Way back in early 2016, a dear friend of mine asked me to perform a wedding ceremony for them. They had already gotten legally married in a registry office the year before but they wanted to have a larger scale celebration and incorporate a basic ceremony as part of it. I was absolutely honoured and very excited at the prospect and did a good bit of research into putting the ceremony together. Even though I was very nervous on the day, it all went off without a hitch and I received a lot of compliments on the ceremony.
Around this time, I also came across the course in Family Celebrancy offered by the Irish Institute of Celebrants and thought that this could really be something to use my presentation skills and, as my sister put it, my 'love of love'. I completed the course in September 2017, during which time I met some amazing fellow celebrants, learned a lot about crafting a bespoke ceremony and performed another wedding ceremony for a friend.
All I really wanted was something that would bring me joy outside of my regular work life... 8 weddings, 3 baby namings and 1 funeral on, even in these most difficult times, it still does bring me joy, thankfully. The pandemic has given us a deeper appreciation of the value of celebrating life's special moments and I am looking forward to many more celebrations as soon as it is safe to do so!