My May
A whole month has passed since publishing my first newsletter…and today I’m back! We’ve truly experienced all four seasons in the month of May, which for me as a London-based celebrant has been a mixture of joyful naming ceremonies, deeply meaningful funerals and putting the final touches on three beautiful June weddings.
A surprising first for Garland Ceremonies - a naming ceremony featuring a garland ceremony!
On the same weekend as the Hackney Half Marathon, we celebrated baby R’s naming day and first birthday at the Victoria & Alexandra community centre at the heart of Victoria Park in East London.
I loved working with R’s parents on his ceremony. When I met with them, they really took the time to tell me in detail the story behind his name and to explore how they could best celebrate his French and Indian heritage as a key part of the ceremony.
We looked back to other significant occasions in R’s parents’ lives for inspiration, with his mother reminiscing about her own Mum’s wedding to her stepfather, which included a Jaimala garland ceremony as a nod to her Indian heritage. This felt an obvious way to celebrate R’s family and his heritage, all while continuing an existing family tradition.
As well as adorning R with his garland, his family also asked me to read a lovely French poem called ‘La Vie’, which is a reflection of parents’ hopes for their baby before they were born and in the first year of their lives. If you have any questions about incorporating French into your ceremony, I hope my French page will help.
Funerals: revealing the threads between people & places
This month, I led a funeral for P in West Norwood, who was a gifted artist and wood carver. His funeral made me truly wonder about the legacies we’ll all leave behind for our families and local communities. P’s family are taking great comfort from continuing to enjoy the art he created at home and further afield - they even included some of his sketches in his order of service, which was a beautiful touch.
They especially take comfort from the wood carvings he helped create in Brockwell Park in Herne Hill, and are continuing to see the public enjoying his work after his death.
This is just one example of how learning about someone’s life can also deepen our understanding of our local communities and the stories behind features that become an every-day part of the local fabric and landscape.
And I’m sure the more funerals I’ll lead as a London celebrant, the more I’ll learn not only about the life we’re remembering, but also about the communities where they left their mark.
Summer Weddings & Autumn Planning
I can’t wait for a wonderful month of bilingual weddings in June!
First up is L & A’s bilingual Welsh and English wedding ceremony at one of my most local wedding venues, Beckenham Place Mansion. The space is so versatile and is just perfect for a summer ceremony. It’s always hard to believe the mansion and park are still in London!
I’m also looking ahead to three gorgeous naming ceremonies in July, including my first at the Horniman Museum - which is somewhere I go to all the time with my family, and has been on my ceremonies bucket list for the longest time. In fact, the last time I was there with my son and Dad a few weeks ago, we happened to come across the most stunning funeral led by Poetic Endings, a funeral director in Forest Hill. I’ve recently been added to Poetic Endings’ list of recommended celebrants - do take a look at my profile page on their website here.
I still have a couple of ceremony slots available in August, September and October, so please get in touch! Likewise, it’s been so lovely speaking with prospective wedding clients about their plans for 2027 too.
What’s caught my eye this month?
How to Kill a Language - Sophia Smith Galer
I mentioned in last month’s newsletter how much I’d loved the Word For Word podcast by language journalist Sophia Smith Galer and her new book, ‘How to Kill a Language’ is equally brilliant. It offers visceral case studies about why certain languages thrive or die out and the actions we can take to protect minority languages. As a fluent Cymraeg (Welsh) speaker living outside of Wales, her observations about how quickly a language can die out within families was incredibly poignant. I strongly recommend it for anyone with an interest in languages and linguistics.
Eastenders - a wedding, a funeral AND a naming ceremony!
This month in Eastenders, we said goodbye to Nigel and Ross and Vicki had a celebrant wedding of their own, but I was most struck by the Ghanaian naming ceremony the Knights and Mitchells held for baby Ivy. So often, soaps still tend to stick with christenings to welcome new life into the world, so it was so refreshing to see a non-religious alternative being reflected on our screens. And Kojo would clearly make a brilliant celebrant!
Like with a humanist naming ceremony, they took the time to explain the meanings behind each of Ivy’s name, culminating in a joyful naming for her - perfect!
Eisteddfod yr Urdd: a trip down memory lane
Eisteddfod yr Urdd is an annual youth festival in Cymru (Wales), which is a week of arts competitions across several categories (including music, poetry writing and recitation, dancing - the works!), which has been on in Ynys Môn (Anglesey) this week.
The talent of these young people is always astonishing and it’s something I’ve never quite seen replicated on English-speaking TV. Like lots of children from all over Cymru, I took part in these competitions every year from the age of 5 (with my debut being a solo song about an elephant!) and dabbled in every category you can think of - singing, reciting, folk and disco dancing (badly!) and playing the piano, harp and flute. It took me a long time to reach the national finals of the Eisteddfod, but the first time I reached the top 3 was when it was last in Ynys Môn way back in 2004, where I came third in the Woodwind Solo Competition for Years 7-9, and I eventually won the first prize in the senior category two years later (photo from then below!)
It seems that more or less every well-known Welsh actor or musician who took part in the Eisteddfod (including the likes of Matthew Rhys and Iwan Rheon from Game of Thrones) will say how much taking part meant to them and helped shape their careers. I too am immensely grateful to the Urdd Eisteddfod - I know it’s had a key role to play in giving me a love of the arts and public speaking, and has shaped my celebrant practice today.
The Eisteddfod yr Urdd is available to watch on BBC iPlayer - do take a look!
May has been a lovely month of remembering, celebrating…and plenty of barbecues in the sun! I can’t wait for a June full of weddings and to start planning some lovely late summer and autumn ceremonies. As ever, I’d love your feedback on the newsletter and if you’re thinking of planning a ceremony later this year or in 2027, I’d love to hear from you.
Hwyl am y tro (bye for now!)
Mair x
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Mair Garland is a London celebrant, leading baby naming ceremonies, weddings, funerals and celebrations of life in London and beyond. Mair specialises in bilingual ceremonies in Welsh and French. Click here to find out more.
