Maxine Ward - Celebrant

From start to finish, Maxine was warm, engaging and personalised everything to fit our story. She guided us through the process seamlessly and created a beautiful, heartfelt ceremony that felt uniquely ours. Despite the rain, Maxine went above and beyond to ensure we had the best ceremony which set the tone of the day. All our guests couldn’t stop raving about how touching and memorable it was. We cannot recommend Maxine enough and our wedding day would not have been the same without her. Photography by – Stories of Amore – Jessie Hawkes

When we began planning the day of our wedding, a celebrant was one of the first things we looked for. As it happens, this was a wonderful choice because Maxine was brilliant from start to finish. Maxine really took the time and care to get to know us as a couple (through questionnaires and meetings) and this meant that out ceremony felt so personal and special. My mum commented afterwards that it felt like Maxine had known us for ages! She helped to walks us through the process of writing vows, planning what the ceremony would look like, accounting for the weather, organising the musicians, and sorting out the readings. She was also particularly helpful in suggesting different options for our ceremony and we decided to incorporate a handfasting and unity candle, which were such lovely parts of the ceremony. On the day, she was prompt and extremely helpful in helping us make last minute arrangements, moving around furniture to account for the small space, planning where the musicians would be, liaising with the photographer, etc. The ceremony she planned was perfect for us. It was thoughtful, clearly well planned, and superbly delivered. She spoke with such warmth and her passion for her work as a celebrant was evident. Afterwards, she remained with us to check in and ensure that we were all set for the evening festivities before quietly departing after a few pictures with us. All in all, Maxine was an essential part of the day’s success and we couldn’t thank her more for her support and kindness throughout the entire process.

Biggest thanks to Maxine for putting together, and delivering a perfect, personalised wedding ceremony for us in June 2024. Our wedding ceremony was really important to us. Maxine went above and beyond to make our ceremony truly bespoke – unique and meaningful, yet light-hearted and funny too. All of our guests commented on how brilliant our ceremony was too! We absolutely loved our whole experience with Maxine. Thank you so much! Would highly recommend. Photography by – Scott Stockwell

We couldn’t recommend Maxine enough, from the first initial meet to the big day. Maxine took the time to really get to know us and how we met and created the most beautiful story for our ceremony. She was extremely helpful when writing our own vows and giving us ideas of unique things to add in our ceremony. It was absolutely perfect, and we wouldn’t have changed a thing. Highly recommend if you want a personal, unique ceremony . Thank you, Maxine for everything. Photography by -Judith Parkin Photography

Maxine Ward delivered our handfasting wedding ceremony at Jenners Barn and Great Farm in Whelford, Gloucestershire on August 3 2024. We were both so instinctively drawn to the Celtic handfasting ceremony as it felt authentically personal yet unique and inspiring for our audience let alone us. We will treasure our ceremonial ‘knot’ forever. Maxine gave us so much time and attention in the lead up with preparations. Guiding us seamlessly through a series of questionnaires across a few spaced months. First questionnaire clarified the perimeters. ‘We are ready to start creating your ceremony, it began’. The who what where’s of our wedding day vision. In her words the “basic structure of the ceremony, the atmosphere and what will make it unique, personal, and memorable.” The questions really helped us focus, discuss and eventually co-create the unique and precious details of our ceremony. Anything from ‘Do you have any specific seating requirements for the wedding party?’ to ‘How would you like your wedding ceremony to be remembered by your guests?’ The next round of questions were more personal about our “Love Story”. The challenge to be your most authentic self, answering questions like: How do we truly define each other? What do you love about each other? How did we know we were right for each other? Remembering, recognising and reflecting on our companionship and actually reminding us why we were getting married to each other. Maxine entered fully into the spirit of our Peaky Blinders theme by purchasing a lovely vintage dress to wear. She advised us where to get the various props required for the rituals. On the day the ceremony was beautifully structured and rich in content with rituals, readings, vows and stories. Maxine wove the nature of our surroundings and the elements into her words. The birds, the trees, the forests and the meadows around us all became part of our ceremony. Our 10 year old son and even our dog got involved. It felt truly magical and many of our guests were reaching for tissues to mop tears of joy for us! We feel so connected with Maxine now and consider her a friend. We look forward to inviting her back to renew our vows in the future and cannot recommend her highly enough if you’re looking for a celebrant for your special occasions. Photography by – Amanda Deadman Photography

From the moment we met Maxine we knew she would be absolutely amazing and we made the perfect decision choosing her to be our celebrant. She’s so lovely, friendly, and a calming presence and we felt 100% supported all the way through the planning process. The ceremony she scribed bought tears to our eyes when we read it. On the day before she gave us a rehearsal and helped calm any nerves we had and on the day itself at Dulwich College she was brilliant in her delivery and everyone commented on how absolutely perfect our service was. She totally knocked it out of the park. I can highly recommend Maxine Ward to anyone who is looking for a wedding celebrant. Photography by – Joe Howarth

Between her warm personality and attention to detail in her questionnaires and consultations, she will help make sure your wedding ceremony is a memorable one. Maxine would always reply to questions and concerns promptly, sometimes within a matter of hours. She wrote a beautiful ceremony script tailored to our specific love story and ensured our personalities were reflected in her writing. You will not be disappointed hiring Maxine!

We also wanted to say a huge thank you for being such a wonderful celebrant. You exuded warmth from our first meeting, and it really came across in the ceremony. We appreciated your co-ordinating meetings that fitted our global time difference, and for the 'walk through' that we did in person a couple of days before the day itself. You very much calmed all nerves in that meeting! Your ideas and advice on how to make the ceremony meaningful and incorporate our various heritages were super helpful. The extra support on sourcing such beautiful handfasting cords for us was very much appreciated. It's lovely how personalised your ceremony writing is - the way you built a story about our relationship made us realize how by chance we came to be together and how amazing and romantic that actually is - something a lot of couples take for granted I think.

We used Maxine as our celebrant on the 6th May 2023. We wanted a non religious ceremony that was centered about us as a couple and Maxine delivered. We didn't know where to start and Maxine was great in giving us options and guiding us through the process. We ended up with a handfasting ceremony and it was wonderful. Everyone commented how they didn't know that is where the saying 'tied the knot' came from. Maxine communicated our love story in such a humorous yet beautiful way that everyone was laughing one minute and tearing up the next. She made our ceremony unforgettable and truly magical.

My wife and I had the pleasure of having Maxine marry us in July 2023 and we would like to express our thanks for her expertly crafted ceremony which made this day incredibly special for us both. We cannot recommend Maxine any more highly. Maxine took care and time to get to know us as a couple and helped make this important day a brilliant experience for us to treasure