what else do I love doing?
My absolute fave is to go for hill walks: in and around the Peak District, the Lakes and North Wales with my local LGBTQ walking group; in 2015, I was lucky enough to trek in the stunning Himalayas near Dharamshala, India; and in 2017, I walked along part of the Inca Trail in Peru!
Favourite places in Liverpool: Fact cinema (sci-fi, comedy, whodunnits, animation), Lark Lane for all-day brekkies, cycling along the waterfront, Sefton Park, the bars and restaurants on Bold Street, the Bombed Out Church... and that's just for starters!
I've got a love of dark folktales and also illustrations of the sort of beasts you'd find in them. I seem to have developed a taste for making Ghibli-esque monsters at the ceramics evening class I've been going to for a few years too!
I've also lived in London & Barcelona - i love going back there to visit friends and family!
it's all about you!
Once I meet you, it will all be about you… but I’ll include a bit more about me here, to give you an idea of whether you think we're a good match. Check out my Instagram too: it's where I share stuff the most regularly: there’s a story to follow most days!
why did I become a celebrant?
I'd been a teacher for getting on for 20 years: loved working with the kids - increasingly hated the target-based system! I was sat on the sofa one day, busy recommending celebrant ceremonies to someone random on a forum... and I stopped mid-sentence. My brain worked it all out in a matter of minutes (Matrix-stylie) and I'd made my mind up: I handed in my notice within a week. That was back in 2017 and I have NEVER looked back: now my job is all about hearing how couples met, fell in love and decided to commit, why parents chose to bring new life into the world. I couldn’t be happier!
I love my city of liverpool...
it's magic how strangers start chatting to each other!
what's important to me?
Authenticity is something I want to be around - bringing my full neurodivergent, queer self to my work and really encouraging my couples and colleagues to bring their full selves as well!
'll be honest - when I was younger I used to keep quiet if I didn't agree with something. I have shed that role like there is no tomorrow! I know it's important for me to play a role in the wedding industry by challenging racism and prejudice if I see it in myself or others, taking part in wedding fairs or styled shoots only if they are genuinely inclusive and making sure my recommendation lists feature an excellent and diverse bunch of people!
"Sophie, that's all well and good", you might be thinking, "but don't forget about our ceremony?" I haven't! I *promise* to be your biggest advocate - hey, I'll even be 'bad cop' if that's what's needed to make sure you have the ceremony that YOU want (not the 'solemn occasion' your Aunty Nelly or Lucinda your second-cousin-twice-removed would prefer)... you can just blame me!
So if you want to dance your way down the aisle in one big, messy wedding party group, get ring tattoos instead of rings, include a quiz mid-ceremony, give your teenage daughter her own ring as a surprise just before you exchange your own, sing '500 miles' at the top of your voices at the end, or even keep the WHOLE WEDDING a surprise... I am here to make sure that *this* is what you get!
my pronouns are she/her
