Top Note Ceremonies blog
with Steve Pritchard-Jones
Wedding & Cocktail Pianist Blog
What is a wedding or cocktail pianist?
A wedding pianist is a musician who specialises in playing wedding or cocktail lounge music and is able to create the perfect ambience.
You can book a wedding pianist for the ceremony, drinks reception, wedding breakfast, during the photographs or any combination of these.
A wedding pianist will play music with a romantic theme and they will play a range of music that appeals to guests of a variety of ages.
A wedding pianist has experience in playing music that your guests will recognise and will include modern and older pop tunes, music from stage and screen, romantic ballads, jazz music, and light classical music.
Most wedding musicians will be more than happy to learn requests for your wedding because they understand the importance of adding a personal touch to the music.
Traditional Wedding Ceremony Elements
Processional: The “wedding procession” is simply an elaborate way of referring to the beginning of the ceremony when the bride or bride and groom walks down the aisle and is typically accompanied by either recorded or live music.
Baby Naming
The birth of a child is a time of happiness and celebration for the parents, and the majority of parents want to share that joy with their family and friends.
In modern times, many parents do not necessarily want a traditional religious
christening, either because they do not hold any religious beliefs or because they may want their child to be able to choose their own beliefs later in life.
A celebrant led baby naming ceremony offers a meaningful and beautiful alternative, giving parents the chance to welcome their child and confirm their commitments and love to their child surrounded by their family and friends.
As a celebrant I’m asked to conduct ceremonies for married couples, unmarried parents, single parents, adoptive parents, parents who are of different religions and cultures, and same sex parents.
Funeral Poems
Many families like to include one or two poems or readings at a funeral service or celebration of life because it helps to provide a beautiful and emotional addition to the service.
You may already know which poem you would like; perhaps the person had a favourite poet or author. But if you need a little inspiration, I have put together a selection of poems that may inspire you.
Transgender or Renaming Ceremony
You may consider a Naming Ceremony an alternative to a religious ceremony for babies or children to welcome them into the family and to celebrate their chosen name. However, a naming ceremony is for people of any age who wish to present themselves to their family and friends with a new name and new identity. In this blog I will address the transgender and renaming ceremonies.
A transgender or renaming ceremony is a beautiful way to tell the most important people in your life that you wish to be known by your new chosen name and preferred pronoun.
A transgender naming ceremony marks an important milestone in your life so why not shout from the rooftops to let your family, friends and colleagues know you’re leaving behind the old and looking forward to a more realistic and comfortable future.
Scattering or Interment of Ashes
The great thing about the scattering of the ashes ceremony is that it is entirely up to you, a special occasion to remember the life of a loved one. The short ceremony to scatter their ashes, will be memorable, heartfelt, meaningful, and dignified. It is a most fitting and brilliant opportunity to give your loved one the final send-off they would have wished for.
Adoption Welcoming
Have you received the delightful news your adoption is finalised and you’d like to celebrate to officially welcome your child to your loving home and to their new life?
The adoption welcoming ceremony could be a quiet and intimate occasion for just you and the children or maybe, you want to celebrate and involve family and friends.
Your ceremony can be held at an indoor or outdoor venue of your choice and on a day of your choice. Venues can include at home, hotel, hall or at a favourite venue of your choosing. It’s your day and you have total freedom when and where to hold this special celebration.
Military Funeral
Veterans funerals honour people who have served their country but have since left the Armed Forces. Funerals for those men and women serving in the armed forces take many forms and are a way of paying respect to those who have died in active service.
The United Kingdom doesn’t have an official burial ground for members who served in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces but funeral services can be held in a place of worship or at another appropriate venue.
What is a commitment ceremony?
A commitment ceremony allows a couple to make a commitment to one another without legal rights or responsibilities. You can exchange vows, exchange rings and kiss each other to express your love for one another. How you choose to express your commitment to your partner is a personal choice and for some couples in modern times, a legal wedding might not be right for them. As a couple, you may not want to enter a legal civil partnership and a commitment ceremony could be for you if you’d like to express your commitment to your partner.
Helping children deal with grief
In my previous role as a head teacher for 13 successful years at a school for children aged 11-16 with social and emotional issues I know far too well that over the last couple of years, the mental health of children has been underestimated. The Covid-19 pandemic caused the world to become even more augmented through the medium of social media & TV at a time of significant levels of social disconnection and emotional misperception.
Grief is the acute pain that accompanies loss.