Two People, One Day, One Sentence That Stayed
My great-uncle’s funeral was beautiful. It captured exactly who he was, his loves, his personality, the people who adored him. What has never left me is that the celebrant had never met him. She had gathered all of it through the time she spent with my great-aunt and the family, and she gave it back to us as a tribute that meant the world.
Twice that day, two different people came to me and said they were sure I could do this. That I would be able to create the same experience for a family just as she had just created for ours. I was honoured, and slightly stunned, to be spoken about in the same breath as her.
A Long Way Round to the Right Place
Leaving school, I knew three things. I wanted to be creative, I wanted to perform, and I wanted to be a mother.
Everything else I found out by trying it. I started as a young dancer, then took performance and public speaking exams at The Poetry Society in London from the age of twelve. School productions turned into local amateur dramatics, which I still enjoy. Since then: a bungee jump off a bridge, an Arctic husky sledding expedition for charity, more fundraising events than I can count, and enough floristry to make arrangements for all sorts of occasions.
I have spent a lot of my life looking for my purpose. I am happiest when I am making other people happy, and every one of those detours turns out to have been worthwhile.
The Post That Flicked the Switch
A post about celebrancy appeared online, in all its technicolour, and every memory and feeling came flooding back at exactly the right moment in my life to do something about it.
I found the Academy of Modern Celebrancy and it was my Eureka moment. A light bulb. A switch flicked. Graduating as a celebrant has been one of the most memorable and fulfilling experiences in my life.
I believe things happen for a reason, and at the time they are supposed to. Whatever I had been waiting for has finally arrived.
Never Replicated, Always Created for You, By Me
Being able to channel creativity into crafting ceremonies, working with people who all want something different, is what makes me thrive.
Human connection sits underneath everything I do. It underpins our whole society and runs through every part of our lives, so celebrating our most memorable connections properly matters beyond comparison. That is why I build a genuine relationship with the people at the heart of the ceremony, and why every ceremony holds space for the people involved to share their story, with love.
Trust is the other half of it. You will often be handing me deeply personal emotions, stories and memories, sometimes at a vulnerable moment, so honesty, integrity and open communication are not optional extras. You need to know that I will keep you safe.
Husky Sleds, Bungee Ropes and Three Quirky Humans
I live near Farnham with my wonderful husband and our three beautiful, quirky children and arguably the world’s best mum.
Is people-watching a skill or just a nosey hobby? I’m not sure but I love seeing how people fit together, how lives become intertwined and meaningful, and learning something new from friends to people I’ve only just met. The places I’ve seen and the people I’ve met on these adventures have added colour and vibrancy to my world.
What People Have Said
“Lorna is a great celebrant as she listens, has empathy and is a good public speaker. I would recommend her services to my family and friends.”
What Working With Me Feels Like
Calm, clear and unhurried. You will always know what happens next, because I will communicate with you.
I ask questions, but I listen more than I talk, and I will never hand you a ceremony that could belong to someone else.