The Celebrant Survival Podcast

In this very topical episode, Claire puts her funeral celebrant hat on as she tackles the subject of direct cremations. With the increase in direct cremations and the appeal to some people of having a 'no frills', easy disposal of their remains after death, it's a topic that affects the funeral industry as a whole. As worrisome as it might seem on the face of it, Claire looks at how funeral celebrants can embrace this 'new' addition to the funeral landscape and how celebrants can use it to their advantage. She looks at how celebrants can create new opportunities for ceremonies for people who have chosen the direct cremations route, and in particular their families who are left behind and still want a way of closure. Listen now for some great tips and ideas around direct cremations and why Claire thinks this can be an opportunity for real positive change in the funeral sector. Statistical sources cited by Claire: https://www.sunlife.co.uk/funeral-costs/ https://www.funeralservicetimes.co.uk/features/2024/01/26/sunlifes-cost-of-dying-report-is-in-but-is-it-accurate/ https://www.goldencharter.co.uk/news-and-info/2024/direct-cremations-popular/ If you love our episodes please do consider leaving us a review. It really makes our day and helps other celebrants to find us. Thank you! Other ways to engage with us; Our Celebrants Collective Membership, where we run monthly celebrant webinars covering a whole range of useful and interesting topics which will raise the level of your celebrant practice and business. Our wedding and funeral celebrant training, for those of you who would love to train with us as a celebrant. Our amazing Facebook community of over 3K celebrants worldwide or our celebrant traning community for people interested in becoming a celebrant.

In this episode, Natasha talks about the importance of ceremony sound and why as celebrants sometimes it's not enough to solo rely on our naked voices to deliver our ceremonies. Natasha shares the story of a ceremony incident which not only left her devestated but which made her vow to never have repeated again. In this episode she also talks about what voice projection actually is, as opposed to what most people think it is and why as celebrants we need to take more respoinsibility for our voice delivery, if we don't already. If you love our episodes please do consider leaving us a review. It really makes our day and helps other celebrants to find us. Thank you! Other ways to engage with us; Our Celebrants Collective Membership, where we run monthly celebrant webinars covering a whole range of useful and interesting topics which will raise the level of your celebrant practice and business. Our wedding and funeral celebrant training, for those of you who would love to train with us as a celebrant. Our amazing Facebook community of over 3K celebrants worldwide or our celebrant traning community for people interested in becoming a celebrant.

Back in March 2024, Claire set off on a dream of a lifetime as she walked the whole length of the Camino de Santiago from France to Spain. As well as wanting to know what it was like, how she did it and how she found it, lots of people wanted to now how she managed to leave her celebrant work behind and pick up where she left of on her return. Well, in this episode Claire shares all of her insights from her break, her experiences on the Camino and also what it was like to take on such a massive undertaking, physically and mentally! It's fair to say that the Camino taught Claire a lot about life and celebrancy than she realised it would!   If you love our episodes please do consider leaving us a review. It really makes our day and helps other celebrants to find us. Thank you! Other ways to engage with us; Our Celebrants Collective Membership, where we run monthly celebrant webinars covering a whole range of useful and interesting topics which will raise the level of your celebrant practice and business. Our wedding and funeral celebrant training, for those of you who would love to train with us as a celebrant. Our amazing Facebook community of over 3K celebrants worldwide or our celebrant traning community for people interested in becoming a celebrant.

In this episode, Claire and Natasha try their best to not sound like horrible child-haters (they're not!), whilst they talk about the worst and the best bits about having children at ceremonies. They look at what can happen when kids are present at ceremonies and how as a celebrant you can prepare yourself, the guests and their families for a smooth service. Sometimes though, prepared or not, when children are involved plans do not always go to plan! Claire and Natasha share their experiences, and what they do to try and ensure sure that everyone is happy! If you love our episodes please do consider leaving us a review. It really makes our day and helps other celebrants to find us. Thank you! Other ways to engage with us; Our Celebrants Collective Membership, where we run monthly celebrant webinars covering a whole range of useful and interesting topics which will raise the level of your celebrant practice and business. Our wedding and funeral celebrant training, for those of you who would love to train as a celebrant. Our amazing Facebook community of over 3K celebrants worldwide or our celebrant traning community for people interested in becoming a celebrant.

In this episode, Natasha looks at four ceremony elements which can really affect the success of the ceremony itself. You may have been there yourself. You've written/prepared what you think is the perfect ceremony, the best one yet, you're prepped, poised and ready but when it comes to the actual ceremony itself, it just falls flat. And sometimes it can leave you scratching your head wondering why it might be. Well, tune in to this episode to hear Natasha share the four things which she feels can radically alter the way that a ceremony lands and what, if anything you can do about it. Ps. Apologies for the erractic sound quality in some parts. Natasha was recording on a new to her device! If you love our episodes please do consider leaving us a review. It really makes our day and helps other celebrants to find us. Thank you! Other ways to engage with us; Our Celebrants Collective Membership, where we run monthly celebrant webinars covering a whole range of useful and interesting topics which will raise the level of your celebrant practice and business. Our wedding and funeral celebrant training, for those of you who would love to train as a celebrant. Our amazing Facebook community of over 3K celebrants worldwide or our celebrant traning community for people interested in becoming a celebrant.

Check out the latest episode where Natasha and Claire answer a series of common questions that they've come across or are asked a lot. They start off by looking at the question "Should I put my prices on my website?" Followed by "Am I too emotional to be a celebrant?" And finishing off with "I hate social media, do I really have to be on it to get work as a celebrant?" Three juicy questions, right? Tune in and hear what that have to say. On another note, they really enjoyed recording this type of episode, so if you've got a burning question that you'd love them to answer, let us know and they will! Email: hello@thecelebrantscollective.com Website: www.thecelebrantscollective.com

In this episode, Natasha talks about working with wedding planners and her experiences of working with them, and why she thinks that having a good working relationship with wedding planners can be really good for business. She looks at how wedding planners can help to push referrals your way, which can increase your overall number of bookings, as well as how helpful  wedding planners can be on the wedding day itself. And because with the good, sometimes comes the bad and the ugly, she talks about the potential negative sides of working with wedding planners too.

In this episode, Claire talks about how she has been gearing up for her trip of a lifetime, walking the 500 mile Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. Before she left, Claire shares about what led her to want to want to do the Camino in the first place and how the idea crystallized into a solid plan. We also hear about what she's had to do in order to manifest this dream and the praciticalites of bringing a dream into a reality when you work as a full time celebrant and celebrant trainer. It's such an inspiring listen about life, about what motivates us, and about how we all can and should advocate for the things that we want in life, because at the end of the day, life is too damn short to be putting things off, waiting for tomorrow, waiting for a better time. It's a corker of an episode and be warned, you will come away full of inspiration and ready to kick your own plans into action!

In this revisited episode, (first recorded by Natasha in episode 12!) Claire and Natasha tackle the controversial and oft-cited statement that there are too many celebrants. They look at whether there really are too many celebrants, the accuracy in being able to make such a claim and whether actually the situation is far too nuanced for a blanket statement such as this. They also look at what celebrants can do if they feel like their work is under threat or if they are based in an area with lots of celebrants.

In this latest episode, Claire challenges you to think or rethink how you plan your time off away from your business. If you're thinking, 'time off? What time off?,' then this episode is for you! Being self-employed requires us to manage so many things within our business, and one of them is our time management and also managing our time off. But many celebrants and self-employed people per se, find this a difficult thing to do. Listen to this episode for Claire's top advice on how to avoid burnout, how to protect your precious time-off and how to recognise that time away from your business is actually a good thing, even if you can't quite see it, or fully appreciate it.

In this episode, Natasha gets stuck into the topic of 'ghosting.' She looks at what ghosting is and why this frustrating and sometimes annoying occurence happens. She looks at what might be going on with some couples and families, which might explain why they never get back to you. And she also looks at some of the things that celebrants might or might not be doing which stops couples from getting back in touch with the celebrants they initially reached out to.

In this episode, Natasha talks about why she recognises her business as a successful one and she shares what she's done to grow it into one. With 17 years worth of celebrant experience under her belt, Natasha gives her insights into how she created success on her own terms and what she's learnt from growing a business that works for her and helps her to achieve her goals.

In this episode Natasha and Claire talk about the joys of celebrant connection. Of what it is like when celebrants come together online and also offline and how positive it can be for your celebrant growth and confidence. They look at the different ways that celebrants can connect, how to connect with the right groups for you, and what different types of meet-ups offer on a personal and business level. They also take time to look at the negative side of celebrant connection from gossip and bad talk, to negativity online too.

In this first of a two-part series, Natasha and Claire get to grips with celebrant communication by looking at how celebrants communicate with one another. Celebrants are so used to communicating with clients and families and other funeral and wedding colleagues, but how do we communicate with our fellow celebrants? How do we reach out to our celebrant neighbours and make connections with them, or not? In this episode they look at what happens when new and wannabe celebrants take the plunge and get in contact with celebrants either in their area or someone who they might have come across online. Claire and Natasha look at some of the no-nos of cold calling and emailing celebrants, as well as sharing advice for celebrants on the receiving end of lots of cold calls, emails, and DMs from new or prospective celebrants. If you're a new or wannabe celebrant and you've got questions that you want answers to, why not join our 'So You Want To Be A Celebrant,' Facebook, here.

In this episode, Natasha talks about her experiences of being a wedding celebrant in Spain and the challenges that celebrants working here can face. Having been a celebrant there for almost 17 years and built a successful celebrant business from scratch, Natasha talks about both the highs and lows of being a celebrant in the Costa De Sol. Yes, it's not all sunshine! In fact, there can be too much sunshine! Listen to this episode to hear her top 4 "challenges" of working in the sun. There's one quite obvious one!

In this episode, Claire talks about her experiences of having ADHD and how it affects her as a celebrant, in both the good and bad ways, and what she does to manage her ADHD alongside her work. Claire talks about the aspects of work that she really struggles with, how they show up for her in her wedding and funeral work, and what strategies she has in place to help her. This is a great episode for fellow ADHD celebrants, those who suspect that they might have ADHD or anyone who simply is interested in learning more about the experiences of a neurodivergent celebrant, and to gain a better understanding of it.

In this episode, Natasha and Claire look at the different ways that celebrants can move away from celebrancy.  They talk about retirement and how empowering it must be to come to the decision that you're ready to take your final ceremony. When is the right time? Or do you just know in your heart that it is? They also look at pivoting away from celebrancy, which means not saying goodbye but making celebrancy something that you do alongside something else. This might be in the case of a celebrant who has been working or trying to work as a full time celebrant but has found for whatever reason, it isn't working, or something's come up. It might mean that there are other things that need prioritising, alongside your celebrant work. And lastly, they discuss stepping away from celebrancy altogether. Not retiring but leaving the profession to pursue other goals, perhaps with a view to one day returning, or not. It's a really interesting and fascinating episode where they both consider their own futures as celebrants and weigh up how much time they feel they have left doing what they do, and also pondering the feelings involved in making such a big decision.  

In this episode, Natasha breaks down the process behind getting paid as a celebrant by looking at when to get paid, how to get paid and what to do when you don't get paid on time! Recognising that this is an important part of your celebrant business, Natasha talks about what she does within her own business and also other popular methods that other celebrants adopt. She looks at how she handles these key transactions to ensure a clear, easy and efficient payment process not just for her wedding clients, but also for herself, as the business owner, with the key aim of being paid easily, on time and with zero stress. Natasha references 17hats a lot in this episode (obviously, because she's obsessed with it!) and how she uses it for invoicing and keeping at track of payments. If you're interested in knowing more about 17hats, you can read our blog post about it here.

In the spirit of this podcast, surviving celebrant life, Claire and Natasha discuss a topic which affects so many celebrants, themselves included. In this episode, they look at the impact of being a celebrant who experiences menstrual cycles, perimenopause or menopause, and how it can affect day-to-day celebrant life and work. They share their experiences and the mechanisms that they have in place to cope with the physical and mental challenges that stem from these cycles, and they talk about how it can influence their celebrant practice, too.

In this episode, solo-host Natasha talks through the process she went through when she recently raised her prices. After years of advocating for other celebrants to charge their worth, Natasha finally took her own advice and realised it was time to raise her prices to the level that they ought to be at. She's now getting bookings at her new higher rate and couldn't be happier. Listen to this episode to hear Natasha walk through the three easy-ish steps that she took, which will help you to see that raising your price is often something we make more difficult than it really is.

In our latest podcast episode, Claire talks all about celebrant trainees and training prospects for the year, what they can expect and also importantly, what they should expect. It can feel lonely and scary when you're on the verge of making a big move but this podcast episode will make you feel a whole lot better! Claire gives some awesome insights into the world of celebrancy and celebrant training and looks at why 2023 is a good year to make the leap for so many different and awesome reasons.

In this hour-long special, Claire and Natasha look back at their summer of 2022, a year which saw them hold record numbers of weddings (not to mention Claire's funerals too!), as a result of the pandemic and postponements from previous years! They discuss the highs and the lows and what this year of celebrancy has uncovered for them. They look at the lessons that they've learnt, the big fat no-nos and the things that they are not in a rush to repeat. But they also look at all of the joy that they had during this time too. This episode will hopefully get you thinking about your own celebrant activities over the year and help you to work out how you want to move forward for 2023. The things you want more of and the things you definitely don't!

In this episode, Claire talks about the pitfalls of comparing your results to other people's - and what you can do instead. Comparisonitis is nothing new. We've all been there. And we all need to hear Claire's sage advice!

In this episode Claire and Natasha take a look at social media and discuss how we use it and navigate it as celebrants, particularly in the wake of Queen Elizabeth's death. They talk about the different ways that celebrants show up on social media and the 'expectations' that some celebrants may have about how they think they have to be on their platforms. They also chat about how they chose to not mark the Queen's death on the Celebrants Collective platforms, their treatment of world events in general and how they show-up online both personally and professionally.

In this episode, Natasha takes a look at how people approach the task of finding themselves a celebrant. And whilst she talks about it from a wedding celebrant's point of view, it actually can apply to all sorts of people looking for a celebrants. In her 15 years as a celebrant, Natasha thinks she has identified three main type of celebrant shoppers, with three quite different approaches to 'purchasing' their celebrant. With a better understanding of how some couples go about this process it can give celebrants a better idea of who their ideal clients are and the habits they have, which make them ideal or not!

In this episode, Claire and Natasha reflect on the inescapable news about the shape of the economy and the rising costs of living, and they look at how this might affect us a celebrants. There is not one country that isn't experiencing some form of inflation or rising prices and living costs, and with many only just back on their feet after the pandemic, it's understable that some may be worried. Claire and Natasha look at ways that we can keep our celebrant businesses running as usual, and taking action to make sure that our businesses stay afloat during a period of uncertainty.

In this episode, Natasha wants to get you feeling much better about SEO, especially because there's so much good that can come from it when you make yourself best friends with it. But the thing about SEO is that it gets a bad rap and most people end up thinking that SEO is confusing, difficult, unmaneagable and complicated. But Natasha's here to tell you that it's not true! In this episode Natasha explains why all celebrants need to get onboard with SEO and why it's a good move for all small business owners. And she also debunks three big myths about SEO that do more harm than good. If you're feeling a bit iffy about SEO but know you want to have a better grasp of it, then this episode is for you! Want to get further stuck in to SEO? Check out our resources. Our live SEO webinar workshop with Justine Coombs https://www.celebrantscollective.eu/celebrants-collective-live-sessions/ Our SEO 101 for Celebrants  https://www.celebrantscollective.eu/seo-101-for-celebrants/  

There one where feathers were ruffled. Come and join Natasha and Claire as they talk about Natasha's Mexican wedding. Find out what kind of bride Natasha was and about the engagement that led them on the path to marriage in the first place. This laugh out loud episode (aren't they all?) will leave you in no doubts that Natasha was unapologetically herself and did not steer away from having their day, in their way!

In this episode, Natasha interviews Claire about her wedding day. Claire casts her mind back to her special date in August 2000 where she shares her wedding journey and how she got married in the way that she did. They talk about the decisions made and whether Claire has any regrets about how they got married. Claire also spills the beans on what she would do now if she renewed her wedding vows, as well as dicussing the way that her own wedding has shaped her as a celebrant.

In this latest episode Claire is in the hot seat again and this time she is talking about her funeral process and how she works with funeral clients. In this episode Claire talks about: Where she gets most of her funeral enquiries from. What she does once she's in touch with funeral clients. Where she has meetings with her clients and what she says and does in her meetings. The things she is SUPER mindful of when meeting with clients. How she keeps herself organised with her work process and the software she uses. What she does on the day itself and how she carries out the funeral service, manages music etc. How she receives payment for her services. This is a great listen if you're new to the funeral celebrant industry or you've been in the industry for a while. 

In this episode, it's Claire's turn to share her process of working with her wedding couples from start to finish. She talks about where most of her enquiries come from to how she responds to them. She also walks through the process of turning couples into clients. Claire then talks about her ceremony creation process and what she does on the big day and beyond! It's such a great listen, whether you're a new or more experienced celebrant. And don't worry funeral celebrants, Claire's going to share how she works with funeral clients in an episode of its own.

In this episode, Natasha shares her working process with her wedding couples from start to finish. What she does when she gets an enquiry and how she moves the couples through the process of becoming clients. Then, once booked in, she talks about her ceremony creation process and script-writing process, finishing up with what happens on the day and thereafter. Sharing how we work as celebrants can help other celebrants to see how their own processes work and to decide whether there's room for improvement. Enjoy!

In this episode, solo host Claire talks all about celebrant training and the things you should look out for when you're looking into training as a celebrant. She looks at the pros and cons of the different types of celebrant training and gets you thinking about all the questions you should be thinking and asking! This is a must-listen to episode if you're thinking about training as a celebrant sometime soon! And of course, if our celebrant training stands out for you, you can get more information about it, here.

In this episode, solo host Natasha talks all about systems and processes. No, not in the boring way that makes you yawn and want to hide under your duvet, but in a fresh and fun way, which will inspire you to tidy up your  processes and elevate your business success. Natasha helps you to break down your step by step processes from enquiry to booking and beyond, to see what's not working for you, what is working for you and what more you could be doing. With your business processes making up the backbone of your celebrant business, this is a must-listen-to episode. Enjoy! In this episode, we do touch on software systems and as always our big recommendation is 17hats. Boy, do we love it. And we know you would too! If you use this link, you'll get a 50% saving! Win-win.

In this episode, Claire and Natasha talk all about celebrant creativity, in particular, five top takeaways that attendees from their 2021 creative workshop took away with them. These five tips will help you to think about the different ways that you can unlock and tap into your creativity and how you can boost your creativity to new levels. They also talk about this year's Creative Celebrant Workshop, which you can find all the info about here.

In this episode, Natasha runs through three of her most horrific, heart-stopping mistakes that she's made as a celebrant and what she's learnt from them all. She also talks about why it's important to reframe mistakes and to use them as a learning opportunity to make changes and improve your way of working. There may be a lot of perceived perfection out there but this episode shows that nobody is perfect, all celebrants make mistakes and talking about it and normalising it is the best way to deal with them.

In this solo-hosted episode, Claire talks through ten awesome principles that celebrants should take on board when it comes to being a celebrant and creating ceremony. These guidelines can be absolute game-changers for giving you a great foundation as a celebrant or for bringing some clarity and focus to your practice if you feel a little out of sorts. These guiding principles make up a whole module of our celebrant training course, so whether you're thinking about training to be a celebrant or you're a celebrant already, you're in for a big treat! 

In this very first episode of 2022, Claire and Natasha look at the year ahead and how they prepare themselves personally and professionally. They share their top tips for starting the year off gently and intentionally, and they also chat about why they think resolutions and radical change are not the best way to kick start a new year. Listen to this episode if you want to get focused on your year ahead without feeling overwhelmed.

In this episode, Natasha and Claire talk about the importance of ending the year on a high by acknowledging what has happened in the year. It's all too easy to see one year end and another begin, without tuning into the key events of your year and how it all panned out for you. Claire and Natasha share their top tips for bringing their year to an end, for reviewing their business and honouring everything that's happened. Helping to pave the way for an awesome new year of doing what you love.

In this episode, Claire and Natasha whip themselves up into a frenzy as they get ready to celebrate the first ever World Celebrants Week (November 15th-21st). Because celebrants need a whole week, right? They look at the aims of the week, what it means for celebrants and they outline ways that the week can be celebrated by both individual organisations and celebrants alike.  And don't worry if you listen to this episode past the date, you'll still be able to pick up some good social media prompts for raising awareness of celebrancy on your own social media platforms, at anytime of the year. Please excuse the strange scratching sound of Claire's earring rubbing on her headphones for the first 9 minutes.

In this episode, Claire and Natasha look at our roles as celebrants. Although traditionally, celebrants peg themselves as wedding, funeral and baby-naming celebrants, we are in fact first and foremost celebrants. This means we have so much scope to define and refine our offerings to whatever it is we choose to do. Not what we think we must do. From their own experiences, Claire and Natasha discuss why they don't do baby namings, and for Natasha, funerals, and how they have refined their own roles to include the things they love to do and importantly, don't like doing. They also look at celebrants' wider working practices and how it's within our own power to shape and define how we work as celebrants to be as fluid and functional as possible.

In this latest episode, Claire and Natasha chat about celebrant awards and take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to industry awards. They chat about their own experiences of awards, as entrants and judges and the emotional rollercoaster that awards can take you on. They also discuss the nature of awards in general and how they can be a good thing on a personal, business and industry level but they also get into the 'dark' side of awards. The negativity, the comparisonitis, the lack of integrity, and other factors that can rub the shine off of awards. It's a cracker of an episode that leaves no award stone unturned. So tune in now to listen.

In this episode, we welcome back Heidi Thompson from Evolve Your Wedding Business as she shows celebrants why marketing your business without a plan is a recipe for disaster. Heidi's no-nonsense plan of action will help you to have a better understanding of your own marketing needs, where you're going wrong and how you can put it right. And don't be put off by the idea of a marketing plan, as when you hear Heidi's idea of one, you'll realise it doesn't have to be as complicated as you think! Heidi is going to be presenting a free webinar on this at the Book More Weddings summit this coming October 18th. You'll be able to learn from her and over 20 other wedding educators who'll be sharing their business gems for growth without overwhelm. Grab your free ticket here.

In this episode, Claire gets to grill Natasha! You'll hear all about Natasha's idyllic childhood which set her on course for celebrancy and how she took the leap into the celebrant world itself. From London to Mexico to Spain, you'll find out what drives Natasha to do what she does and what she's really passionate about when it comes to being a celebrant and her work with Claire at the Celebrants Collective.

In this latest episode Natasha puts her old BBC journalist hat back on as she interviews co-host Claire. From the hot-seat, Claire shares a slice of her past, her life pre being a celebrant and how much of her past life is still very relevant now as a celebrant. She even gives advice to her newly trained self! Claire also chats industry stuff too, what she likes, what she doesn't like and what she can't wait to see happen! Enjoy this episode!

In this solo hosted episode, Claire pulls out all of the stops on a mission to help you become your own biggest cheerleader. As celebrants we can have a lot of hurdles in front of us when it comes to developing and growing our celebrant business, but often one of the biggest hurdles is OUR SELF! Claire takes a look at how we get in our own way and shares some awesome top tips to help you stop being your worst enemy! Dive in, listen now and learn how to become your own best friend!

In this solo-hosted episode, Natasha takes a look at what happens when clients want a simple, fuss-free, stripped back ceremony. As celebrants we can be so focused on adding all the bells and whistles that panic can kick in when clients want the exact opposite of this. During this episode, Natasha busts some myths about simple ceremonies and gives some tips on how you can adopt a 'less is more' mindset when you need to.

In this jam-packed episode, Claire speaks to award-winning funeral celebrant and grief trainer Rosalie Kuyvenhoven about all things funeral. They discuss the discrepancies between the way that funerals are perceived and the actual realities of funerals. They look at creativity within funeral work, the growing trend of Zoom funerals and the rise in Death Cafes too. As well as discussions about the funeral industry itself. Whether you're a funeral celebrant or not this is a fascinating episode on life and death and our work in these areas as celebrants.

When it comes to marketing your celebrant business, if you want to and if you have the means to, you could spend a ton of money on it! But not everyone wants to or has the means to! In this episode, Claire and Natasha navigate the ins and outs of paid marketing - everything from directories to Facebook ads, to help you think about how to pick the right avenues for you without burning a hole in your pocket.

In this episode, Claire and Natasha go deep as they explore the long-lasting effects of Covid-19 and the pandemic and how it has affected us on both a human and celebrant level. They also look forward to a post-covid future and what lessons as celebrants we'll be taking with us.

In this episode, Claire and Natasha delve into all things celebrant creativity. Looking at the good, the bad and the ugly sides of creativity and how celebrants can be hindered during their creative processes. Tune in now for top creative tips and advice.