Sandy Buckle – Celebrant

Ceremonies and Rites of Passage

Some cultures and traditions celebrate rites of passage ceremonially more than is usual in this country today, but there is a growing trend to mark these transitions with a bespoke ceremony to celebrate or mark the day – whether this is a wedding, vow renewal, birth of a baby, adoption, funeral, or other special occasions that you wish to celebrate or remember.

I will be pleased to craft a ceremony to suit your special day.

The list below may give you some ideas but I am very happy to discuss other occasions that you might want to celebrate:

• Weddings / handfastings
• Renewal of vows / anniversaries
• Baby naming / becoming parents
• Adoption / new step-family or “family joining”
• House blessing
• Graduation
• Retirement
• Leaving home / emigration
• Divorce
• Funeral / memorials
• Loss of companion animals

Wedding Legalities

For a marriage to be recognised in law in England and Wales, a legally binding “registration of marriage” must take place at a licensed venue in the presence of a Registrar. This is similar to registering a birth or death and can be very basic and does not need to involve vows or ring exchanges.

You then have complete freedom to choose when and how you want a ceremony to celebrate your marriage which can include music, readings, vows, ring exchange and so much more!

I am an Independent Celebrant and have a broad range of experience of traditional and alternative ceremonies.

I am member of The Fellowship of Professional Celebrants (UK) and have Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance with them.

Living on Dartmoor in beautiful Devon, I work as a Celebrant throughout the County and further afield.

The varied countryside here gives me the opportunity to conduct ceremonies in some incredible locations: beaches, hotels, woodland, castles, stone circles, formal gardens and waterfalls to name but a few.

 

 

I am pleased to work with people of all beliefs or none .

Your ceremony can be traditional, based within a spiritual framework, or focused on a theme that is of importance to you – perhaps reflecting a place you love or relating to an important interest such as horses, folk music or Harry Potter.

 

 

 

I have worked for many years with children both as a nurse and Celebrant and also with a children’s bereavement charity.

Whether we are planning a wedding, baby naming or funeral I can ensure that children are included or indeed take an active part in your ceremony if you wish them to.

 

 

When planning a funeral or memorial service I can advise on how to consider children who have been affected by the death and create a ceremony which aims to help with adjustment at such a difficult time.

I am also experienced at planning funerals and memorial services with people who wish to look ahead to the type of service they would want to have for themselves in the future.

I became a Celebrant as I am passionate about people having choice, making ceremonies unique and enabling them to incorporate individual beliefs, rituals and traditions into their special days.

 

 

Wedding – Dr Stan Hewitt, Taoist Priest

“Sandy gave us a beautiful wedding, it not only flowed through time, containing all the core elements of marriage but itself was married together with the gluten of humour. The simplistic  way that she guided us through this wonderful day will always live in my heart; as will she.

This whole ceremony had an air of the magical and mystical in a sense of being suspended in time, and that this particular celebration was but just a part of the whole universal philosophy and containment of spirit. Without doubt ours was a wonderful wedding. Thank you.”

Woodland Burial and Memorial Service – Kirsty

“Sandy created the perfect ceremony for our daughter Kirsty. She was very sensitive to the needs of everyone, whilst also taking into account Kirsty’s wishes. There were people of all ages, from Kirsty’s own daughter to her grandfather, and the mix of speaking and music was very well balanced. She was also by our sides to step in when we struggled to read our own words. I have no hesitation in recommending her as a Celebrant.”

Wedding and handfasting – Ben and Ashton

“Our experience with Sandy was an overwhelmingly positive one.  Sandy was very organised and professional through all stages of planning and execution of the wedding before and on the day.  Everything that needed to be thought of was covered, and she set our mind at ease from day one that we were in capable hands.  Her skills as a celebrant brought the sacredness and specialness to our wedding ritual that we had hoped for.  We couldn’t have been more happy with our ring exchange and handfasting ceremony.  Thanks Sandy! “

Wedding – Mr and Mrs B

“Sandy is a wonderful celebrant and we are so pleased she was a part of our day! Before the ceremony we emailed regularly, filled out ‘get to know you’ forms and met up for coffee to get a feel for each other as people. At every stage Sandy had good information and advice, and the whole service was very professional. Sandy listened to all our requests and made all the changes we asked. It was really a bespoke and personal ceremony. Sandy was also very flexible and considerate when rain tried to prevent our ceremony from happening!”

Handfasting – Matt and Beth

“Sandy helped my partner and I put together a sensitive, inclusive and powerful ceremony together for a special day; a handfasting that was held in a cancer hospice a few days before my mother passed away. Sandy worked passionately and efficiently in circumstances that demanded extreme sensitivity. She was flexible, understanding and full of thoughtful practical advice. She brought understanding and a love for her work, which allowed a very special day to take place, both through contributing to arrangements beforehand and delivery on the day. Sandy’s background in a variety of sensitive care settings – and her impressive experience of working with people from all walks of life – make her a celebrant that I am sure many other people will be thrilled to work with.”

Wedding – Darren and Lindsey

“We both just want to say a huge Thank You to Sandy, for making our ceremony unique and bespoke. You were very accommodating with tailoring the style of ceremony to suit our tastes and theme. You were very professional and friendly throughout the build up, making sure to get to know us before writing the ceremony. Thank you so much for performing the perfect ceremony.”

Handfasting – Sarah and Dave

“It has been an immense joy to work with you, Sandy, in the creation of a bespoke ceremony within a spiritual framework.  We have felt safely supported throughout and you have encouraged us to really consider exactly what we wished to express to one another and how to weave together a most magical commemoration of our handfasting.  We could not have wished for a more perfect day…enormous thanks to you.”

Wedding Blessing – Claire

“You had so many lovely ideas and were completely organised with putting all the plans into action (even if I wasn’t that organised!!) 
Our Children loved meeting you and it was so refreshing that you included them in the process of planning our blessing, they both felt very at ease on the day and full of smiles, I’m sure it’s because of your fun, caring and positive attitude. You are extremely professional and efficient with your work and we will and all ready have recommended you to friends and family We had the most wonderful day celebrating our marriage and feel so lucky to have had you hold the ceremony. 
I really thought that we couldn’t top the wedding in New Zealand but this day was so very special and I’m so glad that you were with us, you were also totally right about the sun and wonderful weather!”

Handfasting – Martin and Soman

“Sandy is highly professional, relaxed, warm, caring and fun to work with. Qualities which helped create a magical hand fasting day for us, our family and friends. Sandy incorporated a lot of our ideas as well as hers. We would happily recommend Sandy to others looking for a Celebrant.”

 

Please pop me an email to get in touch.

You can download and fill in my Ceremony Booking Form here

For funerals please download the form here

Sandy Buckle

Tel: 0781 8065382

email: mail@sandybuckle-celebrant.co.uk