About Me
Hi there! My name is Michelle, my pronouns are she/her, and I love all things quirky. Find out more about me and whether you think we'll be a perfect fit below.
If gender reveal parties are your thing, I’m not the Celebrant for you.
If you’d like to have a Dr Who regeneration gender reveal, a Viking funeral or you want to arrive at your BTVS themed wedding with Mr Pointy, then beep me.
If you want to celebrate changing your name to reflect how you really feel inside, call me. I want to ensure you have the options to celebrate your significant life moments, in the way that makes your quirky little heart sing.
It doesn’t matter if I’m planning your wedding or a naming ceremony or a funeral, the most important thing for me is to ensure it’s authentic.
Why am I the ideal Celebrant for You?
I know I’m not going to be the ideal Celebrant for everyone. Honestly, I am not going to want to work with everybody. However, I am respectful, thoughtful and kind. I also have enough life experience to be able to roll with most situations.
My life has been reborn many times. Rolling with those punches is a skill in itself. Surviving the Hard Times is definitely a moment to be marked. For some reason, society only feels that we should mark particular events such as graduations, weddings, Christenings and funerals. There are so many other things to celebrate!
For people with chronic conditions- sometimes taking a shower or staying out of bed for a morning is a massive achievement. For others, being clean from addiction or getting divorced is a huge life moment. Getting that promotion or welcoming a new pet into your life, can be just as meaningful for some people as the traditional moments.
Family Celebrations mean a multitude of things to me.
Welcoming a new baby or animal to the family is a lovely thing to do. My cats are my child substitutes and they mean the world to me, so I understand why someone would want to celebrate welcoming them to their family.
Families are not just made of blood, they are made of friendship and love. Our chosen families- or framily, as I call mine, have provided much support, understanding and love over the years, in some cases more than some of my blood family. Choosing family can mean stronger bonds than those from blood. When a child is adopted and a new family is created, it’s vital that this is marked in some way to ensure the child understand that this is a permanent connection. A strong web of love. Having a successful pregnancy following a miscarriage is an incredibly precious event. I can understand how much of a blessing it is to welcome a child following such losses.
In relation to celebrating new beginnings- as a queer person I have a unique understanding of these situations. It’s very important to me that people who transition to their real gender are respected and honoured. It’s such a huge life change that takes years with potential for fraught conversations, potential eviction, and the ending of familial relationships. Often people may feel suicidal or incredibly isolated. After going through such a journey, finally becoming who you really are deserves to be celebrated!
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I’ve also been through many upheavals and difficult events. I understand how distressing life changing events are and why marking them is important. I can come up with ideas for most things and improvise when needed. If a ceremony starts to go in a different direction for whatever reason, I can improvise. I celebrate ‘difference’ and am able to give people permission to be themselves.