Each ceremony a unique life moment
Celebrancy Services
Ceremonies are a vital part of our humanity; they mark and honour beginnings, endings and special events.
Each ceremony holds our unique and precious life stories, and it is important that these are given space and time to be spoken and heard.
Whatever your life event, by listening with gentle curiosity, compassion and creativity, I will work with you and your family to create a bespoke ceremony that reflects your personality and desires.
Your ceremony is yours – as a celebrant I can guide you through the practicalities and can offer suggestions, but it is your voice and your story that I’ll bring to the fore.
A Little About Me and My Work
To help you decide…
Whoever you choose as your celebrant, it’s important that you feel confident they can work with you with care and empathy in order to create a unique and meaningful ceremony. Here I offer a few lines about me and about my qualifications, skills and training and the way I like to engage in my work.
The Path to Celebrancy
My journey to celebrant was a winding one! But looking back, there seems to be a natural progression that has allowed me to practice and hone the skills that I need to offer you the best celebrancy service possible.
After a 24-year career with British Airways, I left in 2010 ready for a new adventure. I worked as a one-to-one and group counsellor for many years, incorporating creative techniques for therapeutic purposes. During my working life, I have delivered training courses, lectures and have been invited to speak at conferences, honing my public speaking skills along the way. In 2022, after developing my own daily mindfulness/meditation practice, I trained to be a mindfulness coach. I now offer mindfulness sessions for people living with dementia and for care home residents.
It was after giving eulogies for 3 close family members I realised that working as a celebrant would be an enriching way to marry all the skills and passions I’ve developed in my various careers and passtimes. I gained my celebrant qualification with The Fellowship of Professional Celebrants.
My Celebrancy Style
Care
To be invited to write and deliver a ceremony text is a true privilege and honour. I am always aware that you are sharing the precious stories and experiences that you and your family hold dear. Thus, I pride myself on holding these stories safely and I take care to portray the person or people ‘within the text’ as sensitively and accurately as I possibly can.
Connection
Image credit: Valerie Ivens
This photo offers a glimpse of what I try to bring to my work. The beach and the sea offer me a place of not only contemplation and peace but of vitality and a sense of connection to my environment and those around me.
Craft
My passion for writing and poetry (second only to my passion for chocolate!) has given me a wonderful creative outlet. In the ‘gaps’ between my everyday work, I have written for professional journals and national newspapers, and my poetry has been published in anthologies and journals. Over the years, I have collected a bank of wonderful prose and poetry by a variety of authors, and I would be very happy to suggest readings of a style to suit you – whether traditional, contemplative, uplifting, fun or reflective.
I very much look forward to working with you should you choose my celebrancy service.
Please feel free to contact me for a free consultation and to find out more about the services I offer. I’m very happy to video or WhatsApp call:
Mindings and Musings
Latest
Ceremonies and Rituals
– What the ‘Amesbury Archer’ taught me.
Our ceremonies and rituals say so much about who we are, how we love, how we grieve who and what have lost, and how we celebrate our joys.
The ‘Holding Moment’
I’ve been thinking about moments of comfort. I think I’m fairly safe in saying that to live fully means that at some points in our lives we have to navigate dark times. And with the benefit of time we realise we can survive and learn, and that we can discover new ways of being in the world.