This month, I’m delighted to introduce you to Sara Price, Independent Celebrant based in Helston in Cornwall. Sara is an award-winning Celebrant and was already highly successful as a wedding celebrant when she took our funeral training. Sara is warm and wise and has a fabulous sense of fun. It was a total joy to be part of her journey.
1. Tell me about what inspired your journey into becoming a Celebrant
Sara Price, Celebrant
I worked for the Cornwall Registration Service for 2 years as a Ceremony Officer. My job was to collect the marriage script and go to whichever venue the couple had chosen and either deliver or record the ceremony. I absolutely loved meeting all the couples and doing my absolute best to give them the most meaningful ceremony possible given the constraints of the standard scripts.
Eventually, those constraints became irksome, I knew that couples could have and deserved to have a far more personalised ceremony. This coupled with the sure and certain knowledge that I just did not want to be a long-term employee eventually led to my leaving.
I did something else completely different for a few years before realising that I really missed meeting all those wonderful couples and delivering their ceremonies, and in October 2019 I decided to combine the earlier training and experience from the registration service with my 20+ years in event and wedding management and become a Celebrant. And we all know what happened 6 months later!
2. You’ve recently won an award for your work as a Wedding Celebrant – tell us about that.
Sara Price, Celebrant
Collecting that award in a room filled with over 300 of my wedding supplier colleagues was one of the most amazing moments of my career as an Independent Celebrant.
I decided to enter the South West Wedding Awards to see how far along I could get in the process, and it was free to enter, unlike several other awards. The ‘voting’ was entirely down to my couples answering a few questions and leaving a mini review about me, and the ceremony I created for them.
When I received the news that I was a finalist, I felt as though I had already won. I was buzzing for days after that. As a finalist, I was invited to attend the black-tie awards ceremony at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Plymouth, overlooking the Hoe, it’s a great venue. I bought my ticket, booked a room, then had to find a gorgeous dress, obviously.
An amazing number of wedding suppliers from Cornwall also won awards that night, but hearing my name being called out was just the best and nicest kind of shock. A moment I will remember forever.
3. What do you think are the top five skills you bring to the role?
Sara Price, Celebrant
Listening, friendliness, creativity, calmness and empathy
4. You work in all areas of Celebrancy, including creating Life Celebrations. What do you enjoy about this aspect of your role?
Sara Price, Celebrant
When I began working as a Celebrant, I knew I wanted to offer both weddings and funerals/celebrations of life. But I didn’t want to over face myself and try and be all things to all people right out of the gate. I decided to focus on weddings and then, when I felt established and comfortable with those, I would add in the life celebrations. And that’s what I did.
I’d ‘met’ Dinah on several online trainings and liked her, and the way she taught and presented. When I discovered she also offered Funeral Celebrant training I knew she was the one I wanted to learn with.
One of the first questions Dinah asked was why I wanted to do this training. For me, it’s a privilege to be able to create a service that is everything the family wants it to be, one that is a true reflection of their loved one and their life. A service that enables them and their friends to honour and celebrate the life of the deceased, and to say their goodbyes they way they want to.
5. What do you find most rewarding about the work you do as a Celebrant?
Sara Price, Celebrant
I love every aspect of the work that I do as a Celebrant, but what I find the most rewarding is seeing the look of joy and happiness on my couples faces during and especially after their wedding ceremony. It’s seeing my families finally be able to relax, because they know they have given their loved one the very best farewell. And it’s being asked by family and friends after the ceremony or service how long I’d known the couple or the deceased for. To me, that means I got it right. And that is the most rewarding moment.
6. What advice would you give to anyone considering becoming a celebrant?
Sara Price, Celebrant
Be aware that you will be responsible for every single aspect of and decision about your business.
You will not be earning anything like a fortune, and for the first year or so, you probably won’t be earning very much at all. So, if you are already earning a salary, keep working there alongside the Celebrant work, and as that grows, you can gradually reduce your hours and, finally, pull out of the other job.
This can sometimes be quite a lonely job, you can’t talk about the specifics of what you’re working on with anyone, as a lot of it will be confidential, and you’ll be working weekends if you choose to do weddings which may mean missing or being late for moments with your friends and family.
So, consider seriously joining a Celebrant association which provides a link to the celebrant colleagues you’ll need, as well as several other benefits of membership. I am a member of the Association of Independent Celebrants and joining that very early on was one of my best decisions.
But, despite all that, it really is the most wonderful job, and if you can cope with the admin, social media, book keeping, marketing, ongoing training, and the multitude of other roles, if you can write creatively and well, and if you genuinely like people then do your research and choose the best training you can afford and go for it.
7. If you could create any ceremony, for any occasion without time or budget restrictions, what would that be?
Sara Price, Celebrant
Do you know, I genuinely have no idea because every ceremony I write, whatever the occasion, is the absolute best that I can make it, and every ceremony gives me a thrill.
8. Tell me about Sara, the person, not the Celebrant. Five things you’re happy to share with us about yourself.
Sara Price, Celebrant
5 things, okay.
- I was born in Hong Kong during a typhoon. The British registrar couldn’t get to the hospital because of the weather, so I was given a Chinese birth certificate. No, I don’t still have it as it was taken when I was issued with a British one.
- I am a very proud mum of three amazing children and grandma to 4 gorgeous grandchildren.
- I lived in Kuwait for 3 years, and was the president of the KTAA – Kuwait Textile Arts Association for two of them
- I was a sprinter whilst I was at school and once raced against the county champion in a 100m. she was wearing spikes and used starting blocks, I was very low tech and ran in bare feet. We crossed the line together, but they gave it to her by 100th of a second as she was the champion. I still feel I was robbed. 😉
- For my 60th birthday, I bought myself a white van and then spent my free time converting it into my very own campervan. Her name is Gloria, and I play that song every time I go out in her, even if it’s just down to the nearest beach for a walk and a cuppa. Bet you’re singing it to yourself now too.
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