​Your child’s Naming Ceremony can be anything you want it to be. It can be held at home, in your garden, in a community centre, a hotel or anywhere else that grabs your imagination.
 
Naming Days are a great opportunity to get creative and make the special day truly unique, involving friends and family and making memories to be treasured forever. Once you have your venue secured and the date is fast approaching, what can you do to make the day as successful as possible?
 
If you are using a Celebrant to lead your Naming Ceremony then choosing the right one for you is so important. They will need to be the right fit for your family and they will be happy to have a chat with you over the phone or in person so you can get to know a little about them and make sure they are for you.
 
Once you are happy that you have made the right choice, your Celebrant will have lots of ideas to share, being led by your wishes throughout the process. Here are a few things that can be included to make your celebration extra special;
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​Funerals can be a difficult subject. There is of course immense sadness, and often anger and frustration to deal with at such a difficult time. So where do you start?

Firstly, you should feel confident in your choice of Funeral Director, if you are using one. Your loved one may have taken out a pre payment plan in which case the choice will have been made, but if not you do not have to go with the first one you visit, none should make you feel pressured in any way.

It is worth remembering that many Funeral Directors are called to their line of work due to a personal experience or a real passion for caring for the deceased and their family. You should feel that you can trust them to make all of the arrangements and that they will treat you and your family with dignity and respect.

​For those couples trying to organise their dream day there can be a number of obstacles to get around and an awful lot of compromise. Venue, menu, number of guests and the list goes on and on.
Many couples come to a Celebrant because there seems to be quite a few restrictions at venues as to what you can and can’t have.

For example, you might wish to have a summer wedding in the garden of a beautiful country house but they are only licensed for the inside areas; this means that a registrar has to (by law) marry the couple inside. Or maybe your favourite place doesn’t have a wedding license…not a problem with a Celebrant.

​Music can be so important in life and is always something to consider when organising a funeral. Music can uplift the soul even at the hardest of times. It also allows us to pause for reflection; some people prefer to choose a song to honour their loved one rather than write a personal tribute, the melody can add more meaning than simply words alone.
 
Some people leave their family with strict instructions on what to play during their funeral ceremony. This is always wonderful as these songs often hold special memories for family and friends and are sometimes tongue in cheek or what would have been seen in years gone by as ‘inappropriate’ for a funeral, causing eruptions of laughter amongst the tears.
 
Live music also works brilliantly and there are many singers and bands that offer their professional services for the ceremony. Some people have bagpipes playing or, in the case of a military funeral, a Bugler to play the Last Post. If you don’t know of any yourself, it is likely that your Funeral Director, Celebrant or a musical friend will be able to advise you.