You might know this famous story: a woman once saw Picasso doodling on a napkin while sitting in a cafe. The woman asked him how much she would have to pay to buy the napkin. Picasso said “$20 000 US dollars”. The woman was astonished. “It only took you five minutes to draw it!” she […]
Our Heart-led students receive a large and comprehensive library of books and materials to augment their face-to-face training with us. From time to time, we like to add to this. An addition to this collection is Build Your Celebrant Business which all new students, from January 2026, will receive. Some of the topics include: […]
When someone is beginning their celebrant career, depending on their training and/or disposition, they might feel nervous, apprehensive and vulnerable. Perhaps they think everyone around them knows more than they do and so it’s possible that comments from others (such as wedding planners and funeral directors) might shape what they do or say. For example, […]
Today I’ve been editing my book Love Story: a wedding celebrant’s guide to writing compelling narrative. As I was thinking about ‘where does a love story begin?’ it made me reflect on where the does a Heart-led Celebrant’s story begin? The answer, of course, will be different for each person. For some, it was that […]
Compassion Fatigue is yet another syndrome to add to our list of woes. As if caring humans haven’t got enough to deal with on a daily basis. All around us, we’re bombarded by images of war, destruction, devastation, homelessness, poverty, political power struggles and more. These are in our cultural energetic soup. That is, they […]
I’ve had a lifelong love affair with the writings of Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran, particularly his book The Prophet. Below, at the bottom of this blog, is his writing on the subject of ‘work’. I’m particularly taken with the idea that “Work is love made visible”. Even in my ‘when I’ve won lotto’ dreams, work […]
Whether it’s because I’ve been officiating ceremonies for over thirty years or because I’m naturally intuitive or adept at emotional and environmental frequencies, my sixth sense is always there to accompany me into any ceremonial space. With an Omniscient-style approach, I can immediately see, hear and sense what works, and what might impede the […]
Students who train with Heart-led Ceremonies have the following books included in their materials. Some are available to the public, and two of them are exclusive to our celebrants-in-training. Books exclusive to HLC: Heart-led Celebrants Guardians of the Threshold The following books are included in the training package, and also available from the publisher Starflower […]
While some people have an aversion to the word ‘ritual’, others, like myself, consider it one of the most beautiful in our language. If you say it out loud, you can hear the musicality within it inviting you inwards towards a liminal moment and out again. Ritual During our celebrant training courses, I teach […]
How often, in the course of our daily lives, do we take pause to consider our actions and re-actions, and the ripple effect our very existence has on others? In my role as a celebrant trainer, I’m conscious that Paul (co-tutor here at Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training) and I are generous with our time, energy […]