About me:

Hello, welcome and thank you for taking the time to visit my website.

My name is Colleen Nurton and I am an Independent Professional Celebrant based in South Wales.

Education and work experience:

• Bsc hons in Sociology and Education.
• Diploma in social work.
• Employed as a Social Worker for 15 years by a Local Authority in a Children and Families Team.
  
• Experience of co-ordinating and delivering a support group for bereaved parents.
• Experience of working in retail.
• Independent Celebrant Professionally Trained and Accredited by The Celebrant Circle.

The reason for my chosen career path is a very personal one to me. After researching many different Training providers I decided that The Celebrant Circle was the best fit for me.

My passion is creating unique ceremonies that honours and celebrates a milestone event or life passage such as a wedding, funeral, baby naming, coming of age or any other special occasion.

I aim to create a unique ceremony that reflects the values, beliefs and traditions of the families I work with.

I look forward to sharing your journey with you whatever the occasion and helping to bring a meaningful, memorable and powerful experience to your life event.

Bespoke Funerals & memorials:

At a time of great loss and sadness when you may be just managing to put one foot in front of the other and not be able to make sense of your loss or able to think clearly, I can support you.

My aim is to Create a personal and unique Ceremony in honour of your loved one.

Tell me your loved ones life story and I can create a beautiful memoir to deliver at the funeral service.

I can write and deliver the eulogy and lead the service in it's entirety or I can be a part of this. Maybe family members would like to be involved. We can discuss this further when we meet.

I am always family led and my ceremonies are tailored to the values, beliefs and desires of the deceased and immediate family.

From my own experience of losing loved ones, I know how important accuracy of writing and delivering a eulogy needs to be. There is no room for anything less than perfection through your eyes.

It would be an honour for me to be a part of your life for a short time, enabling and guiding you through one of the most difficult times of your life.

Let me tell your loved one's own personal and unique life story through your memories.

Let us honour them as they deserve to be honoured.

Bespoke Weddings:

If uniqueness is what you desire for your special day, then look no further!

What could be more unique than your own bespoke ceremony that nobody has had before you?

I want the ceremony to be all about you. I will spend time getting to know you and how you envisage your perfect day to be.

You may wish to include rituals such as hand fasting (tying the knot), ring warming or tree planting (to name but a few) as a way of bringing uniqueness to your ceremony.

You may want to include prayers or hymns.

This day is all about you and the sky is the limit with regard to creativity.

I will be with you as much or as little as you want.

I can be there to hold your hand through the nerves and tears, answering any queries that may arise or I can be in the background knowing I am there for you if needed.

As a Celebrant I am always family led, you are the main attraction, the guests of honour. Let us walk this beautiful journey together.

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies” (Aristotle)

I look forward to hearing from you to discuss and create the perfect ceremony for you.

"I can conquer the world with one hand, as long as you're holding the other." - Unknown

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite." - Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

PET MEMORIAL CEREMONIES:

Realising the time has come to say goodbye to your pet and laying them to rest can be an incredibly painful experience. Pets,

especially dogs are known to be one of the most loyal of companions and they truly are a welcome addition to our family.

People can sometimes refer to enjoying animal company more than human company. They really do own a piece of our hearts.

When the time comes why not make the final farewell a memorable one, something truly special, a parting gift from you to your beloved pet for the loyalty they have shown to you in their life time. Make it a time to remember what your pet brought to you and how important it was to be a pet parent for them.

I can help you create a ceremony in honour of your pet. I can meet with you and you can tell me their personality, their likes and dislikes, their favourite toys, food and walks and so much more. Maybe you would like to include a ritual in the ceremony, such as:

 planting a tree

 Memory sharing

 a symbolic release (such as eco friendly balloons or lanterns)

 select music, readings, prayers or poems

 get family members involved.

Holding a ceremony in honour of your pet can be an important part of your grieving and healing process and can offer a sense of closure. From my own experience of losing my beloved dog and two cats, I know how difficult this can be. Let me ease the process for you a little, together we can create a beautiful bespoke ceremony to fit your unique needs and thoughts.

NAMING CEREMONIES:

Baby naming:

A baby naming ceremony marks an important milestone for the parents and their child. These ceremonies are usually held from birth to one year old.

Transition Celebration:

A Transition ceremony offers a person time to reflect on their life so far and who they have now become.

Adoption ceremony:

Adoption can be a celebration of a child or children becoming part of a family. A chance for the family to acknowledge and celebrate love and union.

Any of these life changing events can be an opportunity to introduce your new path to your family and friends, to include them and invite them to celebrate this new and exciting chapter with you. You may want to appoint friends and family as Guide parents and incorporate their promises to your child in the ceremony. You may want to include a ritual, involve other children and family members in an activity such as sand blending or a heart beat circle to celebrate life and love. What is exciting about a Celebrant led ceremony is that there are no limitations to where the ceremonies can be held: in your garden or on your favourite beach, in a woodland or any location that feels special to you. Why not celebrate any of the above with a meaningful ceremony. If you would like to learn more about the above, book a discovery call with me to learn more.

POEMS:

--- You don't just lose someone once ---

You lose them over and over, sometimes many times a day.

When the loss, momentarily forgotten,

creeps up and attacks you from behind.

Fresh waves of grief as the realisation hits home,

they are gone, again.

You don't just lose someone once,

you lose them every time you open your eyes to a new dawn,

and as you awaken, so does your memory,

so does the jolting bolt of lightening that rips into your heart,

they are gone, again.

Losing someone is a journey, not a one-off.

There is no end to the loss,

there is only a learned skill on how to stay afloat,

when it washes over.

Be kind to those who are sailing the stormy sea,

they have a journey ahead of them,

and a daily shock to the system each time they realise,

they are gone, again.

You don't just lose someone once,

you lose them every day,

for a lifetime.

(By Donna Ashworth)

Testimonials:

"I chose Colleen to do the service at my husband Alan's funeral.

I requested a non religious service with personal family touches, sharing photos and the best memories etc. Colleen made that happen. She was absolutely amazing. She spoke about Alan as though she knew him all his life, she shared all our memories and photos and even made my family and I smile - after all it was a celebration of his life. Everyone commented on how lovely Colleen presented the service. Her compassion and empathy certainly shone through. Thank you Colleen we will never forget that."

-Ceri W

"I just wanted to reach out and say Thank you for all your hard work in relation to my fathers Funeral. I know I only got to speak to you a few weeks prior to the service and briefly right after it, but I am fully aware of how you went above and beyond for my mother and other members of the family. I can't articulate how much that means to me.

Your sincerity, passion and empathy shone through. I can't speak highly enough of you as a human being, and from a professional perspective you were absolutely flawless.

I want you to know that you are WORLD CLASS at what you do. You have a gift, you were absolutely born to ease people's pain and help them through difficult moments in their lives.

The most palpable thing to me is I knew going in that I would never forget what happened on the day of the funeral, I was convinced I was going to remember it as an overwhelmingly negative experience. Reality is that couldn't be further from the truth, I will remember that service for the rest of my life as overwhelmingly positive and as a beautiful send off for my father. Colleen, make no mistake about it, that is directly because of you.

So from me to you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so so so much for everything. But most importantly, thank you for being you, Colleen!"

-Matthew Jarman