Celebrant Training in the UK
When a person searches online for a celebrant-training course they will be met with page after page of sponsored ads by slick corporate ‘churn-em-out’ style organisations where the focus is on training 15 celebrants at a time. Many of our students have said how frustrating it was to wade through them all only to find that they all had the same spiel. They’d almost given up on the idea of training to be a celebrant. And then they found our site.
At Heart-led Celebrants, based in Cumbria, we’ve always taken a holistic, bespoke training approach. Even when we started out, years ago, our groups were deliberately small: just six people at a time. We migrated to one-to-one training as we believe (even for those who ‘love being in groups’) that this is optimal way of ensuring each would-be celebrant has the care, undivided attention and tutoring which will help them learn the vast amount of information required for starting this career. This means they can ask questions as and when desired and not have to wait or miss out because there are too many other people.
Each person comes to us with their strengths, qualities and skills, as well as the areas which need developing. Our approach means that this can happen in tune with the individual’s learning style, and we can meet their needs as they make their way through the written and practical modules.
Another way our training is different is that, as a working celebrant, I (Veronika Robinson) also offer opportunities for our celebrants-in-training to shadow me: at family funeral visits, funerals, weddings and other rites of passage. These opportunities are included in our training support. As a celebrant since 1995, I’ve got decades of experience which I readily share and pass on to our students.
One of the things which always strikes me is how different each training week feels. Even though the core material and curriculum are the same, the style, manner and way it is shared, explored, encouraged and experienced varies from person to person. We know what we need to bring to the table. What we never know, until the time arrives, is what the celebrant-in-training will bring to their learning time with us. The training is, indeed, a co-creation.
If you choose to train with us, at our cottage in Cumbria, we’ll share home-cooked lunches each day. There’ll be regular tea/coffee/snacks for your pleasure, and we can accommodate your need to stretch your legs and take a walk too. In the Spring and Summer, we often train outside in the garden. Whether outdoors amongst the trees, flowers and birdsong or snugged up by the woodstove, we aim for each person’s experience to be as relaxed as possible. We also welcome people who would rather train by Zoom (for reasons of geographical distance).
About your tutors at Heart-led Celebrants:
Veronika Robinson and Paul Robinson are a husband and wife team whose boutique celebrant training, Heart-led Celebrants, attracts people from around the world. Heart-led Celebrants has earned a reputation for excellence in celebrant training, and those who are certified exemplify the highest standards in the industry.
Veronika is the author of many books including the popular Celebrant Collection: Write That Eulogy; The Successful Celebrant; Funeral Celebrant Ceremony Planner; Wedding Celebrant Ceremony Planner; The Blessingway.
Three more titles will be added in January 2024: The Gentle Celebrant’s Guide: Funerals For Children; The Discrimination-free Celebrant; The Celebrant’s Guide to the Five Elements; Mindfulness for Celebrants.
All these books are included,
with our pleasure,
in our celebrant-training package.
Veronika is a certified Infant Loss Professional; founder of Penrith’s First Death Cafe; and a celebrant for the charity Gift of a Wedding.
Award-winning voice artist, Paul Robinson, has had a whole career centred around his voice and other people’s. He’s highly experienced as a celebrant, trained actor, drama coach, voice-over artist, singer, broadcaster, compère, and ventriloquist. Paul is an excellent communicator and teacher, and has a sixth sense about how to relate to individuals, groups and audiences.