Featured Supplier: One Life Ceremonies

One of the great things about my job is meeting like minded people who have the same outlook on the industry as I do.
A few weeks back I met up with Laurra from One Life Ceremonies who are based in Leeds, and we chatted about our business and realised that we had a lot in common.

One Life Ceremonies caters for a broad range of people offering wedding celebration ceremonies, funerals, baby naming as well as a host fo other options. The idea is to creat ceremonies that are more personal to the individual or couple, which in turn gives people many more options in regards to wording, meaning and also location.

Laurra says about the business:

We set up One Life Ceremonies because, through arranging weddings and funerals for family and friends we saw a massive gap in the market for ceremonies which are written individually, not just names slotted into a pre-written script! We believe that everyone should have a ceremony which reflects them and it should be based on what they actually want which makes them much more personal and honest. It’s hard to believe but there is very little on offer out there if you want to do things your own way and quite often when a couple get married they use a standard script as set by the vicar or registrar, these tend to be fairly impersonal as they don’t have much room to make it your own.  

We wanted to change that so we offer a service which allows you to have the ceremony of your dreams by designing it around you as a couple and what you want. That means that your ceremony can include the words, vows, readings and music that you want – not that you have to have or that everybody else has! 

I think for couples who don’t want to hold a religious ceremony there is often a feeling that the only option is to have a civil ceremony conducted in a Register Office or licensed room of a hotel but there is so much more choice nowadays! In fact, once you have completed the legal requirements at the Register Office you can hold your wedding ceremony, including exchanging rings and vows, anywhere you choose.

We essentially start with a blank canvas and will work with you to find out exactly what you want as well as offering you ideas and inspiration along the way. Holding a One Life Wedding Ceremony is a perfect alternative to a civil wedding led by a registrar or a church wedding because it means that you can choose exactly what you want it to include and it can be as traditional or unconventional as you want. 

One thing that truly sets us apart is that you can hold your wedding outside or in an unusual venue, it doesn’t have to be licensed for marriage, because the marriage legalities have already been held separately by a Registrar. They are also great for couples who have been married abroad and want to hold a celebration with friends and faily back at home.  

We offer two different wedding packages and have just launched a wedding vow writing service (http://onelifeceremonies.co.uk/wedding-vow-writing-service) as well, which is a great option if you’ve decided to include your own vows in your wedding but can’t put what you want to say into writing! This service is perfect for any couple even if you’re having a church service or one led by a Registrar; it’s a great way to make your ceremony that little bit more personal!

Laurra and Maria also offer a number of other ceremonies including: Baby Naming, ‘Christening’ and Adoption Ceremonies, Gay Commitment, Wedding Vow Renewals and Funerals.

I personally LOVE this concept, I think some people at first may struggle with the whole ‘it’s not legal’ thing but the fact that you can have the ceremony you want…..where you want it, opens up so many more possibilities when it comes to planning your own wedding.
Just think if the things you could do if your not tied to religion or the boundaries of a licensed building……just the fact that you can get married outside opens up a whole new world of possibilities!

I guess I’m a fan as I had something very similar for our wedding and it made the ceremony soooo special. We had a small civil ceremony in the UK and then a personally written wedding blessing in Ibiza, which was amazing, completely personal and true to who me and my husband are.

I can’t recommend this service enough, and here at Boho I would love to work with anyone who is planning to use One Life Ceremonies for their own wedding!

For more information go to:
One Life Ceremonies
Shine
Harehills Road
Leeds
LS8 5HS
www.onelifeceremonies.co.uk/wedding-ceremony
www.twitter.com/onelifeceremony
(0113) 868 0072