Celebrations of Life for significant occasions
Celebrations of Life for Significant Occasions.
Celebrations of Life for significant birthdays or Menopause are for celebrating the living.
A celebration of life for a significant occasion can be for a 90th birthday or even to celebrate mid-life.
Perhaps you or someone you love is turning 90 and is obviously nearer the end of their life than the beginning, with no intention of dying possibly planning to live to be 100!
Or perhaps you are Menopausal and want to mark that rite of passage at a 50th birthday party.
Celebrating a 90th birthday brings us together, allows us to celebrate our legacy and gather our stories for the next generation.
Celebrations of Life gather our people around us in community to celebrate all that we are!
CELEBRATE LIFE NOW
Are you feeling like this ?
Do you have an nonogenarian in your life, or are you older yourself?
Is the end of a long life nearer than you’d care to admit?
Do you worry that you won’t all be together one last time?
Are you menopausal? Wanting to acknowledge the changes that has brought, wanting to move into a new phase of life.
Are you wondering how to let go of your former self and embrace the new one?
Do you have lots of shared stories and experiences you’re afraid to lose?
Are you worried about how to preserve those memories but don’t know how to go about it?
Imagine if…
You could gather all of your people together on a 90th birthday with a celebration that is more intentional than just a party, with a skilled professional to facilitate conversation and gather your stories?
Celebrate together while you still feel able and then if you don’t want to a funeral everyone can have a copy of your stories instead when you die.
You could feel celebratory about all that you have been and done, your achievements and joys?
What if you could have a celebration that is more than ‘just a party’ which marks that transitional phase in your life with a skilled facilitator.
Gather your people, let go of the past, affirm your life in good company and face the new phase of your life with confidence and support.
You could sit down with a skilled, experienced professional and gather some of your favourite stories together?
Bring out the albums and the home videos and make meaning from your life by really celebrating yourself or a loved one.
Have your favourite stories written down as a legacy for future generations and those who love you.
“It really was the most perfect day. My friend chose Jess herself knowing she was end of life so Jess got to meet her. She is perfect for the job!”
– Sarah
CELEBRATIONS FOR SIGNIFICANT OCCASIONS
A celebration of life which makes life meaningful.
Celebrations for significant occasions are designed to help you to create meaningful memories which will surround you with love and laughter in the present and nurture you in the future
A guided process with a fully accredited double award-winning CELEBRANT with over a decade of experience.
INTRODUCING MY UNIQUE CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE
CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE FOR SIGNIFICANT OCCASIONS
BEFORE
The Outline – CELEBRATION OF LIFE
The first stage allows us to get to know each other. This can be done in person or via a phone/video call.
This is where I can answer your questions and share my experiences to help guide the process.
This is where we generate our outline of the Celebration. We discuss you or your loved one’s life, work out your wants and needs and begin to build the story.
Any questions or concerns about who is involved, what is involved as well as any unique ideas can be included.
DURING
The Experience –CELEBRATION OF LIFE
The day has arrived… Because of our careful planning, your special occasion will be personal and joyful.
With everything ready, and after a brief regroup, I will meet with you all to ensure a smooth occasion.
Then, as we start to welcome your guests, your celebration will begin. I will be on hand to facilitate and lead fully during the celebration.
Memories and contributions from your guests will take place and a happy celebration ensues.
AFTER
The Keepsake – CELEBRATION OF LIFE
This is the chance to have a physical story and memory of the beautiful life lived, captured and remembered.
This beautifully written heartfelt 10 page story is there for you and your family to keep and cherish forever.
The Keepsake can be used at a later date or just kept as a legacy and shared among your favourite people as a gift.
What is a Celebration of Life for a Significant Occasion?
Is it the same as a PARTY?
A Celebration of Life is exactly that: a chance to celebrate a person’s life.
It is different to a party because it is facilitated by a skilled professional who is gathering your stories and encouraging you to share them.
Where needed there can be ceremonial elements and a speech crafted from careful listening and conversation.
It can take place anywhere and at any time but it is expressly about transitioning from one part of your life to another.
It might acknowledge loss whilst also welcoming a new future.
The Purpose of Memorials
Celebrating Life – What is a Living Funeral
More client love
Made a sad, difficult time a bit easier…
“Jess was kind, intelligent, compassionate and interested in our family. She was very supportive and caring and really made a sad, difficult time a bit easier. Very grateful to her.”
– Nancy
It was one of the most wonderful days
“Jess is the most amazing human and even more amazing celebrant.
Jess delivered my friend’s woodland burial at Westall Park, and although it was a truly sad occasion it was one of the most wonderful days. Sincere, bright, well-composed and appropriately humorous.
It went way beyond anything I was expecting. If you’re reading this you already know you’re going to book her. She’s amazing. Do it. “
– Sarah
Memories are in the forefront of our thoughts
“She took us back to our childhood, bringing back happy memories that had been forgotten over the years. This really helped us through the sad, heart-wrenching time we had with him in the months leading up to his passing. I’m happy to say that those childhood memories are now in the forefront of our thoughts and for this I can’t thank Jess enough. She is amazing 🤩.”
– Amanda
Truly an amazing spirit
“Thank you again from the bottom of my heart you truly are an amazing spirit and I felt it flow through me when you took my hands in yours xx”
– Margaret
Jess enabled a joyous celebration…
“Jess was the best celebrant – funerals are never fun, but Jess enabled a joyous celebration of a life very well lived and very much loved – thank you”
– Fiona
Jess met my sister and arranged her celebration
“Jess is an exceptional celebrant. I was lucky that Jess met my sister and arranged her celebration of life before she died. As Jess spoke you could tell the amount of time she had spoken with my sister and her friends so it was such a personal tribute. Jess spent so much time preparing, making sure that the day ran perfectly, you could feel her passion for her job. Jess is a beautiful person, who did a beautiful service for a beautiful day.”
– Jane
My Mission Around Celebrations of Life for Significant Occasions.
I’m jess, A celebrant, devising creative ways to celebrate you and your loved ones.
Working creating both weddings and funerals since 2013 has taught me a lot.
One thing is how much people enjoy getting together and celebrating each other and marking life events.
Another is how many people talk about those life events when they are dying and how much their loved ones talk about those events once they have died.
Holidays and weddings and special birthdays all come up when we are creating tributes or eulogies. The shared stories also become sacred.
Thirdly, there is something I hear all the time at funerals: “the only sad thing is that they weren’t here!”
At this point in our history in the UK people are deciding not to have funerals any more.
I had to come to terms with knowing that people were no longer going to meet to celebrate a life after death and heard more and more people say how much they wanted to have a funeral before they die.
It got me thinking about how to carry on creating meaningful occasions, not just funerals, for people to celebrate themselves and their loved ones and gather their stories together before they die.
Human societies have always needed to gather and celebrate and the ways in which they do that have always shifted over the centuries. My mission is to move with the times and carry on doing what I love and was put on this earth to do.
Contact me to discuss a Creative Celebration of Life for a significant occasion
Celebrations of life for significant occasions- Frequently Asked Questions
How is it different to a party?
A celebration of life is facilitated, you have the equivalent of an ‘MC’ leading where neccessary, reading speeches if desired.
The occasion is curated and devised with you with a skilled professional.
It is a party if you’d like it to be…but within that party will be an expression of the person it is for.
The story telling within the gathering will be guided and the photos and videos will be there and shared.
The best stories will be written down and made into a keepsake book as a legacy.
How do we get started?
It starts by meeting with me over coffee or er Zoom and me listening attentively to what you need and why.
We start to build a picture of what would be helpful and what you would like to include, where and when you would like it to be and who you want to invite or collaborate with.
We build and outline and start from there.
How much does it cost?
A Celebration of Life costs £1.2k, if you would like to have just the celebration with no keepsake book I can create that with you for £650.
What does it include?
My Celebrations of Life include the devising process, my presence on the day facilitating and leading and the keepsake book and access to me throughout. It does not include flowers, food or venue hire.