Linda Keys, Celebrant

It sounds trite, but they all are. Whether it’s the first one I did (for friends) with the confetti cannon, the couple (whom I just fell in love with) that live in my very own village, or the local “celebrity” whose wedding I never dreamed I’d get to do.... Every wedding finds a special place in my heart.

Warm, inclusive, heartfelt, relaxed, reassuring.

The feedback I get. To know that I have helped to set the tone for the whole day through my effort, time and energy. The whole wedding tends to start off with the ceremony, so absolutely nailing what the couple wants feels like the best gift I could give. All of the guests fall in love with the couple, are besotted by their love story, and just want to celebrate with them after they’ve been part of a wonderful ceremony.

Take a breath before massive decisions and trust your instincts. Too many people get pulled in all directions by what other people expect or want. Yes, let's take care of everyone as best we can - but ultimately it is your wedding and so long as you treat everyone there with love and kindness, their preferences or expectations about what your day should look like don't matter.

Special/personalised readings or songs always get me, especially delivered by a child.

I send an information sheet and availability calendar so that we can get straight to an initial (no obligation) chat on Zoom. Once you have booked, we get set up with a contract and I create a wee password-protected ceremony portal for all our documents. Around about 6 months before the wedding, I send out my lovely questionnaires (which couples love because it gets them in gear to think about what they want from their ceremony and tells me some of the key moments of their relationship, as well as what they love most about one another). It’s a great warm-up for our first meeting. I make sure we have a really good first meeting where you can become relaxed with me, and then we use our follow-up meetings to chat through ceremony structure, readings, who's standing where, and other creative or logistical elements. I’m also available for a rehearsal or walk-through if you've been chosen that. I'm available to you fully on your wedding day - I never book more than one wedding in a day.

Too many to name - I attract the unusual!

I always make sure I communicate well with the couple and take as much load off them as I can. I keep in communication in the days leading up to the wedding. I think I help people remember what the wedding is all about; celebrating their love with the people that matter. Once you get that in perspective the rest of the stuff is fun rather than stressful - as it should be!

Book your celebrant early. :) I cap the number of weddings I do each year so that I still have plenty of time with my family while my children are young enough to want me there at weekends! Once I've reached my full quota I start turning people away, even if I'm available on that date. This has benefits to the couples I work with - I can really focus on you and I have plenty of emotional energy to keep your wedding feeling special to everyone (including me!) I realise I'm really lucky to be in a position to do this, but it is definitely helping me to do the best job possible.

I love the exchange of personal vows. Most couples think they will struggle with nerves but very few do; they just look so caught up in their love. Funnily enough it's often the part of the ceremony I'm least involved in as with most couples I will set you up and then step out of the way so you can focus just on one another. (All my input to the vows happens in advance - and I really do love helping people nail their vows).