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Shelley Bell Independent Celebrant
reviews (23) - leave a review
Available for
Countries Covered
Areas Covered
I travel Nationally & Internationally
Specialisms
Boho Weddings (Handfasting, broom jumping, ring warming) and Eco funerals
Affiliations
Fully trained and validated member of the United Kingdom Society of Celebrants.
Languages
English
Hi, I'm Shelley
I have been a Celebrant for years now and have been lucky to work in some amazing locations with some fabulous people.
For me a family celebration should be exactly that – a celebration!! Be it a Wedding, Vow Renewal, Mamma Blessing or Naming Ceremony it is created with the wishes of those we are celebrating in mind, with a little bit of help from me.
I will work with anyone, anywhere and the creative freedom in my work means I get to offer a unique ceremony and personalised service that my clients have relished.
My professionalism and attention to detail has meant that I have become a trusted member of the family to many of my clients and venues recognise me as a preferred supplier because they know I will take care of their clients in the way that befits their brand.
I want you, as my client, to have a day as near to perfect as we can make it.
What's my ceremony style?
I specialise in outdoor venues such as woodlands, vineyards and barns though have been known to pop up at the odd country house.
Naming ceremonies and vow renewals have been in people’s backyards and zoo’s.
I don’t mind if we are celebrating a dawn wedding at solstice or a midnight wedding with gothic grandeur, if we can make it work we will, because its not about me as the celebrant, it’s about you and your dreams and wishes.
I love to make my ceremonies unusual and bring in other elements, that could be Aunty Marjorie doing a heartfelt reading or your whole congregation participating in a ring warming or handfasting. I love a challenge and challenge myself to make no two of my ceremonies the same, to the extent where if I have used a reading in one ceremony I’ll not include it ever again for anyone else (unless its really meaningful to them).
Prices From
£450 for Naming Ceremonies. Weddings from £650
Why choose Shelley?
People choose me because I am in their corner from the moment we meet. The wants of my clients are my mission and their satisfaction is my motivation. Your excitement is my excitement.
I will spend time getting to know my clients, from how they met to how they would like their ceremony to be remembered. I will match styles and colour schemes and am totally flexible in location and timings as I only book one ceremony a day, that way if Uncle Fred is late getting down from Aberdeen to Essex, then with the co-operation of the venue, we wait for Uncle Fred, so he can walk you down the aisle as you wish.
What do I offer?
Weddings
I love to work with people with a sense of fun and a creative spark. If you’re not sure you have a creative spark, give me five minutes and I’ll help you find it, it’s usually parked right next to your imagination!
I love being outdoors or somewhere unusual, a laid back, festival style with a handfasting and smoke bomb photos are where I see myself.
I’ve been lucky enough to work in some amazing locations with some fabulous people.
I will work with anyone, anywhere and the creative freedom in my work means I get to offer a unique ceremony and personalised service that my clients have relished.
My professionalism and attention to detail has meant that I have become a trusted member of the family to many of my clients and venues recognise me as a preferred supplier because they know I will take care of their clients in the way that befits their brand.
I want you, as my client, to have a day as near to perfect as we can make it.
Prices From
£650
Why choose Shelley for your wedding?
People choose me because I am in their corner from the moment we meet. The wants of my clients are my mission and their satisfaction is my motivation. Your excitement is my excitement.
I will spend time getting to know my clients, from how they met to how they would like their ceremony to be remembered. I will match styles and colour schemes and am totally flexible in location and timings as I only book one ceremony a day, that way if Uncle Fred is late getting down from Aberdeen to Essex, then with the co-operation of the venue, we wait for Uncle Fred, so he can walk you down the aisle as you wish.
Naming Ceremonies
I want to help families celebrate the birth of a new born.
I want to help blended families recognise their unity and new family unit.
I want to help people rename themselves after a transition.
I want to help celebrate adoptions.
My job is to create a celebration of this new beginning, involving loved ones, promises and pledges and helping people lay a foundation that they can move on from.
I will do a home visit to meet the family or individual and talk about their hopes and dreams for this new beginning, the story that brought them to this moment and what their aspirations for the future might be.
I will explore the option of using symbolic elements to enrich the ceremony, from unity ceremonies to tree planting to creating a library.
I will create a ceremony full of love and celebration.
Prices From
£450
Why choose Shelley for your naming ceremony?
I love to have fun and there is no greater way to do this than to celebrate a new beginning – how exciting is it to welcome someone to the world? To unify a family as one? To recognise and acknowledge someone for the person they have always been destined to be?
This positive energy is at the essence of my ceremonies, wrapped in love, with a sprinkle of fabulousness.
Renewal of Vows
Whether you are having a home based celebration after a wedding overseas or are marking a significant milestone, a renewal of vows is a great way to reaffirm your love and commitment to your partner.
I’ve held many ceremonies in all sorts of venues – from back gardens to restaurants to stately homes and all of the ceremonies had love and celebration at the heart of them.
A renewal of vows ceremony takes as much time and effort to create as a standard wedding and so my fee reflects this.
This is not a blessing, it’s not down to me to bless anyone.
This is a telling of a love story with an exchange of promises, perhaps rings and above all else the commitment, in front of all those you know and love, that you will dedicate your lives to each other, forever.
Prices From
£550
Why choose Shelley for your renewal of vows?
I offer no judgement as to why you are choosing to renew your vows, I’m here to celebrate the fact that you have chosen to do so. I will listen to why your marriage was important before and why it continues to be so now, I will capture what your hopes and dreams for the future is and what you are proud of in your journey so far.
Your guests will celebrate with you like this is your first day together whilst wrapping you in a love that has stood the test of time.
Funerals
It is the greatest privilege to tell people’s life stories. I try not to just recount a timeline, I would rather recognise people’s words, deeds and character and tell stories that make the memory of that loved one dance in their mind.
I am a great planner and organiser with a sympathetic ear, who enjoys creating professional, heartfelt and sometimes funny Celebrations of Life.
I also help people to prepare their future funerals if they have a life limiting illness and guide them through the difficult conversations about preparing for the end of their lives with family and friends if required.
I will visit a family in their home setting and reminisce with them over cups of tea and photos, so I get a real sense of who it is I am talking about. I then work my way through a checklist that ensures I have captured all that pertinent information before turning this all into a story of their loved one’s life, not just a timeline.
I have conducted ceremonies in football colours or team hats, had live performers as tributes instead of eulogies and conducted ceremonies for everyone from stay at home parents to champion sports personalities.
Just as every person is different, every ceremony is different and I aim to recognise the individual’s strengths, values and achievements – after all, we all mean something to someone.
Natural burials, municipal crematoriums, thanks givings in bingo halls – I’ll explore the best send off options with you.
Prices From
£250
Why choose Shelley for your funeral?
I work with people at the end of their lives and have conversations with them about what their biggest life lessons have been.
I ask what it means to them to be someone’s sibling or grandparent and if they are proud of their family, friends and personal achievements. I then weave all of that into a story of their life in preparedness for their future funeral.
My compassionate listening skills and willingness to ask some difficult questions helps me to create the best ceremony I can, whilst recognising that it is a difficult time for everyone involved, whether we are planning a ceremony before death or after.
I aim to bring comfort to the families I work with and what to help them be proud of their loved one.
If someone asks me how I knew the departed after the funeral, I’ve done a great job.
Reviews for Shelley Bell Independent Celebrant
Total Reviews: 23
Average Rating: 5
reviews (23)
Amazing Support.
Thank you for your amazing support over the past couple of weeks organising my dad’s funeral, without you, I don’t know how we would have made it through the day. The service was beautiful and everyone commented how it wasn’t morbid but happy, a true reflection of my Dad.
Fireworks Galore!
Shelley told our story perfectly! Shelley makes an enormous effort to know everything about the couples she works with so that she can share their unique story.
In our case, all our guests and us were overwhelmed by how unique the ceremony was and how much everyone could feel the love. It brought many of our guests and us to tears because she told our story so amazingly well.
Amazing Performance
Where do I begin???! After two postponements and a quick registry office last year, we found Shelley to be our celebrant about three months before our ceremony this year. She has been so amazing from start to finish. Shelley went through all our likes and dislikes and tailored our ceremony around us as a couple.
One of the main things that sticks out to me is that Shelley took away all the stress from us and sorted it all! On the day, Shelley gave an amazing performance and ‘tied the knot’ for us, which everyone commented on after by saying how lovely it was.
I would highly recommend and I urge everyone to get in touch with Shelley as she offers such different and personalised ceremonies. Lot’s of love Shelley and I hope our paths cross in the near future!
