As a provider of celebrant training in Scotland, we take pride in our reputation for excellence.
As a celebrant, I often hear horrific stories about abysmal service from celebrants. It is unacceptable and inexcusable, from getting names wrong to copying and pasting from old scripts to new ones to turning up with the wrong script. I know how that affects you from my experience with a shoddy celebrant.
As a result of the celebrant allocated to me, I submersed myself into the world of celebrancy, vowing never to copy and paste, to be accountable for my actions and to ensure my clients have a positive experience. Serving clients is a privilege and comes with responsibility. It is one that I don’t take lightly. But not all celebrants have this work ethic.
Shoddy service is all too common in the celebrant community. The image is of three funeral scripts a fellow celebrant found discarded in the vestry’s trash can. Please have a look at them.
What do you notice?
Is it the poor grammar, bad spelling, or the identical introductions? I shared this image on my social media page, and people were outraged. What followed were several direct messages with more horrific stories, mainly from people who were vulnerable following a bereavement.
At Soulful Celebrants, we do not have a one-size-fits-all approach
This account is from a lady who was grieving for her mum. “The Funeral Director got the celebrant to contact us, but we struggled to get a time we could all meet. The first appointment was two days before the service. He arrived, and the meeting felt really rushed. The next day, he emailed the service to us, and it was full of errors.
We sorted them and then heard nothing, so assumed he would have sorted it. He hadn’t. The service was awful. A few weeks later, I went to my colleague’s funeral. It was the same celebrant, and I was fuming when I heard him say exactly the same things he had said at my mum’s funeral. Even the poem was the same”.
It is said that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. I want to be part of the solution, so I decided to train celebrants. A certificate is often issued to a celebrant for attending the training, not because they are competent.
Soulful Celebrant training requires you to immerse yourself in the week-long program, which is one-to-one. You have assignments to complete over six weeks, and mandatory training in presentation skills from an expert ensures that you are confident when public speaking. “The celebrant stuttered and stammered his way through the ceremony. I didn’t realise how bad it was until we watched our wedding video. I dread watching it now”.
People may never remember your words, but they will remember how they made them feel.
“People may never remember your words, but they will remember how they made them feel”
Soulful Celebrant Training is the result of a serendipitous request from a client who wanted to be trained by me. I had been thinking about becoming a Celebrant Trainer for a while, and I took this as a sign that it was time to share my knowledge and passion with others.
Soulful Celebrant training is a collaboration between an experienced celebrant and a presentation skills trainer and public speaker, so you will be able to craft amazing ceremonies and be confident in your delivery.
If you are interested, please contact me today and let’s chat. I would love to hear from you and help you achieve your dream of becoming a Celebrant. Email training@soulfulcelebrant.co.uk
Let me tell your stories in a unique and personal way!… Contact me Isabel Lockhart.