The Celebrants Network Inc - BLOG

Many of us feel anxious about public speaking or being the centre of attention.  Added to this, if you are getting married to taking a central part in an important ceremony such as funeral or baby naming, you may have the added anxiety of getting your part ‘right’.  The Celebrants Network's resident guest blogger, Mel Lawson is here to let us in on some ways to calm those nerves...

When a couple’s pets are their fur-babies it is natural to want to include them in any family celebration. The Celebrants Network member, Sonia Collins takes us through the pros and cons of including your pet in your ceremony.

On November 11 Australia, along with all Commonwealth countries will honour Remembrance Day in recognition of the day the guns fell silent at the end of World War One. After four years of warfare and the loss of millions of lives, an armistice was signed to take effect on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of November, 1918.

Today we have our regular guest blogger Melanie Lawson from Oberon, NSW, recognising Remembrance Day. 

Celebrants are involved in a wide range of ceremonies, often held outside involving children, dogs, emotional family members and people taking part in rituals for the first time in their lives. What could go wrong? The answer is anything and everything!

Today we have our regular guest blogger Melanie Lawson from Oberon, NSW raising awareness of potential calamities in your ceremonies and tips on how to be prepared.

As I walked through the supermarket today I noticed the pumpkins and other goodies ready for the annual Halloween celebrations.  The modern rituals of Halloween - carving the pumpkins into lanterns, dressing up as ghosts and witches and trick or treating are now very common in Australia but not many people are aware of the origins.

TCN Celebrant and today's guest and regular blogger Sonia Collins from Batemans Bay, NSW talks about the Remembering Our Loved Ones. 

Spring brings warmer weather, a sense of hope and optimism, and a revival and renewal of plants and animals. Flowers bloom, and baby birds, cows and sheep appear across the country. Spring is also the busiest time of the year for weddings and many people are enjoying attending weddings as a guest, member of the bridal party or the happy couple themselves. This sense of love and excitement may inspire happily married couples to renew their wedding vows.
TCN Celebrant and today's guest and regular blogger Melanie Lawson from Oberon, NSW talks about the renewing wedding vows.

School holidays are here and many of us are spending more time with the young people in our lives. For Year 12 students, school and childhood are coming to an end as they prepare for final exams next term and a transition to adulthood. TCN Celebrant and today's guest blogger Melanie Lawson from Oberon, NSW talks about the different types of ceremonies we celebrate with children.

Tuesday 17th September was Citizenship Day in Australia.  The Australian Government established Citizenship Day in 2001 as a day when all Australians could celebrate their Australian citizenship. Today's blog is wriiten by TCN celebrant Sonia Collins from Batemans Bay, NSW

This Sunday, the 1st of September is Father’s Day across Australia.  A day to celebrate the involvement of fathers of every size and shape in the care and development of our children and the support of our families.  Today's blog is written by TCN Celebrant, Melanie Lawson from Greater Western Sydney.

Thursday 8 August is Dying to Know Day - a day to start a conversation about death and dying.  We tend to avoid talking about death, grief and loss despite this being something that affects all of us.  Dying to Know Day encourages us to talk with our loved ones about death and to learn how to support others who are bereaved. Today's blog has been written by TCN Member, Melanie Lawson from Oberon, NSW.

DTK Day is on 8th August 2019. To quote the Dying to Know Day website "Too many of us are dying in a way not consistent with our values or wishes. Too often, we feel ill-equipped to support loved ones who are dying, caring or grieving. Dying to Know Day is designed to change this by activating conversations and curiosity."

Have you ever thought about having a Naming Ceremony for your child? Today's blog has been written by TCN Celebrant Pamela Fynan who talks about what an important life ceremony a naming can be...

Be prepared!  That was the motto of the scouts and it is also the mantra that celebrants live by.  Our blogger today is TCN Celebrant Sonia Collins and she is talking about the ins and outs of ceremony presentation...

Marriage is a solemn and binding relationship.  In fact, marriage celebrants are legally required to remind a couple of this during their marriage ceremony.  But a marriage ceremony doesn’t need to be all solemn and serious and while marriage celebrants aren’t stand up comedians, there are many ways to include humour in your ceremony.... Today's blog post is written by TCN Celebrant Kim Waddington.

Writing your own marriage vows?  Not sure where to begin? Today's blog is the first of two parts - written by TCN Celebrant, author and today's guest blogger, Susanna Jose from Canberra, ACT.

The 16th of May is Global Access Awareness Day – the focus of this day is for the technology experts to think about how to ensure that the digital world is inclusive and accessible to all... Today's Guest blogger is TCN Celebrant Mel Lawson.

Mothers Day is approaching, and with it, a flurry of hand written cards, hasty trips to the shops by dads, husbands, sons, daughters and partners, a myriad of school and pre school stalls, the busying of florists, jewellers, beauticians,  and the stacking of installations of cards in post offices, shops, corner stores, and petrol stations. These are the Mother's Day Musings of TCN Celebrant and today's guest blogger Lisa Philipsen....

Underage marriage is a sensitive and complex issue that affects communities around the world.  This issue impacts on women and girls who marry at a young age and often without giving consent.  Our guest blogger, TCN Celebrant Melanie Lawson - takes us through the stats and legalities of underage and forced marriage...

Australians recognise the 25th of April as a day of national remembrance, which takes two forms. Commemorative services are held across the nation at dawn and commemorative ceremonies held at war memorials around the country.  Today's blog is written by TCN Member, Trish Keating.

Becoming a celebrant has generally been a second, third or even fourth career change for some people.  Most celebrants you speak to describe their work as 'a vocation', 'a calling', or 'a real labour of love', but once you've arrived at your destination of becoming a celebrant, it's hard to turn away.   In today's blog we're introducing you to two TCN Members - Karen Dearing from Cobbitty, NSW and Katherine Sessions from Bendigo, Vic, who are sharing the stories of how they transitioned into the the world of celebrancy...

TCN Celebrant and Guest Blogger, Susanna Jose from Canberra is sharing her thoughts on what you should do to plan for your Plan B - something we should all have in place, but all hope we never have to use.....

Today's Guest Blogger is TCN Celebrant Karen Faa.... this is the story of Brent and Alyce, married a few days ago at The Chapel Montville.   It was absolutely spellbinding.  Karen has written what she thought Brent may have been experiencing as he showed the vulnerability and beauty of pure love.  There was not a dry eye in the place! 

We are definitely living smack bang in the middle of the digital world and technology is progressing every day.  So what does that mean for us as celebrants?

This week's blog is bought to you by Sonia Collins, TCN Celebrant, Guest Blogger and Host of the 'Tell Me Your Story' senior's workshop, held in conjunction with the New South Wales Seniors Festival which is taking place from February 13^th – 24^th. Other States hold Seniors Week at different times but the purpose of these celebrations is always similar – to celebrate Seniors and to encourage them to live healthy lives filled with enjoyable activities.

Thank you to Guest Blogger, Sonia Collins from Batemans Bay in NSW... Today Sonia is talking about  Australia and what a beautiful place it is to get married! There are lots of good reasons why people from overseas choose to marry in Australia. Here are just a few...

TCN’s Social Media Guru sometimes asks for volunteers to write blogs, and I put my hand up for this one... The theme - CELEBRATING LIFE.  Now, what does "Celebrating Life" mean?  And to make it worse, she had added the following rider: (choose your own interpretation).  So, this morning as I was lying on my back, churning through the water in the local pool, I had an epiphany………I will cover a range of life celebrations! 

Are you new to the celebrancy world?  Trying to become more organised? or just wondering what a celebrant does?  Check out guest blogger, Susie Roberts' list of everything a celebrant needs to plan to help keep you on track....

We have a guest blogger today - Robyn Foster "Celebrations by Robyn".  Robyn gave support, along with countless others, to the Australian Marriage Equality campaign and its leaders.  Here is her story...

Funerals and memorial services provide an opportunity for family members, friends and others to gather together to honour and remember the person who died while offering comfort and support to each other.

Planning a funeral or memorial service is a highly personal process, and your decisions will be shaped by your life experiences, your relationship to the deceased, what the deceased wanted or what you desire for yourself after you die, what you can afford, and a myriad of other factors.

Whether planned after a death occurs or beforehand arranging a funeral or memorial service often proves an emotional, and sometimes exhausting, process. 

Hopefully this information will help to make that process a little easier to understand.....

We've all got a dream of what our ceremony is going to look like.  We've all searched through Pinterest and Etsy and magazines saving the pictures that will best fit our theme.  But, the more ideas you come up with - the more the budget is blown out!  What if I told you that there was a way to have your cake and eat it too?  Check out these thrifty ways that you can have the ceremony of your dreams and still be able to afford the Uber ride home...