The AOIC Conference 2021 was a huge success and we are delighted to have received such positive feedback from delegates. We look forward to doing it all again next year! Provisional details are below, along with a summary of the AOIC Conference 2021.
AOIC Conference 2022
The AOIC Conference is an annual event for our celebrant members that incorporates our Annual General Meeting, AOIC Awards, guest speakers, evening dinner, plus lots of CPD and networking. It’s the perfect chance for members to get to know some fellow celebrants, have their say and learn from each other.
The provisional date for the next AOIC Conference is Saturday 15th October 2022. We are looking at locations in the West of England – possibly Bristol. This will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
AOIC Conference 2021
The AOIC Conference 2021 took place on Saturday 9th October 2021 at the Cedar Court Hotel, Harrogate. Details and photographs from the day are below, including guest speakers, useful links and AOIC Award winners.
The format for the day was:
10:00 – AGM
11:30 – Refreshments
11:45 – Guest speaker: River Jones
12:45 – Networking lunch
13:45 – Guest speaker: Dani Wallace
14:45 – Refreshments
15:00 – Guest speaker: Rosalie Kuyvenhoven
15:45 – AOIC Awards
16:00 – Close
19:30 – Evening meal
AGM and election of AOIC Committee
The day began with the AOIC Annual General Meeting. Our Chairman Phil Spicksley gave an enlightening update on the key happenings within the industry, with lots of valuable questions and contributions from members. Our Vice President Grace Jevons also reinforced the point that we welcome ideas and contributions from our members anytime. The AOIC is run by its members for its members – together we can make change happen!
We were also delighted to welcome several new members onto the AOIC Committee with unanimous approval. Welcome to you all!
Guest speakers
Our three guests speakers were all very well received and we are very grateful to them for giving up their time to present to us. Below is a summary of their talks, along with links to some resources they have kindly shared with us.
River Jones – Magical marriages (not just for druids)
River is a professional celebrant with over 20 years’ experience delivering bespoke ceremonies for people of all faiths and none, and course director at School of Celebrancy, the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids’ online training school for celebrants worldwide.
With outdoor weddings becoming increasingly popular, nature inspired ceremonies are not just for pagans and druids: everyone – celebrants and clients alike – wants their ceremonies to feel magical! From the turning of the seasons to different landscapes and the plants and animals that inhabit them, the natural world is an endless source of inspiration and enchantment that we can connect with and draw upon to bring extra depth, richness and resonance to ours.
This presentation focused on ways to bring the magic of nature to our rituals and blessings for weddings, vow renewals and relationship celebrations – whilst keeping them down to earth and inclusive for those of all outlooks.
River has kindly shared two of the diagrams she referred to in her talk, as well as a free e-book designed to help you tap into the inspiration of the natural world as you write your wedding vows. If you would like to download and make use of this freely shared resource, please show your appreciation by making a donation to The Children’s Forest – a movement supporting children worldwide to plant and tend forests dedicated to the young of all species. Thank-you!
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Dani Wallace – Closed mouths don’t get fed
Dani Wallace – public speaking coach, motivational speaker and fearless leader of the “I Am The Queen Bee” movement – gave a brilliant, high-energy presentation on how we as celebrants can speak out more effectively.
Former serial self-saboteur, having grown up on the council estates of Preston, Dani has survived the adversity of domestic violence, homelessness and single parenthood to become a leading voice in empowerment and has quickly become one of the most exciting motivational speakers to hit the UK stage.
Dani shared her inspiring story and gave us some great practical tips on using our own stories and improving our speaking skills to attract more of our ideal people, convert more of them into loyal clients and generate new revenue streams.
This was a fantastic talk that truly livened up the room, leaving us with some inspiring ideas and much food for thought.
To find out more, visit Dani’s “I am the Queen Bee” website.
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Rosalie Kuyvenhoven – Creative funeral options in a changing world
In this talk, award-winning celebrant, tutor and Death Café host Rosalie Kuyvenhoven discussed creative alternatives to the traditional funeral, as well as opportunities for celebrants to diversify their services.
The world of funerals is changing. The traditional funeral service has become one option amongst many, giving the bereaved a variety of options in how they wish to say their farewells and pay tribute to a life. People are becoming more aware of options, and movements such as Death Cafe and Coffin Club, but also the pandemic, inspire people to think of wishes for their own funeral plans and take control in how they wish to arrange a funeral.
Funeral celebrants play an important role in this development by helping people find new ways to design the funeral ceremony and offer services beyond the day of the funeral. This opens up opportunities to work with families direct, thinking beyond the current business model where a funeral director acts as the first point of contact.
Rosalie presented some wonderful alternatives to the traditional funeral and shared some truly inspiring stories. This was a very collaborative session with some passionate discussions held and lots of fantastic ideas shared.
Rosalie has kindly shared her presentation slides and poster with us – these will be emailed out to members in the w/c 11th October. You may also be interested in reading Rosalie’s outdoor funerals blog: Outdoor Funerals: Celebrating a life surrounded by nature.
AOIC Awards
At the end of the Conference our Vice President Grace Jevons had the honour of announcing the winners and runners up in the 2021 AOIC Celebrant Awards.
This was the second awards ceremony the AOIC had run, and the very first we were able to present in person, so this felt very exciting! When we opened the nominations at the end of August, we didn’t think we would surpass the enormous success of last year’s awards, but we’re delighted to say that we did. It was fantastic to see the nominations come flooding in from day one, and inspiring to see what wonderful testimonials people were writing about our celebrants.
This really did make our decision extremely tough. All the nominees seemed so deserving, but alas there could only be one winner and one runner up in each category.
So were are delighted to announce that our 2021 AOIC Award winners are:
Funeral Ceremonies
Runner Up: Jeff Heaton
Funeral Ceremonies
Winner: Lynn Pinky Parker
Couple & Family Ceremonies
Runner Up: Rosalind Love
Couple & Family Ceremonies
Winner: Julie Lane
Congratulations to them all! And congratulations to every single person who was nominated. It’s clear that you’ve all been doing an outstanding job for your clients – especially given all the extra challenges that this past year has brought.
Thank you again to all those who came along to the AOIC Conference – we hope to see you again next year! If you have any questions about past or upcoming AOIC Conferences, please feel free to get in touch: admin@independentcelebrants.com.