the inclusive celebrant

What do you offer?

Hello, I’m Aliya (she/her) and I’m so excited to meet you! I create and officiate warm, fun, and inclusive wedding ceremonies, all joyfully crafted to celebrate you.

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

I’m devoted to celebrating love in all its forms and celebrating people for all that they are. As an ally whose business is centred on meaningful inclusion, it would be my honour and privilege to work with you, to give you a ceremony that celebrates you without stereotyping; a ceremony that respects and honours you for all that you are and shares your beautiful love story.

Allyship

I'm really lucky that my day job alongside being a celebrant is being an equity, diversity, inclusion and equality manager for a mental health charity. This means that I am very fortunate to constantly be learning about how I can be a better ally to people of all genders and orientations, as well as delivering training and facilitating conversations to share my knowledge. Alongside going on formal training from charities including Gendered Intelligence and Stonewall, and attending Pride events, I spend a lot of time listening to and learning from LGBTQ+ folk in and outside the wedding industry through social media and podcasts. LGBTQ+ voices are at the centre of my learning.

This year I had the privilege of giving a talk on meaningful inclusion in the wedding industry at Celebrant WinterFest, in which I was not afraid to speak out and say that we have a huge way to go before marriage is an equitable and equal experience for everyone. As part of this I discussed the discrimination many trans people face in being referred to correctly in legal marriages and civil partnerships, and the discriminatory process of applying for gender recognition certificates. I highlighted the power we have in the industry to campaign for change, and within the independent celebrant industry to provide inclusive treatment that people are often denied in the legal ceremony processes here in England.

I chose to call my business the Inclusive Celebrant because I felt like the wedding industry, and society more broadly, is often keen to put me into a box with set expectations which simply don't match with who I am, and I know I'm not alone in that experience. My business name publicly holds me to account in being someone who will always be devoted to practicing inclusion and providing a space where everyone feels respected and celebrated for being who they are.

I treat everyone with respectful curiosity rather than assuming I know about their identity and experiences and what that means for them. I'm quick to correct myself when I make mistakes without putting the onus on others to make me feel better. I'm always keen to learn and grow, and I am a confident active upstander, using lots of different approaches to challenge discrimination in ways that promote learning and growth whilst being fully supportive and protective of those who are experiencing the discrimination.

From simple steps such as normalising pronoun sharing, to promoting LGBTQ+ businesses in a community over competition approach via social media and in regular interactions with others, to calling out anti-trans rhetoric in the British media, these are just some of the steps I am taking. There is so much more I can and will do to build on becoming a better ally to the LGBTQ+ community, and I'm committed to keeping working hard to achieve this. My passion for social justice supports me to keep up my allyship work.