I wasn’t supposed to be a celebrant. Then I watched one work a room, and everything changed.

It was June 2023. I was a guest at a wedding in the Hunter Valley. Then the celebrant stepped up and did something I had never seen before. He worked that room with intention, authority, and humour. He made every single person in that space feel completely connected to the couple’s story. And something in me shifted.

Over a glass of wine at cocktail hour, I turned to my family and said: “I think I could do what he did. I could be a celebrant.”

What none of us knew was that within twelve months, I would officiate my first legal marriage in Australia.

The story of how that happened involves a motivational speaker, a phone call from London, strangers in Bali, and some inner courage to finally trust myself.

A month after that wedding, I was at a national conference in Sydney with the company I had spent over 21 years working for. A motivational speaker named Andrew May asked the room: “What is your next career move?” Without thinking, my hand shot up. I declared that I was going to start pursuing my Civil Celebrant certification and marry people as a side hustle.

Then I thought nothing more of it.

Three months later, I was in London, helping my niece shop for her wedding dress. On that trip she announced she had appointed me as wedding MC at her destination wedding in Italy the following year. And somewhere along the planning journey, it became clear that I would also deliver the ceremony.

I wasn’t a celebrant yet. I had no idea what I was doing. But I had said yes.

Two months later, I took my partner Steve to Bali. Ten days of serendipitous encounters: people from the wedding industry, a woman at a crossroads in her own career, and Balinese strangers who told me – without apology – that Steve was more fun than I was. Something cracked open. I realised I was burnt out. I wasn’t enjoying my job anymore.

I came home. I resigned from a career spanning over 22 years.

Two months later I started studying with Rose Training. I finished my Certificate IV in celebrancy in twelve weeks. I was registered within six months.

What 60 weddings across the Hunter Valley taught me.

Since that first ceremony, I have officiated over 60 weddings across the Hunter Valley -Leaves and Fishes, Bimbadgen Estate, Rydges, Earp Distilling, Wandin Estate, Spicers Retreat, Willow Tree Estate, Winmark Estate, Palmyra BnB, Green Cathedral and beyond.

Each one has taught me something. About how to read a crowd. About how to hold space, how to steady nerves, how to make 200 strangers feel like family inside five minutes of ceremony opening.

I know the Hunter Valley wedding circuit intimately – the venues, the photographers, the florists, the caterers, the musicians, the planners. I am on the board of directors for the local business chamber. I attend at least five networking events every month across Newcastle and the Hunter Valley.

I am not just working in this region. I am embedded in it.

The training behind the celebrant.

My 22 years in corporate life weren’t wasted – they were preparation.

I spent many of those years as Head of Program Delivery managing large-scale technical programs and major events. I hold a Green Belt in Six Sigma and am a qualified Program Delivery Manager. That means your timeline, your ceremony, the coordination and every moving part of your day is designed to remove friction and run flawlessly. Nothing is left to chance. Everything is intentional.

I was personally coached by Performance Frontiers and Corporate Edge – organisations that develop conscious leaders for some of Australia’s biggest companies. I hold a Reiki Holy Fire qualification for grounding and energetic presence. I trained as a Life Doula because understanding the full spectrum of human emotion makes me a better celebrant at every ceremony.

You feel the difference, even if you can’t name it.

My full training:

• Certificate IV in Celebrancy, Rose Training
• Ceremony Masterclasses
• Voice Coaching with Nicky West
• Reiki Holy Fire qualification with OHM
• Life Doula Intensive Course
• Performance Frontiers corporate coaching
• Corporate Edge coaching
• Green Belt in Six Sigma
• Program Delivery Management
• Business Chamber Board Member

I take one wedding per day. That’s not a policy – it’s a promise.

Some celebrants do two, three, even four weddings on a Saturday. I don’t. I take one wedding per day, which means on your day, you have all of me. My preparation, my presence, my full attention. No rushing to the next booking. No divided energy.

My process – what I call the Love Story Blueprint – is a deceptively simple series of questions that draws out the textures of your relationship so your guests don’t just witness your ceremony. They feel part of it.