tickets are available from Colchesterpride.org - I look forward to seeing you there 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈❤

❤️

11/08/2025

💕 Monday Motivation - Straighten your back!! 💕

💕 Oh Hi, yes its me again!! Thought I'd show my face for a minute.......👋

💕 Have you ever had one of those moments where all you have wanted to do is cower? or duck? to male yourself smaller and somehow invisible??
You could be just about to say something, walk into a new space, put your prices up or tell someone that you would be fabulous for the job but there is a barrier, a stick, a hole in the ground that stops you.... a little voice in the back of your head that says "don't speak out", "don't take up space", "no-one wants to hear from you".
Where the hell did that come from??

💕 Let's be honest, its probably from some moment of embarrassment you suffered at school, a comment made by a bully, a teacher or a parent that we have held onto all our life without really remembering why. But, what would you tell someone confronted by those comments now?
You'd say, "Hell no, not me, I'm going to have my moment and I am going to be heard, I deserve my moment in the sun" - wouldn't you?

💕 Maybe not, but start with something simple - straighten your back. A stance of power makes us feel more powerful.
Plant your feet shoulder width apart and look your audience in the eye - no go for it, you can do this.

💕 Thanks, as always to the marvellous Sarah of for my publicity shots.

❤️

08/08/2025

💕 Bereavement Support Groups 💕

💕 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

07/08/2025

💕 Ceremony Coordination 💕

💕 There are lots of parts of my job that I pride myself on;
🌸 Building great relationships with the clients and families that I work with.
🌸 Liasing with other suppliers to be able to make the events on the day flow as seamlessly as possible.
🌸 Offering site based rehearsals as standard for those who want them.
🌸 Paying great attention to details and making sure all the information I use in ceremonies is 100% accurate.
🌸 Coordinating myself to the colour schemes of the day.

💕 I don't want to be captured in a photo with a couple clashing with their colour scheme and even if I am conducting a funeral I try to tie in colour schemes either in my clothes, accessories or my nails - helped massively by the fact one of my nieces is a hugely talented Nail Technician!!

💕 Make sure, that when you are hiring someone to conduct a ceremony for one of your life events, that it is someone who has an eye for details and will consider things like this as part of the job - after all, don't we all want that level of care and attention paid to our special days??

❤️

05/08/2025

💕 Self Development 💕

💕 As you will know by now I am incredibly nosey.....its what makes me good in both my job roles, I know what I don't know and I don't mind asking the difficult questions. So what am I working on at the moment??

💕 Meet some of the lovely people at who I met recently as we did some self development in marketing skills and utilising LinkedIn, as well as being educated on all the amazing activities that are being planned and rolled out in Colchester.
I was thrilled t be invited to become a so I can use my business to celebrate and promote all the unsung heroes and projects of this new City.

💕 I'm also doing some self development by learning about some things that affect me as an individual and how these traits and real life experiences can relate to people in the community.
My learnings are about Menopause and Perimenopause and how the symptoms involved in this stage of life can often mirror other conditions and how best to support people going through either stage.
I'm also doing a programme of development around Neurodivergence and how they often exist with other conditions and have traits that can need consideration when planning events, but also those which give people an awareness and skill set that can make them excel in certain fields - its fascinating and one I am thrilled to complete. I'm learning as much about myself as I am the people that make up the community around me.

💕 Why am I telling you this? Its just another example of how I want to be the absolute best I can be when working with all kinds of people with all kinds of traits and conditions, in order to be the absolute best service provider I can when offering Weddings, Funerals, Naming Ceremonies and Bereavement and End of life services.
Please do get in touch if you do have any questions, I'd love to utilise my new skills :)

❤️

05/08/2025

💕 Wedding Law Reform 💕

💕 Thanks to my friend for this image.
I'm going to keep this brief because this statement boils my p**s!!

🌸 Independent Celebrants do not only do themed weddings, we are not all about Star Wars and gimmicks. We created heartfelt, sensitive, personalised, fun ceremonies that absolutely respect our clients personalities and cherishes the solemnity of marriage.
🌸 It's true that in a free market supply can make a difference to prices in order to meet demand but Independents are not charging anymore for their ceremonies than Humanists do, after all, we are all self employed and have a livelihood to make. In fact, what this could do is standardise our pricing brackets depending on legal content....
🌸 The reality is that Humanist + Clergy together are classed as belief organisations. This mean you can get married with No religious content with the Humanists (until they bend their rules, which we all know we do) or only content from recognised religions that have places of worship. There is NO provision under this structure that allows couples to get married LEGALLY and include Religious elements from other practicing religions OR C ultural influences so will still DISCRIMINATE against people who wish for their cultures and beliefs to be recognised on the biggest day of their life.
🌸 I would also love to think that Independents will not try the dirty tactics that are being practiced by the Registration service and some Humanists at the moment by denying clients their consumer rights and denying that Independents offer the same level of quality (if not better) than they do.

💕 What we need, is a free market, with no discrimination against clients of all belief systems and cultures, normal competition rules, some standardisation in quality standards and legal requirements and above all honesty - if they've got nothing to fear, why do they need a smear campaign??
Nuff said!!

04/08/2025

💕 Monday Motivation - Habits.....💕

💕 I love the Inception quality of this photo - a woman in. a habit with a habit!!
We all know that some habits are bad for us like smoking and eating a kilo of chocolate a day... but have you ever made yourself a brew and then realise you have completed the task without thinking about any of it? It's all happened by habit, from selecting your favourite mug to leaving the kettle empty......habits, good and bad!

💕 Habits are automatic behaviours designed to save energy so you don't have to think about the details all day long. Most of the time they are helpful but sometimes, these habits no longer serve a purpose.
They might have been useful once, a coping strategy maybe, but now its running on autopilot.

💕 The good news is that you developed the habit so you can change it - it all starts with noticing - is this helpful? and when you have identified its not you can choose to stop, change the steps, change the routine - no more living your life on autopilot. Kick the Habit!!

01/08/2025

💕 Mourning Brew - Bereavement Friendship Group 💕

💕 Join us at First Site this coming Tuesday Morning at 10am in the Mosaic room - reception will help you find it if you're not sure - for a chat about your thoughts and feelings relating to your bereavement before we enjoy refreshments together or you take time to view the galleries.

💕 It doesn't matter what relationship you shared to your person or how long ago it was that they died, you are welcome to share with us, people who feel just like you, in a safe space.

31/07/2025

💕 Happy Anniversary 💕

💕 To all of my July couples - Happy Anniversary.
Thank you for choosing me, for keeping in touch with me and letting me see how your love stories have continued with the birth of children, travels, job changes and new pets - I really have loved sharing every minute with you.
You all deserve every happiness ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

30/07/2025

💕 International Friendship Day 💕

💕 What does friendship mean to you??
Sometimes I don't think I'm a great friend. I'm not one to pick up the phone out of the blue and ask how you are, usually because I keep up to date with everything via Social media. And I probably don't see you for years at a time.

💕 But do you know what?If you were having a hard time, I would be right there in a second? If you had something to celebrate, I'd be right there cheering you on? If you wanted to just vent, I'd listen and at the end offer you help or a hug....

💕 But that's different to loneliness. Did you know that loneliness has an impact on people's health equivalent to smoking 15 ci******es a day?? It affects everything - heart rate, blood pressure, mental health, propensity to falls, dementia - everything.

💕 Why am I telling you this? Because you could make a real difference in someone's life. They don't need to be old, they might just not be able to get out and about. They might share a hobby with you but not know who you are....so maybe you can change that.

💕 I'd encourage you to hop over to the social posts at which has some pictures and videos from their fabulous volunteers telling you all about why they do it and what a difference their befriending makes to them and their new friend. Check it out, and if you can register to volunteer.

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How Can I Help You?

My Independent Family Celebrant services provide beautifully tailored and unique Wedding Ceremonies, Vow Renewals, Naming Ceremonies and sensitive Funeral Ceremonies across Essex and East Anglia. Your ceremony is equally important to me as it is to you, so I take the time to find out who you are and pay special attention to what is truly important to you, as well as how you want the ceremony to look and feel.

Say goodbye to someone in a style that truly reflected them or usher in the future with a new spouse or welcome a child into the family in a ceremony full of joy and inspiration, there are no limits to what your ceremony can be.

With abundant choices and a multitude of elements to choose from in your ceremony it can be everything you imagined, with no restriction on location, licenses or legal requirements that are prevalent in civil ceremonies.

Whether you have a religious belief or prefer to incorporate other traditions, I have something for everyone and respect your personal spirituality and beliefs.

14/08/2025

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12/08/2025

11/08/2025

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07/08/2025

05/08/2025

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04/08/2025

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31/07/2025

30/07/2025

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