I would like to introduce myself, I am Andrea and I am passionate about creating precious elevated ceremonies that capture the uniqueness, the joy, the honesty and the experience of life and love.
I qualified as a Wedding & Family Celebrant in 2019 completing my funeral celebrants training in 2021.
Through my experiences of life and interest in people and their stories I have been on a journey leading to this moment of becoming a celebrant. Integrity and kindness are very important to me. To be a person who can be trusted to tell another person’s story in a way that is important to them.
I have a natural empathy and connection with people which was instilled in me from a very young age. I had an amazing childhood in Africa where I got to meet people from all walks of life including Zulus and the bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. For many of these people just the basics of day to day life were challenging in being able to have enough food or clean water. But despite these hardships there was always a joy, a smile and a celebration of life through traditions and rites of passage being acknowledged and a sense of gratitude.
These experiences inspired me and shaped my passion for art and writing.
As I grew into an adult I appreciated more about life and I remember when I was planning my own wedding my father talking to me about the ‘Circle of Life’ and how it affects family members from the young to the old. There is an importance to family traditions, and a time to say hello and goodbye.
I’m sure many of you have been to weddings that haven’t really reflected the couple and their story and maybe even a funeral. When my grandfather passed away I remember thinking – is that it! The eulogy didn’t reflect the man he was, his true spirit and I felt sad not just because of his passing but because the service didn’t honour him in the way it should have.
I feel everyone deserves the telling of their story in a way that inspires and uplifts us to create memories for the years to come. And that’s why I became a celebrant.
My story
The day I met my husband… I met a lady on Pulteney Bridge in Bath on my first day to work. She offered me a sprig of Lavender and for my future reading to first cross her palm with silver. I had literally not a penny on me having just had the exact amount of change for the bus. This didn’t stop her, she still proceeded to tell me anyway.
Today is the day you will meet the love of your life, she said. He is very tall, dark and handsome! I said thank you but thought ‘No way’ in my mind – isn’t that what fortune tellers always say! Later that day I went to the Salamander pub on John Street with my new work colleagues for a ‘welcome’ drink. It was then that I met him – he was tall 6ft 4 with dark curly hair and a smile that melted me!
He was doing a charity ride from Bath to London and his first words were “will you sponsor me?” And we always joke I’ve been sponsoring him ever since!
In terms of my career I worked as a trainee manager for House of Fraser hugely influenced by the spirit of the protagonist in a book I read a ‘Woman of Substance’. It was nothing like I had imagined and so I got a job working in Anita Roddick’s Body Shop, firstly in Bath and then London. This was the late 80s, and Roddick instilled a strong sense of community, of giving back and of a new way to do business which has inspired me to this day.
Over the years I have worked as Community Project Leader setting up projects in the Royal Marsden, Royal Brompton Hospital and Battersea Dogs Home to working in the City for a financial company working with American and Japanese clients. In 1991 I moved back to my homeland Wales where I was born. My husband and I wanted a fresh start to get out of the hustle and bustle of London for a more country living life and to be closer to our family.
I worked for many years in the hospitality industry, and during this time I trained in aromatherapy and complimentary therapies. I was self-employed as an aromatherapist when I had started my family in 1999 and in addition I volunteered every week at a local children’s centre offering massage for children with health challenges physically and mentally. It was here I learned the importance of gratitude and how you can make a difference to someone’s life.
I returned to full time work when the children were older, first in the pharmaceutical industry and later moving into healthcare partnering with the NHS offering training to health care professionals and supporting them in caring for their patients.
I have always worked hard and have taken real pride in my work and continue to do so. But it was back in 2019 I felt it was now the right time to use my experiences and channel them into becoming a celebrant creating heart-warming ceremonies celebrating all aspects of life and helping people through the circle of life.
I feel that as a celebrant I have combined my experience from my career together with my creative and caring nature. Ultimately, my role is to help people to celebrate important times in their life, making their memories special, so in the years that follow they can hold these close to their hearts as a source of joy or as comfort. I make the service bespoke to the couple or child, or for a funeral to the person and their family.
When I am writing the scripts for my clients, I draw influences from everyday life and the experiences of the people I am writing for. I would also say ‘LOVE’ is the most important ingredient in anything I do. From making a cuppa, to baking a cake, the same goes for writing and conducting my ceremonies – I always make sure to use plenty.
The things that bring me joy is good quality time with family and friends, my animals, cooking and I love nature and flowers – roses especially. For down time I love to get lost in a good story whether it be a book or film. I believe in love and romance, I am highly empathic with a great sense of humour but at the same time I like to put people at ease creating calm for those around me.