And the winner of the the Wedding Industry Awards Celebrant of the Year for 2018 in the South East region is… CREATING CEREMONY!
You know, I can’t quite remember this moment, even though it was only a couple of days ago. No, it’s not that I’d had too many Proseccos (as if…!) – it just felt like a very surreal, very wonderful dream.
The Wedding Industry Awards, or TWIA, are the only regional and national client voted awards in the wedding industry. I’ve always been a bit allergic to those awards that require their entrants to beg on social media for votes from everyone they know (and everyone they know’s nan). That’s why I like TWIA – the only people who can vote for you are couples you have worked with in the previous year.
I entered last year in the ‘Special Touch’ category, as they didn’t have a category for celebrants. But this year, all that changed and we celebrants were finally recognised – whoop!
Not only that but, reader, I won.
As you’ll be able to tell from the photos on here and the video below, I was rather surprised and very pleased about that fact! We celebrants are a supportive bunch and I was very glad to be in the finalists list with Glenda Procter of Cloud 9 Ceremonies, Katie Keen of True Blue Ceremonies and Jenny Knight of Knight Ceremonies. This was a strong, strong field. Jenny, Katie and I often refer couples to each other if we can’t do a date, and I know that they are super awesome at what they do (I’m sure that Glenda is too, but I don’t know her very well!). Anyway, Katie, Jenny and I often chat or message each other, and they have both been a massive support to me on my celebrant journey. Katie won Highly Commended in our category and it was lovely to be able to spend time with her talking shop that evening (Jenny couldn’t get a babysitter – sob!) I’ve been blown away by all the good wishes from my wedding industry colleagues, and from fellow celebrants in particular.
It has been a wonderful year and I’ve worked with a lot of amazing couples, all of whom voted for me. I’m sooooo grateful to them for not only trusting me with the huge honour of conducting their wedding ceremonies, but for taking the time to vote for me and leave award-winning comments about their experiences working with me. Thank you all so much.
So I’m a very happy celebrant this week. I get to have the best job in the world, work with the best couples and to get this award is the icing on the cake. Roll on the National Finals in January – I think we celebrants are going to have one massive party!
Want a ceremony created and conducted by an award-winning celebrant? Get in touch!