A bit about me…
Having ventured South for a few years, I’m now safely back on the North East coast, and specifically North Shields, where I grew up. With its stunning coastline, community spirit and relaxed lifestyle, there’s genuinely nowhere I’d rather be.
As I intend to spend hours and hours getting to know you, it’s only fair that you get to know me too…
I’m a warm, approachable and compassionate person who can adapt well in different environments, which is vital in this line of work. Sensitive and tactful, I can help you navigate through the potential difficulties and tricky dynamics that sometimes arise. With weddings come heightened emotions, and families! Families are often complicated — trust me I get it, and will never judge, no matter the situation.
Some background…
I achieved First Class Honours in English Literature at Durham then worked for a while at a Georgian townhouse museum in York, but after witnessing a humanist celebrant at my grandad’s funeral, I soon realised that was my calling. I’ve been a funeral celebrant for many years now — connecting with people and hearing their life stories is immensely rewarding and inspiring, but I felt the urge to expand my repertoire and more recently trained to become a wedding celebrant. Weddings are completely joyous occasions, and I wanted to celebrate beginnings as well as ends.
You will guess, given my choice of degree, that I’m imaginative — and perhaps my defining characteristic — romantic! Growing up devouring classic novels by the likes of Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell and E M Forster (my hero), I am well versed in romance, and therefore, well qualified to be a wedding celebrant! Really and truly, writing and conducting wedding ceremonies, and getting to know wonderful couples along the way, is my dream job…and if you want to be dramatic about it, my destiny!
Two of my all-time favourite quotes:
“The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”
— Frank Herbert
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
— Oscar Wilde
When I’m not inside writing scripts and pondering all things love and romance, you’ll find me salsa dancing (I’m also a Strictly Come Dancing mega fan/nerd), in a Zumba or Pilates class, dipping/freezing in the North Sea, at my local independent cinema or — one of my absolute favourite things to do — watching live music at The Glasshouse. I’m also a huge fan of a Spicy Margarita and may be addicted to dark hot chocolate!