Becoming a Marriage Celebrant came out of the blue.
I was a full-time Creative Director for a company that I'd been working with for 15 years when my son, Josh asked his lovely girlfriend Hannah to marry him in 2016.
I was at a point in my career where I was burned-out from the stress of working long hours, 24/7 in an extremely demanding role and I had been thinking of leaving my job to start my own consultancy business and working from home. I wanted to change my life completely.
I was deeply touched and honoured when Josh and Hannah asked me if I would officiate at their wedding ceremony, although I didn't have a clue what was required to become a registered Celebrant.
As I started looking into Marriage Celebrancy courses, I began realising that being a Celebrant would actually suit me very well. Over the years, I had enjoyed creating meaningful and spiritual rituals for my family, to celebrate different milestones and special occasions.
Getting my qualification as a Civil Celebrant would be helpful in my transitioning work situation. I cut my days down at my job to three days per week and enrolled in a part-time course in Celebrancy that covered both marriage and funeral ceremonies.
My First Marriage Ceremony
I got my legal license making me a registered Marriage Celebrant two weeks before Josh and Hannah's wedding in March 2018. They were the first couple I officiated for and it was a joy and a privilege to marry them. I thought that I would be so full of emotion that I would bawl my eyes out through the ceremony, but instead, I was grinning from ear to ear - thrilled to declare them husband and wife.
Since then, I've created and planned many wedding ceremonies, baby naming ceremonies, commitment ceremonies, funerals and end-of-life celebrations. I love getting to know the love story between couples and writing a bespoke marriage ceremony that is a true reflection of them. I also find being of service to the family of someone who has died - to honour and celebrate the life of the departed - is especially fulfilling.
I completely transitioned to working for myself from home and started my marketing consultancy business two years ago. My work as a Celebrant compliments this perfectly.
I love being a registered Celebrant and I'm grateful to my son and daughter-in-law for getting me started on this journey. Their wedding was such a special day and it felt amazing to be their Marriage Celebrant. ❤️
