Cumbria Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Veronika Sophia Robinson

A Woodland Wedding

If you’re a bride and groom with a fondness for Nature, then it’s likely that a woodland wedding is most definitely something you’d consider.

In the UK, it’s surprising how many couples are still unaware that there are alternatives to a church wedding or one in a registry office or registered hotel. In much the same way as you might register a baby’s birth and then have a naming ceremony later, or register a loved one’s death and choose a special venue for the funeral ceremony, the same goes for a wedding. Do the legal ‘contract’ at the registry office, but have the wedding in the place of your dreams.

Why a woodland wedding?

A study in 2004 showed that people who walked in woodland had lowered blood pressure, heart rate and an improved immune system. Those who stopped to admire a woodland view for 20 minutes had a 13% reduction in the stress hormone cortisol. The Japanese call this forest bathing (shinrin-yoku). So, while your guests are witnessing you say ‘for as long as this love shall last’, you’re all being imbued with the positive energy of a woodland.

Have you ever noticed how differently you feel when you’re out in Nature compared to when you’ve been in the car for a while or in a shopping centre? All around us are molecules, invisible to the human eye, known as negative ions, which are tasteless, have no odour, and which we breathe in. By breathing in these ions, a biochemical reaction happens once they reach our bloodstream. In turn, serotonin is released which allows us relief from stress or depression, and lifts our energy.

Negative ions help to increase the flow of oxygen to our brain. When this happens, we feel lighter, alert and have more mental stamina.

Many people have become desensitised to the artificial nature of the life they live. If you’re someone who must have fresh air in a room, you’re sensitive to negative ions and often feel euphoric when in the heart of Nature.
Negative ions are felt most tangibly after a thunderstorm, near falling or flowing water, waves lapping on the seashore, in a woodland, Summer rain, snow fall, in sunshine, and when plants produce water evaporation.

You might think the word positive means ‘good’, but in the case of ions, the opposite is true. These ions range from germs, viruses, dust, bacteria, pollen, cooking odours, to toxic residues from furnishings and pets.

So not only is a woodland wedding a great choice ecologically and aesthetically, it’s great for your health.

A woodland wedding can be beautiful and simple, allowing you an elegant and natural backdrop to the essence of your relationship. The natural colours from the earth, such as greens, tans, browns and off white can be incorporated into your wedding designs. You can use moss or twigs as centre pieces. Why not create a wedding arch from wood or branches? With a woodland as your décor, you couldn’t ask for a more beautiful wedding setting.

Veronika Robinson has been officiating weddings since 1995. She trained at Unity Church in Auckland, New Zealand, and was authorised to conduct legal weddings under the New Thought Ministries umbrella. She has a deep love of the sacred, and derives great joy from creating, writing and officiating ceremonies for people. She specialises in handfastings, but is equally at home conducting more formal weddings, as well as namings, blessingways, vow renewals and funerals. Veronika officiates ceremonies throughout Cumbria, northern Lancashire and Southern Scotland, and is particularly fond of outdoor ceremonies. www.veronikarobinson.com/celebrant

February 1, 2016/0 Comments/by Veronika Sophia Robinson

Celebrant

Cumbria Celebrant

Are you looking for a celebrant in Cumbria? I trained as a celebrant in 1995 (Auckland, New Zealand), and am available to officiate ceremonies throughout Cumbria: weddings, handfastings, same-sex unions, vow renewals, namings, housewarmings, graduations, coming of age, crone ceremonies, funerals, memorials and any other rite of passage.

If you need to organise a funeral or memorial service, I am happy to work with your chosen funeral director or can work directly with families who wish to be autonomous from a funeral home and plan a DIY ceremony.

I’m a member of the Association of Independent Celebrants, and featured as a preferred supplier on Easy Weddings.

I offer a reduced rate for Wednesday Weddings for those couples planning to marry midweek.

Please do get in touch if you’d like an obligation-free chat in person or by Skype about your ceremony plans. ~ Veronika x

January 4, 2016/0 Comments/by Veronika Sophia Robinson

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Do you need a funeral celebrant? Help for Cumbrian flood victims

If you (or someone you know) has had your home or business damaged in the recent Cumbria floods, and find yourself having to organise a funeral for a loved one (regardless of cause of death), I would like to offer my services (free of charge) as a funeral celebrant.

I create, write & officiate personalised ceremonies, and can work with you whether you’re planning a DIY funeral/memorial or you’re liaising with a funeral director.

If the funeral is for a child, I can refer you to the Child Funeral Charity to ensure you receive a grant towards funeral costs.

I am based near Penrith, and will officiate up to 50 miles from here (roads permitting).

I’m a member of the Association of Independent Celebrants. If I can be of service to you, or someone in your community, please get in touch.

Veronika Robinson | Independent Celebrant https://veronikarobinson.com/celebrant/funerals-memorials.shtml
Phone: (01768) 897 121
Mob: (07717) 222 695
E: veronikarobinson@hotmail.com

December 11, 2015/0 Comments/by Veronika Sophia Robinson

Uncategorized

Weddings in Cumbria

For 17 years I have been blessed to live in gorgeous Cumbria. Although Australian born and raised, this part of the world has stolen a place in my heart. From the gentle bosom-like fells to the dramatic Lake District hills, forests, streams, tarns, lakes and meadows, this part of the world offers so many beautiful places for a couple to take their wedding vows.

Do you want to get married:

At sunrise on the Summer Solstice?
Beneath the stars on New Year’s Eve?
In an apple orchard?
Barefoot on the beach?
In an ancient woodland?

In a luxury hotel?
An old stone chapel?
By the fireplace in a converted barn?

In a candlelit labyrinth?
Inside an old castle?

On a boat?
In a wildflower meadow?
At a Druid’s stone circle?

As an independent celebrant, I am free to marry you any time, and at the place of your dreams.

Why choose me as a celebrant?

I offer personalised, heart-felt ceremonies created, written & officiated especially for you. I’m a specialist in ritual, & have been officiating weddings since 1995.

For as long as I can remember, I have always felt a sense of respect for ceremonies and rituals which honour the human spirit. Having officiated across three countries, for more than twenty years, I am skilled at bringing purpose and intention to each ceremony.

My role is to seamlessly create a sacred space, and I do so practically and intuitively using a sense of craft and pace. I am there to hold the energy, and to offer structure.

I trained as a celebrant at Unity Church, Auckland, New Zealand in the early 1990s, and have officiated ceremonies in all manner of places, such as a Maori Marae in New Zealand, public gardens in New Zealand and Australia, Ironage replica roundhouse, bushlands, meadow, private gardens, by a river, public and private buildings, and a stone circle in Yorkshire.

If you’re planning to get married in Cumbria, but live overseas or in another county, that’s no problem at all. We can use Skype to ensure all your wedding plans for the ceremony come together seamlessly.