The AOIC Conference is an annual event for our celebrant members that incorporates our AGM, guest speakers, AOIC Awards, 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.
Conference booking details
The next AOIC Conference will be held on Saturday 14th October 2023 in Stratford-upon-Avon. It is open to AOIC Members and invited guests, to whom we are pleased to offer a daily delegate rate of just £30. Discounted rates will be available on rooms for those who wish to stay at the venue overnight.
Members will be sent booking details by email nearer the time, but if you have any questions about past or upcoming AOIC Conferences, please feel free to contact us.
AOIC Conference 2022
The most recent AOIC Conference was held on 15th October 2022 in Bristol.
Conference guest speakers
We welcomed five fantastic guest speakers at the 2022 Conference, speaking on the following topics:
Brian Parsons – The changing face of funeral ceremonies
Professor Russell Sandberg – Wedding law reform: Where do independents fit?
Julia Cawte – Vocal skills for celebrants: Delivering ceremonies with calm and confidence
Dr Sharon McDonnell – Suicide bereavement: Who cares for the professionals?
Dinah Liversidge – No box thinking: The language of mindset
These talks covered a mixture of wedding and funeral content, as well as content that covered celebrancy in general. The speakers were all well received and we thank them all for their time and energy!
AOIC Celebrant Awards 2022
We were delighted to hold our third AOIC Awards ceremony at the 2022 conference. These were presented at our Awards Dinner, which was attended by many of our members as well as several invited guests from the funeral and wedding professions.
In addition to the ‘Outstanding funeral celebrant’ and ‘Outstanding couple/family celebrant’ awards, we also included the brand new category of ‘Outstanding contribution to celebrancy’. This award was given in honour of our much missed friend and former committee member, Debbie Brooke, and we were honoured to have Debbie’s niece with us to present this award.
Congratulations to the winners and runners up in each category! For more details and a full list of recipients, visit the AOIC Awards page.
Raffle and prize draw
This year we also held a raffle with various prizes on offer and a main prize of a year’s free membership. Well done to all the winners!
The money raised went to the AOIC President’s nominated charity, Pete’s Dragons, which supports people bereaved by suicide. The AOIC will also be donating £2 per every membership fee received to Pete’s Dragons in the year ahead.
AOIC Conference 2021
If you would like to see details of our last conference held in Harrogate in 2021, please visit the the AOIC Conference 2021 page. This event was a huge success – we are delighted to have received such positive feedback from delegates.
