My story
Where a Love of People Becomes Ceremony
Here is what I know for certain: people's stories matter. And the moments in life where those stories are told out loud, in front of the people they love, matter more than almost anything.
I grew up around weddings. My mum ran a catering company with her best friend, and from about the age of nine I was there at the set-up, replenishing the table, watching the bride and groom, absolutely enchanted by the whole thing. That love of weddings never left me.
I spent a long career as Head of HR and a member of top management in a large organisation. One of the things I became known for was giving farewells. Whenever someone was leaving, they would always ask me to speak. I loved finding out about people, their families, their children, their lives. I took it seriously. I put my heart into it. And the staff liked it, because they could feel that I genuinely cared.
Those two things, the love of ceremony and the love of people's stories, sat quietly with me for years. Then my very good friends Marcus and Juliane decided to get married. They were not religious, and they were planning their wedding celebration in France. They asked me if I would conduct their ceremony. Marcus knew I was a natural at organising events, someone who loves a theme, pays attention to every detail and gets the atmosphere just right. But more than that, he knew I was genuinely interested in people. So I said yes, and then I went and studied properly.
I graduated from the Academy of Modern Celebrancy in December 2025, with scores of 98%, 95% and 90% across my assessments. My mentor described my first script as brilliant. I conducted Marcus and Juliane's wedding on 16 August 2025, in English, French and German, because their guests had come from all over the world. It was one of the most meaningful days of my life.
My Approach
Rooted in Connection
I call myself connection-focused, because that is at the heart of everything I do.
With weddings and vow renewals, I want to know your love story. How you met, what made you sure, what your life looks like now and what you are hoping for in the years ahead. I ask questions, I listen carefully, and then I craft something that is entirely, unmistakably yours.
With funerals and celebrations of life, I spend as much time as possible finding out about the person who has died. Their life, their passions, the things that made them laugh, the things they cared about most. I tell their story with empathy and, where it feels right, a hint of warmth and humour. Because most of us do not want to be remembered in nothing but tears.
With naming ceremonies, I find out about the parents, the family and the hopes and dreams they have for this new arrival. It is a day of promises, and it should feel exactly like one.
My background in HR means I understand people at a very human level. My degree in English, Speech and Drama means I know how to craft and deliver a script. My love of ceremony, symbolism and ritual means I bring something extra to the staging and choreography of each event. I am a wordsmith. I am also, it has to be said, a bit of a stage manager.
I have lived in France in the Charente Maritime for several years, which means I genuinely understand the landscape, the culture and the legal framework for ceremonies here.
I am very happy to incorporate cultural elements into a ceremony where the couple and their family and guests come from different backgrounds.
I love symbolism and ritual. Handfasting, oathing stones, sand ceremonies, unity candles, Maori blessings, Cornish apple cake and mead ceremonies. If it is meaningful to you, it is meaningful to me.
I am warm, vivacious and chatty. I have been told more than once that I am a bit of a chatty Cathy. I consider this an enormous compliment.
I am also absolutely delighted when couples include pets or small children as ring bearers. Life is too short to be stuffy about these things.
And at the end of every wedding ceremony, I love to ring a celebratory bell. You have been warned.