asked questions
FREQUENTLY
I’d love to have a chat with you about our wedding, when should I get in touch?
As soon as you can! I tend to get booked around a year in advance but can take bookings up to two years in advance. Just drop me an email and we can arrange an initial chat.
Are you local to me?
I’m based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, but happy to travel to any location in the UK and beyond. I love an adventure, so exploring a new spot sounds like my ideal way to spend a weekend!
What’s included in the cost?
The fee for a ceremony with me is £750 for bookings in 2024 and £800 for 2025. This is inclusive of our planning meetings, all correspondence up until the big day, the creation of a bespoke script just for your wedding, support on the day, public liability and professional indemnity insurance, a beautifully presented copy of your script and of course your fun, joy filled, laughter inducing, cry fest of a ceremony!
Travel to deliver the ceremony or for a rehearsal is not included, I work this out at £0.50 a mile from my home address to your venue. If your venue is a significant distance from my home address, then accommodation may be required. We will chat about this before you decide to book.
Will the ceremony be legally binding?
At the moment, this kind of ceremony in England and Wales is not legally binding. However, Humanists UK have been tirelessly campaigning to change this and I don’t think we’re far off a change in legislation. For now, you will need to do ‘the legal bit’ at a local registry office (a basic ceremony can be as little as £57). Many couples choose to do the paper work a few days before and completely view their humanist ceremony as the real thing with the dresses and the flowers, and the prosecco, and the party, and the grannys, and the bow ties, and the cake…
Without that legal bit, what does a ceremony usually involve?
The beauty of this kind of ceremony, because it isn’t bound by any legalities, is that it can look exactly how you would like it to!
My ceremonies are about:
Allowing you to celebrate your major milestones with your own close knit community around you
Telling your story
Creating unique experiences that are filled with love and emotion that are just right for those who are celebrating
Most ceremonies last around 30 minutes and can include music, readings, the telling of your story as a couple and your promises to one another. There are many symbolic gestures that you can add such as handfasting, candle lighting or sand pouring. I will talk you through all of these different options when we meet.
You can also get married anywhere you like from your back garden, to a beach in Northumberland, to a mountain top in the Lake District - the choice is yours.
My granny would like to say a religious prayer at the wedding, do you allow this?
The ceremonies I deliver are not religious but are personalised to you. Whilst I will not directly say any religious words, I welcome traditions from other cultures and readings that are special to you.
This seems like an interesting career choice, how did you end up a wedding celebrant?
A few years ago my big brother had a humanist wedding ceremony under a big oak tree in Kent. After meeting their celebrant for the first time, I received an over-excited phone call from my brother and my (now!) sister in law telling me they had just found my dream job. Watching them tie the knot, outside, in a beautifully personal ceremony that was an absolute perfect fit for them, cemented this in my mind. The very next day I started researching how I could make the career change!
What do you do when you’re not planning and delivering ceremonies?
I’m trained as a teacher and a Careers Adviser and manage a Careers team in Higher Education. My work supports adults with career decision making, confidence building, employability, presentation skills, wellbeing, and resilience to name but a few topics. It's challenging but super rewarding work and fuels my love of working with people and helping them to celebrate the little and big moments in life.
Otherwise I love cooking, home DIY and enjoy being outside as much as I possibly can!