Celebrant of Curiosity

What do you offer?

I curate whimsical weddings, vow renewals, elopements, and commitment celebrations for curious folk. Non-traditional ceremonies which are curious about the unique experiences, quirks, and eccentricities of each couple!

Why do you want to work with the LGBTQ+ community?

As a humanist, I place a great deal of value in putting people at the heart of everything I do and I act to give my own life meaning by seeking happiness for both myself and others. I see inclusivity as a non-negotiable part of my philosophy on life.

In my work as a celebrant, I very much see myself as curating a collection of people's lived experiences, meaningful objects, or memories, which is then used to build a ceremony that starts from the individuals and adds 'wedding' only when that make sense based on the individuals at the heart of the ceremony. And this means that building ceremonies which celebrate LGBTQ+ couples exactly as they are is built into the way I work.

It's also very personal to me. I spent a long time wrangling my own ceremony to make sure that it celebrated and affirmed our queer identities because we're often subject to people's assumptions about the relationship having its own 'straight' orientation which erases ours. While trying to look for this authenticity, a supplier made an unprompted comment that they would happily avoid the idea of 'forever' and write about the here-and-now without commitments for the future. It really spoke to their underlying assumptions about what bi- or pan- identities, or non-monogamous relationship structures meant. I'm determined to lean on my personal experience, and learn from other people's experiences, so that the kinds of supplier conversations which make you feel (at the very best) 'underwhelmed' don't happen for the couples I work with.

Allyship

I take an intersectional approach to every part of my work. This includes supporting queer-owned businesses and creatives in the services which I go to for behind-the-scenes business tasks like marketing. Throughout the process of working with couples I start from a place of curiosity rather than assumptions in my language use, and I work to create a safe environment by being open with my own experiences and in small acts like including my pronouns as standard.