Life Events Celebrancy

Hi, I’m Kate Walsh a professional Civil Celebrant. I trained with the International College of Professional Celebrants (ICPC). I hold the Level 3 NOCN Civil Celebrancy in UK qualification. Prior to training as a celebrant I spent many years teaching in primary schools and teaching woodwind. I have also had a book of poetry published. These days I am a professional flute player and Celebrant. I am based in the Uxbridge area.

I write bespoke ceremonies for each occasion whether it is a wedding, funeral, vow renewal or baby naming or any other non-standard ceremony a family or couple may want. I always follow what the family/couple want. I am aware it is their day and I am the one to make it special and memorable for them. It is not about me it is about my clients. I love to weave in a special story into the ceremony and make guests feel included. I can also suggest rituals to make your ceremony just that bit more special and memorable. For a wedding, sand blending or hand fasting are just a couple of examples. For a funeral, you may wish to do a balloon release or a dove release to remember your loved one (this would depend on local regulations). Other possible ceremonies could be gender reveal for a baby, retirement celebration, a celebration of the life of a loved one once the funeral has been conducted – this could be more celebratory than a funeral.

How do I operate?

For any ceremony my first priority to talk to the family/couple and get any information they wish to give me to make the ceremony personal to them. For a funeral I meet up with the family and go through what they want me to highlight about the deceased to bring that person to life. I liaise with the chief Mourner and the Funeral Director to ensure we get the correct version of any music and the Order of Service is correct. For a wedding or other celebratory ceremony I will meet up with the couple/family and have a planning meeting to figure out how they want the ceremony to run and to check the couple have organised the legalities if it is a wedding. I then do a draft of the ceremony and meet again to discuss it with the couple/family. While we go through the draft I can suggest possible rituals to enhance the ceremony and I collect further information to further personalise the ceremony. As the day draws closer I visit the venue to check the ceremony will work in the venue and do any final tweaks to make sure it will. I risk assess all venues before any ceremony and check accessibility is possible for all guests. If a ceremony is scheduled to be held outside I always make sure there is a “plan B” in case the weather is bad or the outdoor space is not usable.

In addition to my celebrant skills I can also provide live flute music as part of your ceremony. If you want your drinks reception begin with a bang I can also Sabrage a bottle of Champage. (Removing the top of a bottle with a sword) I am a chevalier with the Confriere de Sabrage D’or

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