So how and why did I become a Celebrant? well, mine is not such a short story so get comfy and read on…
I didn’t realise it at the time, but my journey towards becoming a celebrant started in 2019 at what was the worst time of my life. I was 37 years old when my first husband Tim, died very suddenly and unexpectedly next to me at home. Our daughters were 12 and 10 years old at the time. I had become widowed, and our children had lost their dad. Our world fell apart overnight, but we were so lucky to have the most incredible support network around us to help us start to pick up the pieces.
I never imagined for a second that I would be planning my husband’s funeral after he had died at just 40 years old. My sister put me in touch with a local funeral director and through them, I met the celebrant who would conduct Tim’s funeral ceremony. She was so lovely and really took her time with us. When the day came, it felt like she had known Tim all his life. We had decided to only have a small family funeral and then a bigger memorial service for his friends and colleagues to remember him. After the funeral, I planned Tim’s memorial and delivered a part of the ceremony myself, which was incredibly hard, but it felt amazing seeing everyone share in his memories and legacy.
I met Neil at the end of 2019, and I honestly believe he was sent by Tim. It was love at first sight and the start of my chapter two. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy again, but I struggled with guilt and a mixture of the emotions that followed. Neil was incredibly patient and supportive, and he was amazing with the girls. We got engaged the following year and wedding planning began. Covid unfortunately stopped plans several times but in 2022, we finally had our day, and it was incredible.
Reflecting after we returned from our honeymoon in Cyprus, I started to think about the ceremony. We had a registrar led ceremony and at the time I was just happy to finally be married to Neil. Afterwards though, I thought what a shame it was to only meet the people conducting the most important ceremony, 10 minutes before it took place. They didn’t know me, or Neil or our family at all. It was sad that the ceremony content was so impersonal, and it felt like I was on the conveyor belt. One of the registrars actually said just before the ceremony, if I was even 5 minutes late, they would leave for their next ceremony, and we would not be married which was just a little bit stressful…
I started to research other ceremony options out of curiosity and the word Celebrant jumped out. I remembered the Celebrant from Tim and my dad’s ceremonies and how they supported us to celebrate their lives in a truly personal way. I got more curious and after more research, I started to imagine a wedding ceremony where I knew who was conducting the ceremony, where we could make it personal for us and where we weren’t constrained by time. It sounded amazing! so much so that last year, we eloped in secret and did it again but this time with the most incredible celebrant. We met and spoke several times before the ceremony, we had a beautiful candle ceremony and a sand ceremony, and it was perfect for us. At that exact point, I knew I wanted to give other people that feeling. I wanted to use my skills and my voice to tell other peoples stories, to be a part of the big moments in their lives. I wanted to be a Celebrant.
I looked into training to become a celebrant and it led me to the Academy of Modern Celebrancy (AMC). There were lots of training providers, but I wanted training that was known for being comprehensive, training that would enable me to be the best Celebrant I could be. The support I have had during my training and afterwards has been second to none. After completing my wedding Celebrant training, I created Pitch Perfect Ceremonies and here we are!
Day to day you will find me at my happiest either out in the fresh air with my dogs or horses, eating something delicious, or attempting a new form of exercise – sometimes with success, others not so much…
