Wedding Celebrant
I am delighted you need a wedding celebrant…
…and it would be an honour to marry the living heck out of you.
Working with couples to design the wedding ceremony of their dreams is a blast.
One of the reasons I went into the world of secular services and ceremonies was after years of sitting through church weddings thinking: “This isn’t you. You two never go to church! Why are we here when you don’t believe a word of this?”.
When you and I work together, I will spend many hours sitting down with you, finding out what makes you tick, why you fell in love, and why you want to get married.
Through these conversations we will design a service that is right for you, and is the right experience for your friends and family.
So, why on earth are you spending all that money on a wedding?
Seriously. Why are you getting married to each other?
That’s the sort of nosey question I love to ask. Because when you dig deep and find our what the day is all about, then we can design the perfect service for you.
After all, your Mum’s spent £100 on a hat, your best mate’s come back from Australia and you two are committing your lives to each other. Let’s make your special day, exactly what you two want.
People tend to work with me because I fizz out positive energy, am pretty funny, and can write goodly. More importantly, I also convey the seriousness of the day.
Yes, there will be a party, but the reason we’re gathered is because you are making one of the biggest decisions of your life.
I’d love to work with you to design, plan and curate the service your love deserves.
Once we do that, I’ll stand up on the day and deliver it the way you want it.
Designing a bespoke service for the two of you means that the most important part of a wedding - the actual marriage service - feels like the heart of the day.
Your wedding is the start of a new journey. So get in touch if you want to honour this sacred moment.
But don’t just take my word for it, here are some testimonials.
Wedding Testimonials
Dylan & Mona
“I’ve booked Sanderson for both my wedding, and my father’s funeral, so there’s more of my opinion of him on the funeral page!
My wife and I got married on the banks of the Dead Sea, and wanted a wedding that reflected my Scottishness, and her Palestinian Christian roots, while being secular. We wanted it to be serious, but joyful.
Whilst I could go through things we did in the service to achieve this, that doesn’t really get to the heart of what Sanderson does. There’s something about his energy that brings the light and the significance together in a way that honours them both.
I've seen celebrants since, and felt frankly underwhelmed, as though they call themselves 'celebrants' because the word is a neutral or secular alternative to 'priest', 'vicar', 'rabbi' or 'imam'. Not because they know how to lead a celebration, or show participants how to participate in one. Sanderson is the only one I've seen with such an ability.
Thanks so much for giving Mona and me the wedding we dreamed of.”
- Dylan
Ella & Giles
“It’s hard to put into words how special Sanderson is to my family and how talented and masterful he is as a celebrant.
Sanderson has helped us through some of the hardest times, officiating at both of my parents’ funerals, but also through some of the happiest, family weddings and naming ceremonies.
Across all of these pivotal occasions, whilst being so wonderfully and genuinely himself he was also artful in gauging his audience, and tempering the mood as he went.
In addition to having the poise and gravitas to command an audience, his unique sense of humour will make any occasion truly memorable.
He is hugely thoughtful and diligent which means we have always felt supported in these important life events; you are in the best hands with Sanderson as your celebrant.”
- Ella
Tara & Howard
“Sanderson elevated our civil wedding into a highly memorable and moving experience. He took the time to find out about our relationship and brought this knowledge into the ceremony with wit, wisdom and warmth.
Even now, 7 years on, our guests remember his ability to create an atmosphere of joy with the right balance of celebration and seriousness for the occasion. The energy he brought was infectious and brought everyone with him, from the too-cool-for-school teenagers to the chronically catholic great aunts. They were all beaming by the end.
We are eternally grateful to him for his generosity of spirit, kindness and talent which combined to help make our day so special.”.
- Tara
Jodie & Caroline
“The thought of using a celebrant had never previously crossed our minds. It came as a suggestion from a friend, after she heard us feeling a little bit depressed about our experience trying to arrange a licensed registrar with the local council. That felt a bit impersonal and more like arranging the collection of an old sofa that we'd left out on the street.
We thought a celebrant sounded like a great idea and, like I said, something that we hadn't previously considered before. We approached Sanderson, to have an initial discussion which went really well. Immediately after the meeting, Caroline and I felt not just positive, but super excited about using him as a celebrant rather than having the registrar.
We decided this felt a hundred percent like the right thing to do and exactly what we wanted.
It’s hard to put into words how the planning and design conversations we had, ended up being so much more than that. The questions he held a mirror up to our relationship, touching on things that we hadn't really spoken about before. He’s got such a lovely manner that even though he was asking very personal questions, it never felt uncomfortable.
The process allowed us to find even more meaning in our marriage and without having Sanderson there to of guide us, it would have been a more shallower experience.
He made us dig deeper into what it means to us, what it means to us as a family, the sense of emotion that we want the ceremony to bring, and he really, really brought that out and made it a truly, truly f***ing awesome day.
Sanderson came up with some brilliant ideas that we wouldn't have also thought about. He made it a very, very enjoyable experience prior to the ceremony and, on the day, he was absolutely amazing.
The family just thought it was wonderful. Everyone, and I mean everyone, came to us and commented about what a special, special ceremony and how unique it was. Something that they'd never experienced before.
Thanks for that..”
- Jodie Watts
Stu & Liz
“We wanted our wedding ceremony to feel like a celebration rather than a chore standing in the way of fizz and canapes.
We were keen to borrow some of the brilliant things about a church service – like the singing and the sense of purpose – but without the god bit.
We turned to Sanderson after attending Sunday Assembly services, where he ran delightful non-religious congregations that knitted together comedy, community, inspiring talks and pop songs.
Sanderson spent time with us before the wedding, asking about the evolution and quirks of our relationship, which he weaved into the ceremony.
On the day itself, he eased our nerves and had our guests cackling, singing and, where appropriate, crying. It was just the right mix of joy and ceremony and we are eternally grateful to him.”
- Liz
Jess & Petri
“When Sanderson asked me for a testimonial, I was not surprised that I hadn’t said written to him after the wedding, because the run up to the day was a nightmare. The field flooded, and everything had to move. It’s a testament to Sanderson that one thing I never worried about was the service.
We wanted to have a service that really spoke to who we are as a couple, and why we wanted everyone there.
When we were on the phone talking about this testimonial, I told him “It felt like the wedding ceremony stole my speech” (a speech I was never able to write myself). What I meant by that, is that the service captured why marriage was so important to me, why my now husband is the man, and much more.
My husband and I are flouncy East London types, but some of my family are more traditional, and Petri is a Finn, with Finnish relations. This is not a normal group of people to mix together. However, Sanderson found the right words for us two, and also the rest of this disparate group.
Thanks so much for all you did for us!”