Why I became a Celebrant

After five years working as a registrar, I knew something was missing.

I’ve had a bit of a varied career. I started out as a family solicitor in South Wales, then worked as a welfare advisor in a major London hospital. After that, I moved into the NHS as a quality manager, working on improvements and incentives for a few years in Essex.

When we moved back to Wales, I worked for Citizens Advice and as a registrar for Neath Port Talbot Council. It was there that something really clicked.

I absolutely loved being a registrar. Because I was working casually, I focused on weddings, and I was lucky enough to witness a tiny part of one of the happiest days of people’s lives. It honestly never got old.

After a couple of years juggling both roles, I became pregnant and made the decision to continue with the registrar work. I actually returned to ceremonies when my son was just four months old! I didn’t have maternity leave in the traditional sense, as I knew I wasn’t going back to my substantive role, so I wanted to keep a foot in the door.

Partly because I loved it, and partly because it’s one of those jobs that feels like starting from scratch if you step away for too long. (And if I’m honest, it was also a great excuse to get dressed up and feel a bit more like myself again!)

During that time, I’d thought about becoming a celebrant a few times. Then one day, a mum friend casually asked me at soft play if I was planning to do it, and that was the moment the seed was properly planted.

I still didn’t act on it straight away, but eventually my husband bought me the training course with the Academy of Modern Celebrancy for my birthday, and that was it!

I’m now on track to qualify as a Master Celebrant, which means I’ll be able to lead weddings, naming ceremonies, and celebrations of life.

You don’t actually need qualifications to become a celebrant, but even coming from within the wedding industry, I’ve found the training invaluable, so I’d really recommend looking out for a celebrant who has qualifications for your ceremony. It’s allowed me to take what I already loved about ceremonies and turn it into something much more creative, personal, and meaningful.

And that’s really what it comes down to.

As a registrar, I loved being part of weddings.
As a celebrant, I get to create them.

If you’re planning your wedding ceremony in South Wales, you can find out more about my wedding celebrant services here