Woven Threads - Handcrafted Ceremonies. Wedding and Funeral Celebrant and Officiant serving Guelph, Toronto and area
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YOUR CART

My Story

PicturePhoto by Maxwell Lander
Celebrant work is a meaningful, heart-based calling for me. 

I was drawn to offering meaningful ceremony and ritual to others because I saw the need in myself. 

I grew up in a household that was a mix of Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox faiths. I went to Catholic school, attended church every Sunday, and even sang in the choir! When I entered my teens and questioned everything (as teens do!) I found that the Catholic faith no longer felt like my home. Still a deeply spiritual person, I struggled to find new practices and rituals that could offer me the same touchstones of meaning and belonging that church gave me. 

When I met someone who was doing the work of a Life-Cycle Celebrant, something sparked within me. I was flooded with ideas on how ceremony could be re-imagined for those of us not part of a particular faith tradition. I finally gave myself permission to follow my instinctual need and intuitive pull to make meaning of the events of my life and the cycle of the seasons using ritual and ceremony. As I create more ritual and ceremony for myself I feel more grounded in my beliefs and what has meaning for me. I have more tools for those times I need to mark the shifts and changes in my life. I feel less shaken by our consumer culture that tries to distract us with stuff. 

My Own “Big Special I Love You Party”

A powerful moment in my own journey with mindful, customized ceremony occurred in 2010 when my partner and I got married. As a queer polyamorous couple, and after seven years together, we debated the politics of legal marriage. I argued against legal marriage at first because of its associated patriarchal baggage. My partner argued the importance of exercising the hard-earned rights of queer people and standing visibly as a queer couple. I agreed to marry  feeling confident in our ability to reclaim and subvert the institution of marriage. The process of planning our “Big Special I Love You Party”, as we called it, was full of examined, mindful discussion on our ceremony and party; we took no tradition on unquestionably, instead always asking what fit and made sense for us. As a result, we ended up with a deeply moving ceremony that was truly reflective of us and our relationship.

Background and Training

My background is in theatre and academia. I hold an undergraduate degree in theatre from the University of Guelph where I focused on building my story telling skills as an actor. I also hold a Masters degree in Environmental Cultural Studies from York University where I examined the stories our Western culture tells about nature. 

My Celebrant training is through the  Celebrant Foundation & Institute (CF&I) based in Newark, New Jersey. 
For nine months I studied part-time the fundamentals of ceremony creation and ritual theory, specifically the creation of wedding ceremonies, commitment ceremonies, and milestone anniversary ceremonies. I have also studied the creation of funerals, memorials and end of life celebrations. 

I am registered with the Registrar General of Ontario to perform legal weddings anywhere in the province of Ontario. 

Inclusivity 

I always seek to be an inclusive and welcoming celebrant, sensitive to people’s needs and experiences based on age, race, ethnicity, ability, religious or spiritual beliefs, sexuality, gender identity/expression, socio-economic status or political beliefs. As a queer, polyamorous person, I’m an active ally to folks who identify as queer, gay, lesbian, trans, gender nonconforming, two-spirit, kinky, and polyamorous. Who you are is honoured here. 

As a white settler on Indigenous land I am sensitive to questions of cultural appropriation. I can help you honour your ethnic, cultural and religious ancestry in ceremony without disrespecting or appropriating tradition or ritual. 
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Other Passions and Community Work

·  Local and organic food, gardening
·  Kitchen dance parties​
·  Volunteer with The Junction Neighbourhood Group
​.  Volunteer with Guelph Community Acupuncture
·  Co-founder of The paTio Trans Support Group (now called Gender Intersect)

Celebrant Foundation & Institute

The Celebrant Foundation & Institute is a non-profit educational organization based in Newark, New Jersey dedicated to training Celebrant officiants.  Graduates of The Celebrant Foundation and Institute are distinguished with the title Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant®. All Life-Cycle Celebrants work to reflect the beliefs of those we work with. That means I impose no spiritual or religious beliefs on your ceremony. I listen to what is important to you and put that in the ceremony. Are you a committed atheist? All good, I support you!

Green Business  
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I endeavour to grow a green business. Wherever possible, I will:
·         purchase needed materials second-hand or from ethical and sustainable sources
·         travel by foot, bike, or public transit
·         minimize energy use and waste
·         support other local, independent businesses

Thank you so much for your beautiful ceremony. I can't even express how many people have personally contacted us to say it was the most beautiful ceremony they have ever witnessed. People spoke of how personal it felt and how perfectly you portrayed Chris and I, and our relationship. Everyone thought we had known each other for years! The time and care you put into getting to know us made me feel so comfortable, and I never felt there was something I couldn't say to you or ask for you to include in our ceremony. You were always so quick to respond and flexible and professional throughout the entire process. And thank you for the extra time that you put in to providing us a rehearsal- it was the perfect way to organize everything and I didn't feel at all nervous on the wedding day knowing exactly what to do next! You have really perfected the collaboration process, and we always felt personally involved in the creation of the most important part of our day!                         - Kaela & Chris
Picture
My partner and I during our Big Special I Love You Party ceremony presenting the Love Quilt we made together for the occasion.

Woven Threads in the Media

Online news source Guelph Today has written a number of articles about the Death Cafes:
  • February 2017 "Back by Popular Demand"
  • October 2016 "Death Cafe returns: moving from fear and avoidance to openness and comfort"
  • August 2016 "Death Cafe returns to Guelph"
  • April 2016 "Talking Openly About Death"

Guelph Today coverage of other Woven Threads news and events:
  • March 2017 article on our Spring Equinox event: "Shed the Weight of Winter and Envision a Springtime of Possibilities"

Radio coverage on CFRU Community Radio:
  • Featured interview with byron murray on his show "to know the land" where we discussed the Spring Equinox event and the place of nature in ceremony. Scroll down to episode date March 13, 2017. 
  • Featured interview with Kim Logue in her series "Conversations Worth Having: Episode 7, Reflections" which aired February 2017
  • Featured interview with Jenny Mitchell on the Mobile Community Radio show. We talked about my previous work with the Junction Neighbourhood Group as well as more broadly about the role of ceremony and ritual in our lives. Aired October 2016

Links

  • Life-Cycle Celebrant Colleagues serving Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes 
  • Getting married in Ontario—information on name changes, marriage after divorce, and obtaining a marriage licence

Woven Threads - Handcrafted Ceremonies          Christine Lafazanos, Life-Cycle Celebrant
   christine@woven-threads.ca            519-823-0038                           
Based in Guelph, serving surrounding areas including Elora, Fergus, Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Hamilton, and Toronto.