My role as a celebrant: it’s joyful!

Why did I choose the role of a celebrant as my new career?

At my son and son-in-law’s wedding in 2021, led by their good friend in the celebrant role, I realised just how special it was to have a fully personalised ceremony for such a precious occasion.  It was a joyous ceremony!  Ultimately, the ceremony was very traditional in its layout, but it brought friends and family together, it was vibrant and inclusive and unlike anything we’d attended before.  It was the start of what turned out to be a phenomenal day!

A career change beckons!

Fast-forward to 2022 and I was in the middle of the decision-making process ready to make a career change after years of demanding jobs and long hours at work.  The decision was, to retire early and just ‘make do’ until my normal retirement age came around (10 years ahead).  Or, find some new challenges and keep going!

Coaching can help the process of change.

I accessed a career coach! At the time, I hoped wasn’t a ridiculous thing to do given that I was moving towards the end of my working life!  I had already been in the workplace for 40+ years!  I asked Kirsten Goodwin, a marvellous career coach, to help me.  She had worked with my daughter previously and her help was invaluable! Through our sessions I realised that all of the skills I had garnered over 40 years in the workplace had come together.  I decided that a role as a celebrant would be my new career.  I knew I could do it and I hoped I could do it well! After some thorough research, I found The Academy of Modern Celebrancy, signed up and I haven’t looked back!

Community is everything in my celebrant role!

The community I have found, as part of both the wedding and funeral industries, has been so positive and welcoming. I know that having a positive, helpful community around you is such an amazing support.  It has helped me hugely to know that I am not alone in working to progress positively within my business. 

Building a network around you is absolutely key!  There can be a lot of negativity around us these days.  Life can be hard and nothing comes easy. Feeding off the difficulties of others, focusing on the negatives, is a rabbit hole I wasn’t prepared to go down. Social media, so necessary for our business, can be difficult to manage – especially in this regard.  Perhaps this is the benefit of coming to a new career later in life! I won’t waste time on unimportant things that take up too much precious time.

Getting the right support

Finally up and running, now aged 58, I didn’t want to waste my time doing things in the wrong way. I didn’t want to set myself up without support – perhaps going backwards instead of forwards. I again looked for support and found Katie and Roxy from The Wedding Business Hub. They are the most relentlessly positive and helpful coaches imaginable!  They helped straighten out the processes I was working through and gave me concrete plans to work on!  I was so pleased to be able to talk to them on their WedPro Podcast in March 2024 (episode 93). We talked about my journey into the wedding industry and my role as a celebrant.  Hiring a celebrant is a growing ‘trend’ for couples who decide they want something more personalised for their wedding ceremony. It’s the wonderful start of their wonderful day.

Community is everything.  As I began my journey, other celebrants reached out too to say hi. They introduced themselves and invited me to join their community for that extra support.  Malc Jefferey, Funeral Celebrant and Jamie Walker Celebrant in particular, reached out to help.  I’ve been delighted to meet many others, but these two lovely people said, ‘Welcome, what can we help you with?’ It was just brilliant!

Why I love the role of a celebrant

Now that I am a year-and-a-half in, I have several weddings and many funeral ceremonies to look back on. There is lots more to look forward to! I can honestly say it’s been a real joy to find this career at this stage in my life.

I love what I do. The people I meet are great. It makes me so happy to be able to support so many families and couples. These are the most pivotal times in their lives and it’s a true privilege.

Celebrate those milestones with love and care

If you would love to have a chat about your upcoming ceremony, and how I can help make it unique and special, then please book your no-obligation discovery call with me. Here’s the link to my calendar – we’ll start to talk over your plans. Otherwise, go to my contact page and you’ll find my details there – don’t hesitate to get in touch!

I know you will want the special occasions in your lives to be unique, personal and memorable.  There’s no reason whatsoever why you should have to put up with ‘ordinary’ or ‘generic’ ceremonies. Whether you are planning a wedding, a celebration of life, a funeral, a vow renewal or a naming ceremony it should be an extra special event.

These important days should be marked with love and care and remembered for many years to come.

Don’t settle for less!