I was born in Blackpool, Lancashire and I have lived in Winchester, Hampshire for the last 14 years. I love living in Winchester, it is such a beautiful place.

Over the last 20 years I have worked in jobs which have had a large focus on customer service. I have always had a caring and compassionate nature and very much enjoy working with people.

In the first half of 2013, I attended a funeral service for a client who had no family or next of kin. As there was no minister or family involved, the funeral director only said a few words and I was very saddened by this. I did not feel this at all reflected the person’s life or all they had been, something I feel very strongly about.

Several weeks later, one of the clients I was directly involved with also passed away. I wanted this client to have a proper funeral service, so I contacted the funeral director with the intention of saying a few words. I was offered the opportunity to create and conduct his funeral service,  which I accepted as a honour and a privilege.  I then gave this gentleman the personal farewell he deserved with personal touches relevant to his life. Not long after this, I had a second opportunity to write and conduct a personalised funeral service for another client.

From this came the inspiration for me to retrain as a Funeral Celebrant. I am very passionate that every person should have a  farewell service which truly reflects them. I chose the name ‘Beautiful Ceremonies’ to reflect the intrinsic beauty of each ceremony I will create, bringing comfort to you and others through the weaving together of music, poetry, prose and other things dear to your loved one.

I completed my Funeral Celebrant training with the County Celebrants Academy in mid November 2013. I am also a member of the County Celebrants Network.