Gosh it feels like a very long since I wrote a blog for this site and that’s because it has been! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still been performing ceremonies (two in the last month in fact) and some of them have been the most wonderful and heartfelt of my career, but after my second baby and then leaving Humanist UK I’ve scaled things down a lot and gone from conducting 20-30 weddings per year to only a handful. This has meant I’ve only made myself available for family or close friends (or people specifically recommended by them) and I also tentatively began conducting funerals after the loss of a close friend and was then approached by alternative Funeral Directors Natural Endings (this was of course a whole different experience but one I’ve found profoundly challenging and rewarding.)

As my little girls’ 2nd birthday is fast approaching I guess it’s finally time to admit she’s not a baby anymore and get back to work doing the thing I love most in the world – performing alternative ceremonies!

I’ve written a separate blog explaining why I left Humanist UK after five of being part of that organisation, and the scary step of becoming a completely independent celebrant living in the beautiful heart of Calder Valley in Todmorden without any institutional support, but now I look forward to stepping into a new chapter of working entirely for myself with couples who don’t want to be bound by tradition or, indeed, the rules of any ‘higher power’ except for their own hearts!

Who knows where this path will lead me? I can’t wait to see and I must admit, that after months of umming and erring about whether or not it was the right time to kick this work horse back into action, it feels pretty good to be back in the saddle! Yehhhhhaaaaaaarg!