Whether you call it a "wedding," a "handfasting," or something else entirely, the fact is you've finally found that Special Someone (or Special Someones) and now you're looking for just the right person to create and conduct the ceremony that will bind your hearts together for life... or for awhile at least! I would be honoured to take you and your friends, family, and other loved ones on this unique and life changing journey.

My services as Celebrant can easily overlap with that of your official Wedding Planner (or equivalent) so it's important for us to meet early and establish your expectations; it may be that you already have a script, and you're just looking for an accomplished and commanding presence to memorise and recite lines, or you may be completely at sea and in need of someone who can craft a ceremony from the ground up. I am happy to work from either end or somewhere in the middle.

LGBTQIA+, Polyamorous, and Kinky couplings are near and dear to my heart, but I have plenty of experience with more traditional partnerships as well.

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Legality (In the UK) Because of our current legal framework I am not able to perform the legal aspect of marriage within the United Kingdom. This will need to be done either before or after the Ceremony itself. I can, however, give advice on the most suitable way to fulfil the legal requirements, and can also serve as an official Witness. (More information on legal marriage and civil partnerships at the UK Government website.) The good thing about having a "non-legal" ceremony is that you are not bound by any rules about what venue you need to stage it in.

Legality (In the US) I am formally ordained through the Universal Life Church, and can therefore conduct legal marriages in most parts of the fifty United States and its major extra-national territories and possessions. However, some laws vary state by state and even county by county, and certain areas do not always recognise certain Celebrancy credentials. This link can provide some guidance, but I will always do the necessary research to ensure your marriage is fully legal and valid before proceeding.

Sometimes a relationship has run its course, and a time comes when both parties agree that their lives would be better led independently. Although such separations are rarely easy or without pain, they can still be made sacred occasions where the love you have shared until now can be honoured and cherished, and everyone can go ahead on their path with dignity and pride intact. It is even possible to approach this event with joy and celebration.

Whether you are experiencing the full intensity of a divorce, or a breakup of a relationship that only lasted a short time, you deserve to honour the experience and say farewell to it with solemnity.

Separation ceremonies can be held with both (or all) parties involved, or with just one member of the partnership, and may be conducted in the presence of others, or in private with just your celebrant.

Life is sacred, and as there is no life without death, Death therefore is sacred too. All lives are worth noticing when they end; all lives are worth celebrating. Exactly how we mark their passings is a matter of great delicacy and emotionality.

Funerals are rituals of transformation, where we transition from a relationship with someone who is alive, to a relationship with someone who is no longer among the living. It is a celebrant's job to help usher you and your community through that journey and see you safely to the other side.

It is not always possible or appropriate to have a funeral or recognition of a life that has passed immediately. Other times, a death or series of deaths may impact a community so greatly it is necessary to mark its passing more than once. In these instances, a Memorial Service may be needful.

Whatever the circumstances, be they peaceful or particularly painful, I would be honoured to accompany you through this period and turn a tragic time into one of hope and joy.

Regardless of whether you choose to employ me as your celebrant, feel free to use my Funeral Planning Document at no cost.

Families come in all shapes and sizes, and we do not always have the opportunity to celebrate when a family is expanding. I'd like to change that.

New Baby Naming, Baptism, Blessing, and Saining

It is such a joy to welcome a new life into this world. Many cultures have a tradition for formally marking this occasion, bestowing a name on the newborn, allowing the parents, guardians, family and community to pledge themselves to guide and nurture their new member, warding away harmful influences and asking for gifts and blessings.

Whether you have a specific tradition your community has observed for many generations, or you are seeking to start a new tradition now, we can work together to create the perfect way to mark this once-in-a-lifetime moment.

Name-taking and Adoption

Birth is not the only way to expand a family. Adoption, at any age, is an equally important moment to celebrate and declare our commitment to new family members. Your ceremony may be as simple as taking the name of a new parent, or as complex as the Adoption process itself. Either way, this is a moment you will not forget, and it's worth making it in a sacred way!

Anyone who has moved to a new accomodation knows that simply receiving the keys to the front door does not mean you have come "home." Whether you've simply relocated recently because you've changed your job or your budget, or you've finally purchased the house or land where you plan to build a home for generations to come, this too is an occasion worth marking as sacred and special.

It can be particularly important to clear your new living space out of the lingering energies and spirits of previous residents. This is a new beginning; you don't need to be weighed down by others' problems and experiences.

I'm pleased to say I have developed a very simple and effective home blessing ritual that is comfortable and acceptable to any and all belief systems. Get in touch now and we can discuss the perfect cleansing and blessing for your space. It's time to turn your house into a Home!

Sickness and injury affect us on more than a physical level; they impact our minds and our spirits as well.

Although I would never advocate spiritual work in place of actual medical care, the two can and do work side by side and complement each other nicely.

There are many forms of prayer, blessing, and full rituals that can be enacted with, or over, a person who is ill. I have direct experience of giving spiritual and pastoral support in a healthcare setting (having worked as a hospital chaplain throughout most of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic). I have seen firsthand the efficacy of spiritual healing enhancing the impact of medicine and surgery.

"Healing" can mean many things, and does not always mean a return to the health status and physical status that a person experienced before the illness or injury. Sometimes healing can mean coming to accept and even embrace life with a disability or chronic illness. Ceremony is one way to facilitate this acceptance. Blessing and consecrating accessibility devices like canes, wheelchairs, hearing aids, medication, etc. is also an option.

There are so many other significant events and rites of passage in our lives that so often go unmarked. This does not have to be the case. There are ceremonies of every shape and size that can be enacted to mark virtually every kind of change in life and identity. The stages of our life could be marked by anything. These include but are by no means limited to:

• Coming of Age

• First Menstruation

• Graduation/Attaining a Degree or Qualification

• Acquiring a New Job or Promotion

• Becoming a Parent/Grandparent/Sibling

• Retirement

• Menopause/Andropause

• Becoming an Elder

You are limited only by your imagination!

There are some Rites of Passage that are particularly unique to members of the Lesbian, Gay, Biseuxal, Transgender, Asexual, Intersex, Queer, etc Community. I have extensive experience with creating unique rituals to celebrate and announce these events. Some examples include:

• Coming Out

• Change in Relationship Status

• Name Changes/Pronoun Changes

• Blessings Pre- or Post-Surgery

• Blessing on new clothes, hair cuts, piercings, tattoos, toys, HRT medication and delivery tools, etc.

• Remembrance Days for significant events (both joyful and tragic)

There is no time like the present to celebrate your true self and instill that all important Pride in your life!

The ceremonies listed above all have to do with the life cycle of human beings, but our animal companions are just as important as our human relationships, and they deserve to be celebrated and honoured just as much.

Ceremonies that involve your pets may include:

• A blessing on pets - new ones or ones you've had for years!

• Blessing on a new habitat or pet's special diet.

• A healing ceremony for a pet who has become sick or injured.

• Funeral services for when a pet passes away.

I work with a number of local vets who specialise in sensitive and dignified euthanasia when the time comes to let your friend go in the most peaceful and painless manner possible. Feel free to contact me for recommendations.