I was first inspired to become a celebrant after being a guest at the wedding of good friends of mine. This is the story of how and why I went on to become a Humanist wedding celebrant...

I was totally wowed.

It was the first Humanist wedding ceremony I’d ever been to and I was struck by how it completely focussed on the couple’s story and reflected their personalities.

I’d become accustomed to the standard ‘cut and paste’ impersonal style that I’d seen countless times at registry offices and churches.

There were no hymns or sermons which held no meaning to me.

This was something very different and I absolutely loved it.

It was moving, really meaningful and at times had the whole room in tears of joy and laughter.

Family and friends made readings and it was lovely that the people who meant most to them were involved in sharing their special day.

There was also music, personal vows, cheering, clapping and lots of joining in.

More than anything else, there was an immense amount of love and happiness in a beautiful place that my friends had chasen as their place to marry.

It was simply wonderful...

I also wondered to myself ‘so what is this thing they call Humanism’?

I looked into it and was surprised that I’d probably been a Humanist all my life but just not realised it.

I learned that it stands for living your life as a good person, making the most of the one life we’ve got.

Demonstrating values of decency, tolerance and kindness to others as well as promoting equality.

I quickly decided that I wanted to help other couples to experience the same wonderful wedding I was part of on that day, and after considering all the options decided that training for accreditation by Humanists UK was the best route for me.

I found that they work to the very highest standards which is incredibly important to me.

I’ve also done lots of different things throughout my life that help me now in my work as a Celebrant.

I spent many years in a number of senior business roles which is where I learnt my trade with creative writing and presentation skills, engaging all sorts of audiences at home and on the world stage.

When I'm not working, the things that make me 'me' include a love for nature and the outdoors - when I'm not working you can usually find me rambling on a walk or cycling somewhere.

I'm also a mad keen football fan - I still play 5-a-side most weeks...despite being old enough to know better!