Questions
The things people ask
If yours is not here, ring me. There is no such thing as a daft question in this job.
Not in England and Wales. The legal side is a separate ten minute appointment at a register office with two witnesses, which most couples do quietly in the week before or after. You then get complete freedom over the ceremony that matters to you. I will explain exactly how to arrange it, and in what order, when we meet.
For weddings, most couples book nine to eighteen months ahead, though I do sometimes have a date free at short notice. Naming ceremonies tend to be booked two to three months out. Funerals are usually arranged within a few days and I keep space in the diary for them.
No. I write whatever fits the family. That might be entirely secular, or it might include a hymn, a prayer, a reading from scripture or a blessing in another language. Many services sit somewhere in the middle, with a moment of quiet reflection so that everybody can take part in their own way.
Yes, and plenty of couples do. If the idea terrifies one of you, I will sit down with you separately and pull the words out through conversation. Nobody has ever left that session without something they were happy to say out loud.
I have never missed a ceremony, but I am part of a network of celebrants across the South West who cover each other. Your full script exists in writing, so a colleague could step in and deliver your words rather than something generic. It is in the contract.
Travel within 25 miles of Wells is included. Beyond that I charge a mileage rate agreed in advance, and for longer distances I will tell you honestly whether an overnight stay makes sense. I have worked across Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon and Bristol.
Weddings run around 25 to 35 minutes. Naming ceremonies are shorter, usually 20 minutes, because small children have limits. Funerals depend on the venue, and most crematoria give you a slot of 30 or 45 minutes. Celebrations of life held elsewhere can take as long as you want.
Yes, at no extra cost. A battery powered speaker with a handheld and a lapel microphone, which covers outdoor ceremonies and rooms up to about 150 people. It also plays your music if the venue has nothing suitable.
It is extremely normal. Step parents, estranged siblings, people who cannot sit near each other, a parent who has died. These things get handled quietly in the planning so that on the day nobody is caught out.
Whatever suits the occasion and the setting. Smart and unobtrusive is the default. If you would rather I wore a particular colour, or avoided one, just say. For an outdoor ceremony in February I will be wearing boots.
That is one of my favourite parts of the job. I keep a large collection of readings, poems and song lyrics, and I will send you a shortlist based on what you have told me rather than a list of the same six poems everybody uses.
A celebrant writes and leads the ceremony. A toastmaster runs the rest of the day: announcements, timings, moving guests about and keeping your suppliers in step. They are separate jobs and plenty of couples book only one of them. If you want both from me it costs less than booking them separately, because I am already there and already know the plan.
Yes, and there is nothing daft about it. An animal you lived with for over a decade is a real loss, and nobody gives you time off work for it. These are usually short, held at home or in the garden, and they help. I also do blessings for a new arrival, which children in particular tend to take very seriously.
Send a message through the contact page or ring me. We will have a chat, I will confirm the date is free, and a £100 booking fee plus a signed contract holds it. Nothing is committed before that.