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Designed to equip you with all the knowledge and skills you’ll need to provide a professional, client centred service to anyone, whatever their outlook or spiritual orientation.

Training Course

Celebrating Life - Pic of wedding

Celebrating Life

This online training course will equip you with all the skills you need to work as a celebrant with couples and families at some of the most important moments in their lives, and to create and conduct rich, vibrant and unique ceremonies for Weddings, Handfastings, Renewals of Vows, Namings and Welcomings.

Serving the living and the dead - woodland

Training Course

Serving the Living and the Dead

This online training course will prepare you to work as a funeral celebrant, to provide a professional service to families at times of loss and trauma, and to help lay the foundations for a healthy grieving and healing process by creating and conducting unique Funerals and Memorial Services to celebrate the lives of their loved ones;

Training / Development

Tying the Knot: how to conduct magical handfastings

Whatever your experience of celebrancy and nature-inspired spiritual practices, this course will equip you to conduct handfastings for people from all walks of life; drawing on the inspiration of the elements and directions to bring greater richness and magic to your ceremonies.

The School of Celebrancy Complete Training

Enrol on all three of our professional development courses.

There is no time limit to complete the courses, so you can work through them at your own pace; and you can choose which order to take them in – though if you’re unsure, we suggest the order below. Together, the courses will leave you equipped and inspired to deliver beautiful, magical ceremonies for any occasion.

Jacki Clement, Cornwall, UK
I found this course to be really useful and informative. It has been an excellent grounding in celebrancy as service. I have a much better understanding of how I can be of service to clients, and how I can hold the space to create a sacred and meaningful ceremony for them.
Awen Rowan-Nelson, Washington, USA
As a former professor, I recognize a well-prepared, knowledgeable, and experienced instructor when I encounter one, and River is all of these things…This course is thoughtfully designed, well organized, and professionally executed, and, just as importantly, it is a wee bit magical.
Chrissy Fice, Hampshire UK, SLD2025
The online learning suited me perfectly, being able to pick it up in the bursts of time life affords us. But I also felt good connections through the online chats and videos. I can't thank you enough for sharing so much of your experience.
Colette Corcoran - Vienna, Austria
I have really enjoyed doing this course…it has offered me much food for thought. I am now much clearer on how to conduct and hold ceremonies and what essence I want to bring to them.
Shawn O’Niel, Washington State, USA
River, as an instructor and guide, we couldn't ask for better. Your experience, dedication, knowledge, and communication skills are incredible. You offer so much… making the course both enjoyable and exceptional.
Tabitha Taylor - London UK
I am so happy to complete the course! It has been even more meaningful than I had anticipated and I am very grateful to you for such excellent course material. It really has been a fantastic course and I have learnt a lot.
Daniel Smith, Hampshire UK, 2024
The course was easy to follow with a perfect mix of media to maintain interest and ensure all learning styles are catered for. The downloadable resources are invaluable. Having examples and templates offers a reassuring guide to my first opportunities when they come, which I'm sure they will.
Casey Das, Arizona, USA
The course itself was incredibly interesting… I've been an ordained minister with the Universal Brotherhood Movement for many years… This course was particularly helpful in broadening my understanding of various ceremonies and refining my preparation process. Overall, this was an incredible experience, and I'm deeply grateful for it.
Shawn O’Niel, Washington State, USA
The lessons were the right length, the included videos, links, attachments, suggested reading materials, and meditations were all of great help… River's reviews were very helpful and aided me in fine tuning where I needed to improve.
Jacki Clement, Cornwall, UK
The videos, downloads and sample ceremonies were invaluable. I’ve been encouraged and inspired to continue to deepen my connection with nature, my fellow humans, myself and with spirit. I’m grateful for the time, effort and love that has been put into this course for the benefit of us all.
Holly Keithth, Essex UK
My experience on this course has been nothing but positive. I feel I have grown to understand the delicacies of holding space in a way that serves and holds others. I also feel inspired and permitted to create ceremonies in my own way that feel authentic to me, whilst also fully reflecting others. My creative side has felt nourished, writing beautiful words and coming up with beautiful ideas for others. But I have also been pushed.
Ulf Leonhard, Jettenbach Germany CL 2024
The course was interesting and instructive for me. I took away valuable tools so that I have a good framework for creating my own ceremonies.
Awen Rowan-Nelson, Washington, USA
I recommend this course highly to anyone who wishes to create unique, individualized ceremonies and rituals, and to perform them with grace, humor, and excellence.
Peter Müllerlei - Nuremberg, Germany
I really liked getting an individual answer to every homework assignment and always being met where I was in a very friendly manner…it was nice to get lots of different examples and also to have more organizational topics discussed [which] made it easier for me to now take the step and offer my services publicly.
Shawn O’Niel, Washington State, USA - SLD 2025
I am very impressed with this course… it is self-paced [so] I was able to work on it at my leisure without deadlines … and review as needed. I really liked that I was able to use personal experience and create my own items throughout.
Eve Salthouse - Cornwall, UK
The course has been wonderful. The wisdom in the lessons, the resources. The practical information. The monthly get togethers. Knowing that there is someone I can turn to as I take these first steps. It’s been an amazing time.

Our Latest Broadcast

Philip Carr-Gomm interviews River Jones School of Celebrancy course director