Celebrating Life: a course in family celebrancy

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Would you like to create and conduct rich, vibrant and unique ceremonies for Weddings, Handfastings, Renewals of Vows, Namings and Welcomings?

This inspirational course equips you to work closely with couples and families at some of the most important moments in their lives, and to create meaningful rituals for people in your wider communities, whatever their own beliefs and outlooks may be.

We’ll look at the structure, forms and dynamics of ceremonies, and how these can be adapted to suit different occasions. As well as offering you opportunities to develop your own listening, writing, and speaking skills, the course will equip you to work with families collaboratively, facilitating their input and engagement in a variety of ways. You’ll be supported to draw on family history and personal stories, and find ways to enable everyone present to feel welcome, included, and actively involved – creating ceremonies that feel natural, powerful and just right for each family that you serve in this uniquely privileged role.

Cost: £880 / 3 payments of £300

Underpinning the whole course is an approach to celebrancy as service, in the context of nature based spiritual practices, and a focus on the creation of authentic ceremony.

Lessons

We’ll begin by considering the nature and purpose of ritual and ceremony. You’ll be invited to examine your own experience as we identify the key features of effective and engaging ceremony. We’ll reflect on the importance of rites of passage in contemporary culture, and you’ll be encouraged to draw upon your own spiritual practices to bring depth and vitality to your work as a celebrant. Your first assignment will support you in preparing to offer your services as a celebrant.

In our second session we’ll examine the key tasks of the celebrant, and you’ll be guided through the processes of working collaboratively with couples and families, from the first contact through to the day of the ceremony. You’ll be invited to reflect on the skills and qualities needed for the work of celebrancy, and on how to resource and prepare yourself for this work. We’ll also take an overview of the structure and dynamics of ceremony, illustrated by outlines and sample scripts for a range of occasions. Your homework assignment will focus on understanding the legal and business context of family celebrancy in your part of the world.

This lesson will equip you to design and deliver creative and joyous naming and welcoming ceremonies, for babies and children, including adoption ceremonies.  We’ll explore ways of involving and empowering parents and those who are chosen to play a special role in the child’s life.  We’ll also think about how to facilitate participation of wider family and community, and to celebrate family heritage and ancestry – and how to ensure that these occasions are enjoyable and engaging for the children at their heart. Your homework task will be an opportunity to begin honing your skills as you practice the preparatory work for a naming or welcoming ceremony.

In this, the first of two lessons in focussing on the celebration of marriage, we’ll look at a variety of ancient and modern rites and rituals including handfasting, candle lighting, tree planting, ring blessing, wedding communion, and jumping the broomstick. We’ll explore ways of involving family and community in these ceremonies, and you’ll be encouraged to draw upon and contribute to a shared resource of poems and readings.  This lesson’s homework is another opportunity to practice the work of celebrancy, especially your listening and writing skills, in an exercise designed to bring depth, intimacy and richness to your ceremonies.

Our focus in this lesson will be on those at the centre of wedding and partnership ceremonies, as we think about how we as celebrants can support couples in preparing for marriages, renewals of vows and other relationship ceremonies. You’ll be guided through a range of resources and techniques, including tip sheets, vow-writing exercises and ceremonies, and working with solar and lunar cycles. We’ll also consider vow renewals, and ceremonies of separation; and your homework task will guide you to hone your creative writing skills as you explore the art of blessing.

In our final session we’ll reflect on the wider context of our work as celebrants, and on the art of conducting ceremony.  You’ll be offered practical guidance and suggestions as you consider your personal aims and aspirations, and you are invited to complete your journey through this course with a ceremony that can be adapted to your own outlooks and practices. Your final homework assignment will include a brief review of your course journey and an action plan for your future as a celebrant.

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Course Delivery

No special software is required to access the course. The course is delivered via six online lessons which you can work through at your own pace. Course materials include video and audio presentations; downloadable documents, and many examples drawn from real-life ceremonies; resource lists and suggestions for your own research; two guided meditations and a ceremony of completion. The course and all materials will remain accessible and free to review at any time.

These self-access sessions are supported with a forum where students can ask questions, share inspiration and resources and participate in discussions, as well as a rolling programme of drop-in webinars with the course tutor. Each session is followed by assignments to be completed in your own time; you will get one to one feedback on all your assignments. A certificate will be awarded to all students who successfully complete and submit the six mandatory assignments.

River Jones, Celebrant

About the tutor

River Jones is a celebrant with over twenty five years’ experience of delivering bespoke ceremonies for people from all walks of life. With a background in adult education and community outreach she worked for over fourteen years at the University of Sussex, where she taught and convened courses ranging from Creative Writing through to Shamanic Consciousness. She has been course director at School of Celebrancy since 2015, as well as delivering events and workshops for organisations such as the Celebrants Collective and the Association of Independent Celebrants. River has conducted hundreds of ceremonies and shares her knowledge, resources, and many examples of rituals drawn from her wide range of experience as a celebrant.
To find out more about River’s Celebrancy work see www.celebrantforyourceremony.com

What People Say

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
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
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
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.

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