Rachel Edwards - Wedding Officiant & Life Cycle Celebrant® in Owen Sound & Grey Bruce

Rachel,

We just wanted to send you a quick thank you for the absolutely beautiful ceremony you provided us on Saturday. It was more than we could have ever even imagined and it touched our hearts so deeply. The words you spoke and the way you delivered them was pure magic. You have a true calling. I think every single person commented on your work and how it was the most moving, personal and beautiful ceremony they had ever witnessed.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We will be forever grateful to you. C and R

You were absolutely incredible. Everyone there could not believe that we have not known each other our whole lives. C and I were talking and there is no one more suited for a job than you.

We would not change a thing about our wedding experience and we are so grateful you were part of it.

K and C

Perfect-for-you ceremonies

We celebrate and honour life’s important passages.
We do this many ways, in different traditions and locations.

If you are looking for a special, unique and personalized ceremony I can help. If you want a wedding you
and your guests will always remember then you have come to the right Wedding Officiant! If you are
searching for a Celebration of Life or Funeral ceremony that truly honours and celebrates your loved one
look no further!

Together we can create a ceremony with appropriate and meaningful rituals. I will craft a ceremony that
is spiritual but may follow traditional religious texts. If you are not members of a specific place of
worship but would like to include words from a Holy Text that enhances the beauty of your ceremony I
can help. If you are from the LGBTQ+ community and you want a ceremony that reflects your hopes,
dreams and beliefs allow me the honour of creating your perfect ceremony.

You are SPECIAL, let me help create a ceremony that proves it!

Weddings

Many people are discovering the beauty of Owen Sound and the surrounding area. As a wedding Officiant/Life Cycle Celebrant® I allow the natural beauty of this region to infuse my ceremonies. Whether it is the tranquil lap of Georgian Bay or Lake Huron or the majesty of the Bruce Trail, let me craft a ceremony with nature as your stunning backdrop.

This is your special day. The promises and words you speak today will last your lifetime and are very important. After the food has been enjoyed, the wine drunk, the flowers dried as keepsakes, the vows you exchanged will last forever. They will remind you like nothing else of how perfect your ceremony and day was. A wedding like no other and one of the most important days of your life.

Funerals

Many people are not part of a religious community because they moved here later in life or do not belong to a specific religion.

As a Funeral Officiant/Celebrant I take the time to tell the Hero’s story of your loved one’s life. In my unique, personal and warm ceremonies I celebrate and honour this person’s life.

The ceremony can be spiritual without being part of a specific faith by using readings from many backgrounds and cultures. My ceremonies are heartfelt, full of stories honouring your loved one but also words to comfort those left behind.

Image: Frances Beatty Photography

about me

I was asked by my niece a few years ago to perform her wedding. She and her husband were raised in different faiths but they didn’t want a civic ceremony. At that point I was a stay-at-home mum raising my children and not thinking of working outside the home. I was honoured and touched to be asked by my niece and her fiancé to create and perform their wedding ceremony. It was humbling that they would entrust me with the sacred responsibility of officiating their wedding. That started me on my path to become a Life Cycle Celebrant®.

I loved everything, the meetings to discuss the ceremony, the research, the writing and especially performing the wedding. I love people! I love meeting people and love working collaboratively to reach a common goal. My work as an officiant and celebrant marries (pun intended!) all of these.
I received my training through the Celebrant Foundation and Institute, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to training the highest quality Life-Cycle Celebrants®. We graduate with the skills and abilities to craft personalized ceremonies for anyone regardless of their beliefs. We are committed to honouring your perspectives, values and traditions.

I graduated from McGill University with a B.A. in English Literature. I am excited and proud to use the skills I gained from this program and school. These skills help me to create and perform professional and meaningful ceremonies for all occasions. I am able to include in my ceremonies the following languages: French, German, Spanish, Welsh and Basque.

As an Ordained Metaphysical Minister I believe that everything is connected. I believe that we must send good energy out into the world to make our Earth healthy. I like to look to many different cultures and faiths for ideas on ritual, readings and life lessons that help me create beautiful, original and meaningful ceremonies.

I believe in the healing power of laughter and humour. I know that a smile is magical.

We live in a time of change, of almost too much information. The traditions we grew up with have lost meaning for some people. I believe it is a basic human need, like shelter and nourishment, to mark the times of change in our lives. Whether it’s birth, puberty, starting or finishing school or training, marriage, retirement and finally death we need to recognize the impact of these rites of passage. I am trained to create a ceremony appropriate for any of these. I can gather rituals and readings from the world to make any ceremony meaningful, to ensure the words resonate and stay with everyone present at that ceremony forever. Together we experience those moments where we look at each other and share a common humanity and understanding.

Let's Celebrate!

ceremonies

Marriage & Unity

End of Life

Life Cycle

what my clients say

“Our time working with Rachel was an absolute joy! She took so much care and consideration in getting to know us and crafted a beautiful ceremony that perfectly reflected who we are and what we value in our relationship. She was so kind and helpful in answering our questions and ensuring we were calm and comfortable throughout the process of planning our wedding ceremony.
Words cannot express how grateful we are for Rachel and we highly recommend to have her facilitate your ceremony – the happiness and laughter will not be lacking!”
– Tyler (she/her) and Travis (he/him)

“From start to finish, our experience working with Rachel was wonderful. Rachel was friendly, flexible, and accommodating. She went above and beyond to make the process easy and the ceremony was unique, meaningful, and personalized. We would highly recommend Rachel as a wedding officiant to other couples! ”
– Kendra and Chris

“Rachel worked with us to craft a small, intimate wedding by Lake Superior. She took the time to answer all of our questions and ask lots of her own so that the ceremony could reflect who we are. Our ceremony was warm, beautiful and unique. It reflected our personalities and even included our sweet senior dog. It was a treat to work with Rachel. We look forward to working with her again this fall, when she will officiate a larger ceremony for family and friends.”
-C

“We couldn’t be happier with our decision to go with Rachel to officiate our wedding. She was so thoughtful and genuinely cared about helping us create our dream ceremony. She gave great suggestions and helped us craft it in a unique way that made it personal and memorable.
We highly suggest Rachel!”
-K and D

“Rachel made our wedding a beautiful memory. She found heartfelt ways to include our children in our vows, and coordinated a complicated bilingual ceremony filled with speeches and tears with professionalism, genuineness, and even made it all fun. Rachel’s confident manner made everyone at our wedding feel as though they were part of something bigger. When the heavens parted and the rain began pelting down, Rachel quickly moved everyone inside, and carried on as if the ceremony had been planned this way all along. Thanks to her abilities to take charge and coordinate quickly as circumstances change, not a single guest, nor the bride, were drenched. We have had so many wonderful compliments on the ceremony, and many of our friends will be contacting her to officiate in the future. “

– C and Al R.

“Rachel did a beautiful job officiating our wedding. She worked closely with us to draft a ceremony that celebrated our relationship, our families, and our commitment to our marriage. Rachel has extensive knowledge of literature, poetry, music and history, and she used this knowledge to pull together unexpected quotes and references that matched our vision for the ceremony. She worked hard to build a ceremony that was meaningful and relevant to us. Not only did Rachel perfectly capture what my husband and I wanted at our wedding ceremony, but afterwards many of our wedding attendees commented on what a wonderful job Rachel had done. We are so happy that she officiated our wedding.”

– J & J

“The service to honour a loved one was conducted by Rachel in the most heart-felt, authentic manner that I have witnessed at a funeral or celebration of life. There was significant attention to detail for the full range of poems, songs, verses, and references to life stories. Before and throughout the service, Rachel approached all steps with a calm and peaceful manner. We would not hesitate to have Rachel lead our family ceremonies in the future.”

– AZ

“During the last weekend before Christmas in December of 2018, I attended the funeral of Thomas Edwards, and was amazed to learn that his youngest daughter Rachel Edwards was presiding over her father’s funeral. I also learned that Ms Edwards had recently completed a Celebrant certification program and that this was her first funeral. Imagine your very first funeral, celebrating the life of your own recently deceased father?

I admit to having been nervous on Ms Edwards’ behalf but I soon realised that there was no need for anxiety. Ms Edwards gracefully bridged the two roles of celebrant and griever, providing an immaculate service for attending mourners while acknowledging that it was her own father she was grieving. The service was warm and articulate, it was full of anecdotes of her father’s long and successful life while at the same time comforting the mourners who attended her father’s funeral. I was amazed with the strength and professionalism of her delivery which did not interfere with Ms Edwards natural feelings during the event. I felt that the compassion she showed to her father and everyone present including herself were indications of her excellent suitability for this role. I wish her the best of luck in her new career.”

– L.B.

Working with Rachel was the absolute best experience. My husband and I felt instantly connected with her minutes into our first chat on the phone – she is warm, kind, professional and so easy to talk to! Rachel took time and care in getting to know us and our story as a couple.

The ceremony she crafted for us was intimate, funny, loving and so perfectly us. I was blown away when I read it for the first draft and it brought the house down on the big day! I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house (all happy tears of course)!

I would absolutely recommend Rachel’s services to anyone looking for a ceremony that is personal and unique to you and your partner. Because of Rachel, my wedding ceremony was one that I will never forget.
-M

Thank you so much for being part of our big day. We could not be more appreciative of you and all you did to make our day so special. Your script was amazing! We loved how personal it was, and our guests loved it as well. We really appreciate the lovely booklet you put together fur us as well. It was so cute and we will definitely treasure it! S and M

Thank you SO much for putting together such a perfect ceremony, it was such a pleasure to work with you! Thank you for being up for our adventure – it was so fun and perfect!! I don’t think we could’ve found a more suiting officiant ourselves! One more time… Thank you!!! E and C

We had an amazing day! Everyone thought you did the best job!! L and J

Rachel! Just wanted to say thanks again for everything yesterday. The whole things was perfect!!! T and B

Rachel Edwards - Wedding Officiant & Life Cycle Celebrant®