This time of year can bring about some awkward family dynamics... today Celebrant Susanna Jose shares some stories and tips about dealing with estraged family around your marriage ceremony.
Have you been wondering how you might reaffirm your love for your partner? What about a Vow Renewal Ceremony? Today's blog takes us through some great ideas to create a beautiful and personal ceremony - written by freelance writer and guest blogger - Harper Reid.
Yes you can share
Protocol
Personal memories of a family Christmas lunch - a blog written by celebrant and member of The Celebrants Network - Trevor Hayley
Have you ever thought about having a Naming Ceremony for your child? Today's blog has been written by TCN Celebrant Pamela Fynan who talks about what an important life ceremony a naming can be...
Baby Naming Day Ceremony check...
The 11th of November is Remembrance Day. This is the day we pay our respects to those soldiers who died in the First World War. It marks the day the war ended and at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month we observe a minute silence to remember and think about all the people who have died in wars since. There are lots of ways to remember our loved ones after they've died - here are just a few ideas...
* Children who are adopted and fostered and can be raised by grandparents or other relatives 
Photo: Pixabay
* Single parents
Photo: Pixabay
* Families that consist of two parents who don’t live in the same house
Photo: Pexels
* Children who will grow up with step parents and step siblings, half siblings and extra grandparents
Photo:Free Stock
* Parents/couples who can be different genders, the same gender, transgender or not identify with a gender at all
Photo: proudparenting.com
* Children who don’t identify with the gender they were assigned at birth
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* Families with members who live with a disability
Photo: Nathan Anderson - unsplash.com
*Couples who do not to have children
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* People who choose to complete their family with a fur baby. 
Photo source: PHann
* Loving partnerships that bring together families from different cultures or nationalities
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* Families that can be made up of a group of people who are not blood related to them at all
http://atlantablackstar.com
This is just a short list of the different kinds of families that can be found in Australia and around the world and there's one thing for certain....
If you're unsure how to go about starting this type of converstaion, there are people that can help you, like the organisation called: Death Over Dinner who recently featured on Ch 10's The Project who do exactly that - helping people to have that awkward conversation about your dying wishes.
You could also contact one of our wonderful TCN Funeral Celebrants to help you with ideas.
READ MORE about pre-funerals planning here.
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Saying Goodbye – Your way
Act Now before your final Goodbye.
When families are confronted with trying to prepare the funeral, shock and grief can make it very difficult to remember those things that they need to know about “Mum” or “Dad”! Generally your children look upon you as only their parent, not from any other perspective. So the other compartments of your life, as a lover, partner, friend, student, teacher, mentor, work colleague, employer, team player, sports person, voluntary worker, etc, etc, are not fully appreciated or understood.
The same can be said for your life experiences and their context. All this information is needed to prepare a fitting life tribute that will do justice to a person’s life as a whole.
So when is the best time to get started? Now – none of us know when our time is up!
So what can you do to start this process? Meet with your local independent Funeral Celebrant to discuss your funeral ceremony and the way you would like to say goodbye to your loved ones.
Are you in the midst of arranging a funeral? Are you feeling overwhelmed right now? There are so many details that must be attended to. So many decisions to be made, people to contact and this is while you are feel so raw from your loss.
Take a deep breath, slow down, – pause for a moment and then focus on what is important – honouring the person lost to you. Each of us is unique and special in our own ways and when planning a funeral it is important to honour that unique life and relate the impact that life had on family and friends.
So how do you do this?
Consider the unique life of the person who died.
Write a list of the following:
ASKACELEBRANT BLOG - Are you a bride or groom wondering about whether marriage is really for you? Marriage is a long term commitment. Even in a country where there is divorce, marriage carries thousands of years of expectations and hope that this is a relationship "for life".
So what questions do you ask yourself to figure out if you are ready to take that BIG step?
Here's an article that uses no religious arguments - yet would be very much at home in many religious faiths - and what's more it is written by a bloke!
Our thanks to Seth Adam Smith for sharing his personal experiences on marriage :
ASKACELEBRANT BLOG:
This is a delightful personal story about the value of family and community in ceremonies and an example of the sorts of stories our couples and families could write about their wedding and other ceremony preparations.
http://www.tennantcreektimes.com.au/story/1771594/the-me-me-me-wedding/
A Day of Hope
Recently I visited a young family who had lost their second son at 3 months; he had caught a virus at 6 days and 11 weeks later he passed away, at home, surrounded by his loving family. The family had contacted me to conduct his Memorial service on Monday 19th August.
The family is having a pagoda constructed in the backyard and planting a Japanese maple beside it during the Memorial Service and the mulch will be stones with messages from family and friends loving placed. A visual reminder of their son’s life. So I thought that they chose this date as the construction would be complete by then.
Asking why this particular day, I was told “this is a Day of Hope, and we wish to support this initiative by Carly Marie. Check out the website www.carlymarieprojectheal.com.au.” When I arrived home I checked this webpage.
A Circle of Love
Naming, celebrating, honouring and welcoming a Child into a family community.
What a wonderful way to spend Easter Saturday morning – with a family of four generations who were together to officially name their baby girl, to celebrate her birth and survival after a very premature birth, to honour her position in the family and to welcome her into the family circle of love.
A circle has no beginning and no end and to celebrate the family circle connection Abigail worn a Christening Gown made by her great, great great grandmother and there was a direct line to seven of those present who had also worn the gown. What a wonderful way to pass on the spirit of the family in a tangible way – the circle of family love is never ending.
Looking for something different to include at your wedding?
What about a Sand Ceremony?
This is a lovely, unifying idea based on the idea of blending the bride and groom's families. Two containers of sand represent the single journeys the bride and groom were once on as well as their own families and friends.
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Post by Meg L’Estrange
Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia Member
Melbourne Victoria
http://meglestrange.com.au
Can a funeral be fun?
You bet!
For some families this is the best way to honour the person they have lost.
Bo: Bo was a larger than life personality and stories of his antics abounded.
From Mr Peter Grant - Cvil Marriage Celebrant
Celebrants & Celebrations Network Austraia
Brisbane Queensland
http://www.peterthecelebrant.com.au/
Many of our wedding ceremonies now involve extended families with the couple having children (either together or from previous relationships) and that immediate family being readily accepted by parents, siblings and grandparents.
We advise our couples that the wedding ceremony is a terrific event to incorporate the love and acceptance across all levels of the family unit. We ensure that the involvement of family members does not detract from the solemnization of the marriage nor dilute the focus from the Bride and Groom.
My advice to couples is to sit with their celebrant and discuss the various ways and rituals that can be used to incorporate their children and their parents into their ceremony. Some of the ways we have done this is for the Bride to pause during the Processional next to the mothers (of the Bride and Groom) seated in the front seating and hand them a single red rose each as a token of love.
From Rebecca Skinner
The Celebrants Network Incorporated Blog Coordinator
Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia Celebrant Member
www.celebratinglifeschapters.com
From every wound there is a scar, and every scar tells a story. And it's not just a story about pain and suffering, it's also a story about survival, the learning process, and seeing the silver linings.
We often treat troubles as real negatives. They come into all our lives with no notice and we don't want to have to deal with them. But the reality is, troubles can often open the door to many positives.
From Rebecca Skinner
Celebrants & Celebrations Network Australia Celebrant Member
The Celebrants Network Incorporated Blog Coordinator
www.celebratinglifeschapters.com
Where does the word 'ceremony' come from? It's believed to be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin caerimonia meaning "awe, reverent rite" and it first entered our language in the 14th Century.
Ceremonies are an incredibly powerful tool. They announce and create change; they signify the importance of an event; they help us move into new stages of our lives and they connect to our past while reaching into the future. And importantly, they connect us with people who give meaning to our lives.
Early warning