Woven Threads - Handcrafted Ceremonies

03/03/2025

Hi, I’m Chris (they/them)! I’m a Guelph-based Officiant/Ceremony Guide.

Ceremony feels like one potent antidote to the lies of capitalism which triumphs the role of the individual and denies our interdependence, has us chasing stuff as a false path to fulfillment, and treats busyness as a form of martyrdom.

Let us instead slow down together and enter the circle of ceremony; to pause and reflect on our stories and make meaning of the significant relationships, milestones, and transitions we move through. Let us create spaces to grieve together, or spaces to lean into life’s joy. To have who we are and the journey we are on seen and honoured by our community of loved ones. To reweave ourselves to the fabric of the ecosystems which sustain us.

As a q***r, nonbinary, polyamorous, neurodivergent, witchy and artsy person, I’m passionate about serving folks in my communities who are too often marginalized by mainstream norms and conventions of ceremony. We’re done with sexist wedding traditions. We’re creating ceremonies that celebrate q***r and trans joy. We’re relearning how to lean on each other as we grieve. We’re reclaiming ancestral ritual traditions.

In the past 11 years I’ve officiated over 400 ceremonies including weddings and commitment ceremonies, celebrations of life and graveside memorials, child welcoming or adoption ceremonies, divorce ceremonies, equinox and solstice rituals, and ceremonies to honour trans and nonbinary folks.

I’m someone who loves a good dance party, can often be found on a walk by the river or in the forest, is loving my new regular poetry writing practice, and is excitedly learning to read and write Greek (my dad’s first language). I’m endlessly fascinated by spirituality, religion and ritual. I’m also endlessly fascinated by science and ecology. One of my favourite facts is that 100 trillion neutrinos pass harmlessly through your body every second!

Do you have a ceremony you want help creating? Follow the link in my bio to my website to book a free 30 minute video chat, where we can introduce ourselves, explore what your vision for the ceremony is, and see if we’re a good fit to work together.

Me and the ferns photographed by the Speed River at the trails at Ignatius by Ema Suvajac

11/13/2024

Oh my gosh their vows were funny! And sweet. And tender. And with just the right amount of roasting each other. It was so them.

One of the fantastic benefits of keeping your vows a surprise from each other is that you get reactions like this. I mean, I had read both of their vows already and I was still cracking up.

Moments beautifully caught by

***rOfficiant

11/10/2024

The indoor wood stove is gonna be warm and cosy today! With the generous amounts of rain happening today we’re going to move the Deadname Funeral indoors at the Villa at Ignatius.

Last minute registrations are welcome. We’d love to have you there. Eventbrite link in bio.

Here’s a wee map for where you’re going on the property. Volunteers will meet you at the top of the driveway by the Orchard Park office building to give you a map.

We start at 6:30pm tonight, Sunday Nov 10.

If you’re not feeling well or have tested positive for covid in the last ten days then please stay home and rest. Masking indoors is encouraged. Two air purifiers will also be going.

10/30/2024

This frightful Halloween wedding happened outdoors, on the night of a full moon. So naturally, I made all of the guests howl at the full moon together. Because when I do theme weddings it’s not just the look, it’s a full character and the whole ceremony is written in that voice. It’s wickedly fun. 👻🎃💀

06/19/2024

Lavender harvest day! Ask permission, leave an offering (this time it was a song), say thank you.

Grateful to have this plant as a friend. Always excited to watch them grow in the garden. Thankful that we've partnered; I often use lavender as an offering when I go to new places. A gentle ally in my personal ritual work.

05/30/2024

Throwback to the first time I officiated at Langdon Hall in 2015 for A. and C.!

A. and C. have an epic love story, that began with them living oceans apart! A. was at med school and travelled with a group of students to New Zealand, visiting where C. was going to school. During a 2 week stay the sparks flew between them and against all odds, they found a way to make it work! (Their adorable young baby was somewhere out of frame.)

Somehow I got added to the Langdon Hall list of recommended vendors early on, and it’s probably the location I officiate most often now. To be quite honest, at first I wondered if I’d be comfortable officiating at a high-end venue. I worried that it would feel like a stuffy, judgy, shallow environment where people would be making a grand spectacle of their weddings. As someone focused on the heart and connection of a wedding, I worried it could give me a big ick feeling. But it didn’t at all. I found it to be a relaxed, welcoming space, with weddings that are simple and elegant. And I’ve officiated numerous intimate, 16 guest weddings composed of a heartfelt ceremony and delicious meal. I’ve met so many kind hearted staff over the years there, and by the end of this summer I will have officiated at the weddings of (or done the legal signing for) three of the staff there. It was only in the last year that I had the pleasure of having a full meal there, and wow, now I see what all the hype is about!

***rOfficiant ***rBusiness

05/22/2024

Celebrant origin story! Theatre edition! There are many threads that make up the origin of how I got into this work, and one of them is definitely my background in theatre and performance. My undergrad degree is in theatre from University of Guelph where I focused on acting. And I've dabbled in drag, burlesque and slam poetry over the years.

My background as a performer is front and center in theme weddings like the creepy clown Halloween wedding pictured where I step into character. It's also there when I use my vocal training to be heard clearly without a mic (the number of times people have complimented my diction! Didn't expect that!). It's there in my strong sense of how a written thing will feel when it's up on its feet--both managing the logistics of rituals and the emotional journey of the storytelling. And allows me to easily improv when something unexpected happens during a ceremony (crying babies, boats speeding by on the lake).

The origins of theatre and ritual are one and the same. The shift from my theatre degree into Woven Threads felt like, "Of course!" I'm a celebrant/bard/priestex/ritualist/storyteller/shapeshifter/actor.

***rPerformer

05/16/2024

This ceremony was on the ultimate pi day: March 14, 2015 (the mathematical constant pi starts 3.1415)! The groom had a pi pin on, and they had a wedding pie as well as a wedding cake!

This was my first time officiating at Cambridge Mill, and I love the glass sided ceremony space because it’s just a stone’s throw away from the Grand River. The whole ceremony, loved ones are looking out on the river and sky. Most of the ceremonies I officiate are in Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, and the Grand River is the watershed that unites them all. I hold great love for this watershed.

We included a candle lighting unity ritual in the ceremony. The couple wanted to honour the faith traditions of their family, so we included the candle lighting, which comes from Christian tradition, but framed it in a more secular light (see what I did there?). We did a version of it where each of their parents also participated.

A few years later I had the honour of doing a Child Welcoming Ceremony for K. and C.’s first child! It was so lovely to be with their families again.

I’m a big fan of choosing meaningful numbers to plan a ceremony around. Whether that’s aligning ceremony dates with anniversaries or using Vedic, Chinese or Western astrology. It’s also common for folks to draw on numerology or cool numbers—like the chilly outdoor elopement I did on February 22, 2022 (2/22/22), or to start a ceremony at 11:11am. I’ve long loved the elegance of math, so a pi day ceremony brought me joy!

Photos by

PS, If you’re a past client and have changed your mind about me using your photos in public, feel free to reach out and let me know.

***rOfficiant ***rBusiness

05/06/2024

My headshots through the years! Marking my ten year anniversary has me looking back and reflecting. Watch me get older through my photos! Ha!

Each photoshoot was done outside as per nature q***r standards. The 2014 photos were taken by Andrew Goodwin, , around downtown Guelph with some classic limestone backgrounds and pockets of green. The 2018 photos were a fun session done in a Toronto park by Maxwell Lander, . And the 2021 photos were a ritually focused session by Ema Suvajac at the Old Growth Forest Project at Ignatius in Guelph, .

Fun fact, I stopped wearing glasses every day because my distance vision actually improved through the years (although now in my 40s I have multi focal lenses!). By the 2021 photos I purposely wanted to shed the blazer, in order to shed the rigid definitions of what constitutes a “professional” look. Screw professionalism. It feels too akin to hustle business culture that I want nothing to do with. Ceremony is a spiritual practice, a service to my community, a creative collaboration. I’m less girl boss these days, more .

***rOfficiant ***rBusiness

05/02/2024

Throwback to one of the first weddings I ever officiated! This year is my ten year anniversary of guiding ceremonies!

Joss and Liz got married on Snake Island north of Midland, among a community of people Joss grew up with on that island. It’s one of the few times I travelled to a ceremony site by boat! I was so nervous about my hairy legs that I wore tights under my skirt on a warm August day (I don’t bother covering the hair anymore!). I remember some of the family assuming I was the “Minister” and refraining from swearing around me (something that continues to happen. If they only knew who they were actually talking to!).

We included the Walt Whitman poem “Song of the Open Road” which includes the lines:
“Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me?”

Joss and Liz finished the ceremony by circling the arbour and crossing through the threshold of the arch. Then the movement from ceremony to reception site was a long a short wooded trail, and they had musicians leading the way, and encouraged loved ones to join in with small percussion instruments. Liz and Joss loved how that little procession mirrored rural European traditions of their heritage where partners would move as a community from their house to the centre of town for the wedding.

Photo by

***rOfficiant ***rBusiness

04/29/2024

Fun news! Name and pronoun update!

Please migrate to using Chris for me and they/them pronouns.

Christine is still my full, legal name, yet Chris makes me feel so much more seen and free!

11/09/2023

The CBC morning show spoke to KW Art Gallery curator Darryn Doull about the Death Cafe event happening tonight.

Sign up for my email list on my website to be notified of future Death Cafe events in the area.

A group of strangers will be sitting together tonight, with a warm cup of tea in one hand...having a casual conversation about death. Darryn Doull is the curator of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, where they'll be hosting a Death Cafe Thursday.

02/10/2023

With the Storehouse 408 Wedding Open House coming up, I’m remembering how great Nate and Sarah’s wedding there was!

We included a handfasting, and invited their parents, grandparents, and siblings to each come forward and wrap a ribbon they brought; symbolizing how Sarah and Nate’s strength as partners is upheld by the community of loved ones who surround them.

And when Sarah’s veil fell off just before her exit, I knew I could help out and get it flowing in the breeze as it should.

Photography by

***rOfficiant

Come check out the Storehouse 408 space in Cambridge and meet all the other lovely folks on their recommended vendor list.

Happening on Thursday, February 23, 2023. Drop in from 6 to 9pm. Free tickets are available through bio.

There will be snacks!

09/30/2022

Uplift the joy and resilience of indigenous peoples.
Rage against the injustices, learn the true history.
Hold government and institutions to account and demand meaningful reparations.
Seek to decolonize your mind.
Say thank you to the ancestors whose wisdom and relationship with the land made your life as a settler possible.

Posted • 5 ways to meaningfully engage before, during and after — from your friendly neighbourhood treaty partner and allies at OCP✊🏾

•••

09/14/2022

Ritual tools can be simple. As we head into spooky season, be wary of anyone who makes you feel like in order to be a veritable witch, mystic, pagan, spiritual person, etc that you need to have a certain aesthetic, or need to buy this must-have tool. Or better yet, the must-have starter kit! Or while you’re at it, the must-have advanced practitioner kit.

My most reliable ritual tool is my body. Full stop. Through my body I am guided by my emotions and intuition, I connect to the elements, to the energies of place, I journey to connect to the messages of my dreams, I dance, sing and meditate.

I’m not anti-ritual tools. Not at all. Just be cautious when spiritual authenticity is trying to be sold to you.

Stay weird and spooky, friends.

09/06/2022

Ticket giveaway! I have two tickets to giveaway for Baby Ready’s upcoming 2SLGBTQ focused virtual baby show! $25 value each!

Launching Sept 24, the show is a collection of interviews Sam has done with Q***r identified providers serving q***r families, as well as interviews with q***r families.

I do an interview with Sam where I talk about creating beginning of life ceremonies to support q***r families.

To win, send me a private message by the end of this weekend, by end of the day on Sunday, Sept 11 and then I’ll do a draw of names.


***rFamilies ***rCelebrant