Alex Collis Celebrant

21/11/2025

I’m proud to be part of the Wed4Pal fundraiser, giving you the chance to win a humanist naming or wedding ceremony and a piece of hand stitched tatreez artwork in a raffle, meaning you could win a beautiful humanist ceremony or a unique piece of art (made by me) for as little as £25/£10! This is just one way in which my business is taking a stand against genocide, apartheid and injustice.

100% of ticket sales (minus mandatory transaction fees) will go towards addressing the genocide in Palestine, with 50% going to Pal Humanity (an organisation providing medical aid, education and lifesaving supplies in Northern Gaza) and 50% going to gorgeous Gazan couple, Sama and Khalil, and their families to help them sustain and rebuild their lives.

More of a bargain and far more ethical than any Black Friday deal going, you can now buy tickets for our raffle prize until 14th February. Buy your tickets today and find out on Valentine’s Day if you’ve won!

You can find out more about my amazing prize, check out the terms and conditions and buy your tickets by following the link to the fundraiser in bio or head straight to http://www.amostcuriousweddingfair.co.uk

There are over 40 raffles running as part of the fundraiser with incredible prizes from cakes to ceremonies to photography, videography, art, flowers and more. There are also some awesome suppliers you can book directly, who will donate a portion of their fees or sales to the fundraiser. You can check them out on the instagram page.

Illustrations:

Good luck!

20/11/2025

🏳️‍⚧️ 🕯️Trans Day Of Remembrance 🕯️🏳️‍⚧️⁠
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Today I remember, honour and celebrate all those trans lives (too many lives) lost to violence, discrimination and hatred. I reflect on their stories and I stand in solidarity with them. ⁠
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We have to do better. ⁠
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Remembering is good, but we need to do more. We need to actively challenge the system that has failed trans people, and continues to fail them.

In every possible way.

A system that, at best, allows violence and hatred to go unchallenged and, at worst, actively encourages it.⁠ I know have a lot to learn, and I promise to do that with an open heart and with love.⁠

Not just today but every day.⁠
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Want to own one of these hand-stitched pieces? I’m happy to make you one in exchange for a donation to or . Send me a message for details! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈✊🏼✊🏾✊🏿⁠
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Swipe to see some of the beautiful messages of love and solidarity spotted at 🧡⁠
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18/11/2025

🌻 GRIEF STORIES 🌻

‘My dad died when I was two’.

I must have said this sentence hundreds of times in my life, since I was old enough to articulate what had happened. And yet, for many years, it was a simple factual statement. There was no emotion behind it, no thought of what this had meant for my life.’

Sarah’s dad was killed in an accident when she was only two years old. Over fifty years later, she wrote this wonderful piece for my blog on how being unable to articulate her grief at that early loss has affected her life - and what she feels about the support available now for children going through the same experiences.

Click on the link in my bio to read the full piece.

Big love to you 🧡🌈

18/11/2025

It’s Children’s Grief Awareness Week, and the theme for 2025 is all about sharing stories - so that’s exactly what I’ll be doing throughout the week.

Sharing stories from funerals that I’ve led and families that I’ve worked with, along with some of the tips for supporting children and young people that I’ve picked up along the way.⁠
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I’d love to hear your stories too! Do you remember a bereavement when you were younger? How was it handled? Or are you supporting a child through a bereavement? What’s that been like? What have you found has been most helpful for them? ⁠
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Do we talk enough about children’s grief? Probably not, but that’s changing...⁠
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Save, share and follow along 📲⁠

📸 by on Unsplash
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10/11/2025

Beyond excited about this wedding 💕 Valentine’s Day 2026 is going to be really, really special! 🥂⁠
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If you’re thinking about a celebrant led wedding next year (or the year after!) I’d love to hear from you - but don’t wait too long, because those dates won’t be around forever... 📆⁠
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Not sure yet what sort of wedding you want? Curious about what’s involved in a humanist wedding and how it’s different from a registry office wedding? I’m always happy to chat! ⁠

09/11/2025

A piece that I wrote about why we probably don’t talk about our funeral wishes, and why we definitely should 🧡

Talking about death won’t make it come knocking on your door any sooner. It won’t jinx you. Far from it, in fact. Talking about death and dying can free you up to really live . So, what’s stopping people having those conversations?

09/11/2025

🪷 She’d made a life for herself here in England, thousands of miles from Australia, where she was born. Cambridge, where she arrived to study all those years ago, became her home and she spent her life here surrounded by the books that she loved.

🪷 When she died, her niece and nephew travelled here to see her laid to rest and we live-streamed the celebration of her life - carried out with the same quiet dignity with which she had lived it - all the way to her brother in Melbourne.

🪷 She’d asked - her only real instruction, in fact - for a non-denominational funeral. Her niece was reading the eulogy and her nephew was reading two poems, so my task wasn’t to share her life story. Instead, I was there to create the right atmosphere and the right space for the people who loved her to honour her.

🪷 In opening the service, I spoke about how joining together in collective reflection, even when we are separated by distance and even when we hold different beliefs, is powerful and a true act of love.

🪷 I also spoke about how, although she may not have called herself a humanist, she held many of those same values; curiosity about the world, a belief in the power of community and a consciousness of the impact of her own actions.

🪷 And I drew my welcome to a close by repeating some words from Mahatma Ghandi, reminding us all that even ‘in a gentle way, you can shake the world’ and that every life can make a difference.

🪷 With the whirlwind of travelling halfway across the world, and all the deathmin they had to do, it was also really important to create and hold a space where her niece and nephew could pause - even if only for half an hour - to reflect and remember.

🪷 Very grateful to them for taking the time, among all the flurry of activity and tying up loose ends before returning home, to send these lovely words of thanks. It was a very different, very quiet and gentle, but very special farewell and I often think of it.

05/11/2025

Why do I talk so much about natural burial? ⁠
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🌿Because it’s a more sustainable choice. It uses significantly less energy and releases fewer harmful chemicals into the environment. It’s plastic free too, encouraging the use of biodegradable coffins and shrouds, and taking up fewer scarce material resources. ⁠
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🌿Because it has such a strong connection with nature and the seasons. There isn’t much that feels more beautiful than returning someone to the earth at the end of their life. Natural burial supports local wildlife and biodiversity too. ⁠
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🌿Because it invites more chances to be creative and spontaneous in the way we say goodbye. These ceremonies can have fewer time restrictions, and give us a much stronger sense of connection with the person who has died. It keeps us closer and feels much less remote.⁠
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🌿Because it allows someone’s values to live on after their death, and makes it possible for them to continue changing the world and looking after the planet even after they are gone.
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🌿Natural burial isn’t the perfect answer, I know. After all, what is? It uses land that is becoming more and more scarce, and we should certainly keep exploring other ways, like aquamation. But still... ⁠
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🌿I love natural burials because they are beautiful and true, authentic and real.

03/11/2025

✨ MAKING IT YOURS ✨

There’s so much to think about when you’re planning a farewell, it can easy to overlook the ceremony space itself 💭

Funerals aren’t just for crematorium chapels - they can be held anywhere, with or without the coffin present. You can hold a ceremony in your own garden, in your front room… in a hotel where they enjoyed visiting for dinners, a favourite park where they walked the dog. Anywhere that feels meaningful 🌳 🐾

I’ve celebrated lives in all sorts of places, from community allotments among the bees and butterflies 🐝 🦋 to lakeside teepees with paper lanterns dangling overhead 🌻

Don’t ever feel rushed into deciding where a funeral should be held… you have TIME to find the right place.

Even in a crematorium chapel, you can personalise the space to make it feel more like your person. I’ve seen…

🏁 Chequered flags over the exit door for a racing fan

🍬 Bowls of sweeties, because they never let you leave at the end of a visit without one

🎶 Copies of a musician’s last CD and an artist’s glass sculptures

🥣 Well worn recipe books from which they cooked your childhood dinners

The possibilities are endless, and decorating the space is a great way to involve people who perhaps don’t want to get up and speak… to make them feel part of the celebration of life.

You can place all sorts of items on or around the coffin too. It’s such a loving gesture, to approach your person and say… “Ah, there you are.” Not to be afraid to stand near them 🧡

What would you pick to represent you? For me it would be rainbows 🌈

27/10/2025

Someone asked me this weekend what it is about being a celebrant that brings me the most joy, and their question really got me thinking.

Walking alongside families and being there to witness the key moments in their lives is right up there.

I’ve done namings for couples that I’ve married, and now Jess has asked me to be the celebrant for her and Charlie’s wedding next year. So excited! And thank you so much to Jess for this lovely little review 🧡

Just the kickstart my week needed 🌈✨

25/10/2025

Hello, it’s great to have you here! 🌈🌻I’m Alex, and I’m a colourful, creative celebrant based in Cambridge.

Not sure how to book me for your wedding?

I like to make sure that working with me is nice and simple… and that includes booking. Swipe to see what happens next 📲

It really is that easy! 🧡✨

Not made up your mind yet? Save this post and share it with your love… and do drop me a message if you have any questions. Happy wedding planning! 💐

Photo credits:
1, 2, 4 and 6
3 and 5