Setting Boundaries During Difficult Times When we are caring for someone we love in their final chapter, it can feel as though the world expects us to be available at all times, to respond to calls, messages, and visits, even while our hearts are fully focused on the person we are holding close. In these…

A Gentle Guide for Supporting Your Loved One This guide is meant to support you as you spend these precious final days with your loved one. It focuses on connection, comfort, love, and presence, and offers ideas you can use and adapt to your family’s and your loved one’s needs. 1. Presence is Everything Your…

1. 12 Months Before the Wedding: Planning Your Ceremony and Choosing a Celebrant Planning a wedding is one of the most exciting and emotional journeys you will embark on as a couple, and while there are countless details to consider, the ceremony is the heart of your celebration, it is the moment when your love…

5. 1 Month Before the Wedding: Preparing Emotionally and Practically One month before your wedding is a time to prepare both emotionally and practically, check that all details are confirmed with your celebrant, review the order of events, and ensure that vows and readings feel right, emotionally, take time to reflect, connect with your partner,…

4. 3 Months Before the Wedding: Finalising Details and Involving Family Three months before your wedding is the time to finalise details and consider how your family can be meaningfully involved, decide who will read, who will support rituals, and if there are moments that honour parents, grandparents, or close friends, share ideas with your…

3. 6 Months Before the Wedding: Writing Vows and Planning the Ceremony Flow Six months before your wedding is a perfect time to focus on writing vows and planning the ceremony flow, your vows are an opportunity to speak directly from your heart, to express your love and commitment in a way that is deeply…

2. 9 Months Before the Wedding: Choosing Readings, Music, and Personal Touches Nine months before your wedding is an ideal time to explore the elements that will bring your ceremony to life, music, readings, and personal touches are the threads that weave emotion and personality into your celebration, choosing songs that have meaning, poems or…

Grief is something we will all experience at some point in our lives, yet when it arrives, it can feel unfamiliar, isolating and deeply unsettling. Many people tell me they feel unsure whether what they are experiencing is “normal” or worry that they are grieving in the wrong way. The truth is this: there is…

(By Deborah Meddins – Family Celebrant, Supporting local families through love & loss) When a loved one dies, there’s a lot to think about — and often, things move very quickly. Most people naturally turn to their funeral director for guidance, and that’s a great place to start. But one thing many families don’t realise…