Celebrant Training School

© Veronika Sophia Robinson


Here in the heart of rural Cumbria, my husband Paul Robinson and I offer bespoke celebrant training through our boutique celebrant-training school Heart-led Celebrants.

What our celebrant training website (a portal into our world) deliberately lacks is the ‘slick, corporate look’. Why? Because there is nothing about the look or the reality of that sort of training that prepares you for real-life celebrancy. So, what do we offer? Down-to-earth, realistic, lived celebrant experiences that we generously pass on in our teaching. After my thirty years of celebrancy (across all rites of passage) and, for Paul, more than five decades earning his living from his voice and working with other people’s, you’re in the most capable and qualified hands. A lot of care, thought, time and energy investment has gone into ensuring each person is as prepared as possible before they take on their first ceremony.

One of our recent students, wrote:
“From my perspective, to be trained in something you have to build a depth and knowledge of your subject. You should fully understand it and the checking of that understanding should be robust. The training should stretch and challenge you, feeling structured and progressive, with support on hand to guide you if necessary. This has been my experience with you and Paul. All of the things I expected are there – and more. So, in short, thank you. I know how much time and effort it takes to get it right. That time and effort is reflected in every aspect of my time with you both, and it’s a pleasure to experience. Thanks again, Frank”

Although our role is ensuring that each and every student receives the same information, care, attention to detail and rigorous feedback to help them be the best celebrant they can be, we also understand that the learning journey is a co-creative process. As teachers, we can only meet a student as far as they are willing to learn, invest time, and develop skills. Our job is to help facilitate the change that will enable someone to step into their career as a Heart-led Celebrant with confidence, compassion and creativity. HOWEVER, it is the celebrant-in-training’s responsibility to enact that change.

There are many aspects to our training that make it stand light years ahead of other training courses (even those with the slick, corporate £4.5K price tag). Examples include our legitimate real-life experience as celebrants. I also keep my foot in the celebrant world, even after thirty years, by still taking on ceremonies. This gives our students the opportunity to ‘shadow’ me (if desired) at no additional cost, but with the continued one-to-one guidance.

Paul works with each student for bespoke voice, communication and presentation training.

We offer guaranteed lifelong tutor support to our certified celebrants. Most of our students reach certification. From our perspective, we will bend over backwards and do everything we can to help someone reach that point IF they are putting in the necessary work. It is important to understand that not everyone has the passion, curiosity, desire or dedication to continue the journey. I always say (and see it every single time) that the level of care, creativity and consciousness that someone puts into their training is a clear indicator of the way they’ll approach celebrancy.

Diploma in Advanced Celebrancy and Ritual 
Dear Paul and Veronika, Thank you for welcoming me into your home; for sharing your lovely home-made soup and biscuits – and all that tea! Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge, for your guidance, and above all patience. Much love, Judy

Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Without you two, none of this would be possible. You have unlocked a part of me that I never knew existed. The fulfilment I am getting from this is completing the hole I felt inside that I’ve never been able to fill.
Kirri Clayton

There have been many blogs written on the Heart-led Celebrants website about what makes our training different to other celebrant-training companies. One aspect is about the environment in which you’ll come for your training: our home (unless, of course, you prefer to train by zoom; you’ll be in your home).

What can you find at the heart of our training? Care, love, nurturing and a sense of family. The Heart-led Celebrant Family. Each certified celebrant is autonomous, and they certainly don’t have to pay an annual subscription to be ‘part of the club’. There’s no elite inner circle. Once you’re a certified Heart-led Celebrant, we’re all in the same family. No secret sub groups. No additional payments. As I always say to our students, our support is for life.

What you’ll experience during your training with us:
• cosy hot cuppas
• chatting on the sofa
• walks in the sunshine
• eating lunch in the garden
• learning, laughing, crying
• being authentic
• deep connection
• support

These are woven through our training, and even though there is a lot to learn it is done in an atmosphere of relaxation whether that’s by a crackling fire or in the summer sunshine beneath the apple trees.

One of our former students described her training as a ‘homely experience’. Home is one of my favourite words, and I love being at home. I’ve been self employed for over thirty years and although I work at all sorts of venues as a celebrant it is all done with the bulk of my hours worked from the comfort of home. So yes, I want people to think of what we offer as homely No slick, corporate glitz here. What you see is what you get: trainers who are authentic and have vast amounts of real-life experience. When you train with us, we not only remember who you are; we welcome you into our ‘family’ and look forward to a long relationship with you.

In the words of some of our former students:

I just wanted to thank you for sharing so much with me over the past three days.
Your cosy cottage.
Your beautiful smile.
Your amazing knowledge.
Your delicious cooking.
Your energy.
I hope I will take a little bit of Veronika magic with me wherever I go. Rachel xx

The face-to-face element was simply glorious, consisting as it did of deep, meaningful conversations about life, love and the universe. What could be better or indeed more important? The days spent in Cumbria were a sanctuary of spirituality and creativity; returning to the ‘real world’ felt harsh and challenging.
Catrina Young

What a life changing experience! My heart is absolutely full from celebrant training with Veronika and Paul Robinson. Highly recommend! It’s been so nourishing, full of smiles and so yummy!! I can feel I’ve changed so much, and know more will change as this is just the beginning of my celebrant path. I’m just so grateful to have had hands-on experiences from shadowing Veronika being her beautiful celebrant self at a funeral.. shadowing Veronika with a funeral phone call… To shadowing a family visit for funeral arrangements. Bex

Diploma in Advanced Celebrancy
The day I found Veronika Robinson, I knew I had found ‘the one’. Her ethos fits perfectly with mine. She is the most wonderful woman, as well as being a top notch celebrant and author, and a brilliant celebrant trainer. She was also RUTHLESS in ensuring that every piece of work I produced for her, through her Heart-Led Training programme, was outstanding. She taught me the difference between “That’s great”, and “That’s incredible”; and how to use words to create something personal and full of emotion, how to set the tone, and how to use elements within ceremonies to fix the moment in people’s minds.
Michelle Knight, certified Heart-led Celebrant

I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you (belatedly) for your welcoming nature, delicious food and expertise in my training.
In love and light, Sandie x

Dear Veronika,
There are not enough words to thank you for the truly life-changing time spent with you in your lovely home in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside. You are an inspiration, a mentor and an advocate. You helped me to value myself and the gifts I can bring to this new chosen career. You challenged me, but in a gentle and empathetic way that made me feel that it was going to be ok to try to get my words onto the page and then “off the page”. By the time I started writing with you (and it was very early on the first day), I felt that no matter what the result was to be, I had a soft place to land, and that you would support my efforts, no matter what the end product. And, as a result, I could take risks with my emotions and my words-not easy for anyone, especially an introvert like me. I learned more about being a celebrant from you in two days than I did in the entire nine months of my previous program. I now feel that I can, with grace, humility and hard work, develop and deliver celebrations that will honour and support events in anyone’s life journey. Thank you, thank you, Veronika for giving me the gift of “you”. You are a true, beautiful and rare gem. I shall never forget our time together. Thank you. Brenda Martin, Canada

Just wanted to thank you so much for making my funeral celebrant course such an enjoyable one. You were very kind and welcoming and have such a relaxed but professional approach. And we had some giggles! I was pretty nervous about coming up but I loved every minute; and if I can be half as good a celebrant as you, I will be very happy! Lots of love, Sophie

Thank you so much for the wonderful and mind-opening days I spent with you this week. I loved every minute of learning about celebrancy even though the tears it brought out may have suggested otherwise. You obviously have a gift for listening. My mind is permanently racing so I don’t listen as well as I could, and now I’m trying to slow it all down after meeting you.
Just wanted to say a heart-felt thank you. Amanda C.

The most amazing experience! Veronika is welcoming, calming, thoughtful, energetic, tireless and teaches in such a way that leaves you wanting more! Her heart-led methodology aligns perfectly with what I want to deliver as a Celebrant, and I can’t leave without mentioning her cooking…WOW! Her pear crumble is to die for please adopt me! Kathryn Britton

My thoughts wander to my training with Veronika and Paul and the delicious, heart-full time I spent steeping in, well… Feelings.
This training was, more than I could have imagined, a really personal journey, into the place where my heart meets the world. To be a Heart-Led Celebrant of course requires tapping into the territory of this deep well of emotion, which Veronika so skillfully walked me through. Considering so many aspects of potential clients- their stories, their emotional states, expectations to work with, I felt at moments overwhelmed, though soothed by the support of my two teachers on this journey. There were the very useful practicalities of being a celebrant that give me confidence in being able to begin this work, AND, what was so unique about this training was the space they held for real depth, beauty, sadness, to be welcomed. In order to really, truly serve those who choose me as a celebrant, I need this ability to really Listen, and to glean what is important to my clients. To do this I need to know myself even better.
I was given the opportunity to really feel the importance of this work, the possibilities of holding space for others to truly shine, to deeply feel their own connection with life and love, with death and grieving. The work of a celebrant is sacred, and Veronika and Paul, each in their own way, shared the skills that keep this work sacred. I am so grateful for such a rich, alive experience of this work through my training.” Kirsten Rose, Spain

We’re now in our eighth year here at Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training. A lot can happen in eight years, personally and professionally. One of the things I continue to do is maintain my celebrant practice (officiating ceremonies across all rites of passage). This is important to me for a number of reasons:

• I love what I do: making a meaningful difference in people’s lives during their transitions
• I keep up-to-date with styles, trends, legalities
• It allows me to offer shadowing opportunities to our students
• We teach best what was need to learn, and here’s the key thing: as a celebrant, you never stop learning (if you think you know everything, then you and your ego are best off finding another job)

When we started out training it was only meant as a one-off event: we attracted a group of six amazing women to train. We had such a FABULOUS time we did it again, and again. And then…someone asked me if we’d consider training them on a one-to-one basis. Sure! Why not? And here’s the thing: we’ve never looked back. This is because:
1. It opened a door to many other people who wanted the option of one-to-one
2. We saw the massive difference that one-to-one training offers (regardless of people’s learning styles or whether they’re introverts or extroverts)
3. When you’re learning on a one-to-one basis, there’s no hiding behind other students; there’s no coasting alone. As your tutors, you have our undivided attention.

When a master passes on their craft, it is akin to offering someone an apprenticeship. And a role like celebrancy? One that is based on an enormous foundation of responsibility? Well, then that apprenticeship becomes even more important. They are learning at your side and this undivided attention bestows optimal learning opportunities. Of course, a training is only ever going to be as good as the co-creative experience between the teacher and student. If the celebrant-in-training takes a lackadaisical approach to their studies, then they will only get as much out of it as they put into it and both they and their future clients will be poorer for it.

It’s not unusual for someone to contact me about celebrant training but what they’re really wanting to know is can they go and officiate a friend’s wedding without training. Well, there’s no law against it. However, what you don’t know is WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW. Almost every student we train says to me, within the first few hours of their face-to-face training, “I had NO idea how much was involved.” And why would anyone? If you’ve seen a (good) celebrant at work, they’ll make it look easy. It’s not. Their 20 to 30 minutes officiating is a small part of their job. It takes, for example, about ten hours of work behind a 20 minute funeral and about 20 to 30 hours of time behind a 30 minute wedding.

It is an honour and a privilege to officiate ceremonies, and one that I don’t take lightly.

It is an honour and a privilege to teach someone how to be a Heart-led Celebrant, and one that I don’t take lightly.

The training, however, is done with immense care, love, respect and a genuine desire to see our students thrive as celebrants and for their clients to have the best possible experience. I do this job knowing that I’m not going to live forever, but for each additional year that I’m a working celebrant I have hundreds more ceremonial experiences which I add to my vast teaching chest. You see, everything I learn helps the celebrant-in-training to learn from me about what works and what doesn’t work as a celebrant.


Veronika Robinson and Paul Robinson are a husband and wife team whose boutique celebrant training school Heart-led Celebrants attracts people from around the world. Heart-led Celebrants has earned a reputation for excellence in celebrant training, and those who are certified exemplify the highest standards in the industry.

Veronika is the author of many books including the popular Celebrant Collection: Write That Eulogy; The Successful Celebrant; Funeral Celebrant Ceremony Planner; Wedding Celebrant Ceremony Planner; The Blessingway; The Gentle Celebrant’s Guide: Funerals For Children; The Discrimination-free Celebrant; The Celebrant’s Guide to the Five Elements.

Award-winning voice artist, Paul Robinson, has had a whole career centred around his voice and other people’s. He’s highly experienced as a celebrant, trained actor, drama coach, voice-over artist, singer, broadcaster, compère, and ventriloquist. Paul is an excellent communicator and teacher, and has a sixth sense about how to relate to individuals, groups and audiences.