Beyond The Ceremony: Modern Celebrancy. Unfiltered.

Every celebrant knows that words matter. But do you know why a single adverb can cause harm at a funeral? Or how a mixed metaphor can unravel an entire ceremony in seconds? The language you choose as a celebrant does not just describe a moment. It creates one. And in this episode, host Laura Crockett is joined by someone who has spent over 30 years thinking deeply about exactly that.

Julie Chudleigh of Latansani is a celebrant, one of our fabulous Academy of Modern Celebrancy mentors, a former head of English, and someone who came to celebrancy through a remarkable series of life events including loss, lockdown, and a training course that changed the way she thought about herself entirely. In this conversation, she brings her lifetime of expertise in language and education into the world of ceremony writing, and the result is one of the most genuinely useful episodes Beyond The Ceremony has ever recorded.

Latansani, by the way, is an Arabic word meaning forget-me-not. Which tells you everything you need to know about how Julie approaches her work.

"Language shapes everything. And in ceremonies, it lands more deeply than in any other set of circumstances." Julie Chudleigh of Latansani

💡 In this episode, you'll learn:

💎 Why the words you choose as a celebrant can either create genuine connection or unintentionally divide a room, and the surprisingly subtle ways that happens

💎 The problem with clichés, mixed metaphors, and accidental comedy in ceremony scripts, including why "he was the glue that held the sandwich together" is a cautionary tale every celebrant needs to hear

💎 Why adverbs are more dangerous than you think in a funeral script, and the single word that can reframe an entire death in a way that causes real harm to grieving families

💎 How deep listening and a genuine family script review process can be the difference between a ceremony that feels personal and one that accidentally excludes the very people it is meant to comfort

💎 The story of a funeral that went wrong, what happened, and what every celebrant can learn from it

💎 How Julie structures her consultation process to navigate multiple voices, conflicting opinions, and the moments when what a family tells you and what they actually need are two very different things

💎 Julie's forthcoming poetry book, Ferocious Women, why she wrote it, and a live reading from the collection that gives a genuine glimpse of what language can do when it is used with real intention

💎 Why teachers, writers, and anyone with a background in communication often make some of the most instinctively skilled celebrants in the industry

✨ This episode is perfect for:

Qualified celebrants who want to sharpen their scriptwriting and think more intentionally about the language they use in ceremonies

Academy of Modern Celebrancy students who are working on their scripts right now and want to understand the deeper craft behind the words they are choosing

Teachers, writers, or public speakers considering celebrancy who want to understand how their existing skills translate directly into ceremony work

Anyone who has ever sat in a ceremony and felt that something in the language was slightly off, but could not quite put their finger on why

If you are exploring whether celebrancy could be the right career change for you, Episode 24 sits beautifully alongside our conversation with Marcia Bravo in Episode 21, where another career changer shares how she rebuilt her life and found her calling through celebrancy.

After this episode, you will never write a ceremony script the same way again. You will notice adverbs you never noticed before, question every metaphor you reach for, and understand why the most powerful thing you can do for a family or a couple is to listen with the intention of getting it exactly right.

🌟 Still exploring whether celebrancy could be your calling?

Take our free quiz to find out if this is the path for you.

MEET OUR GUEST, JUILIE CHUDLEIGH OF LATANSANI

Julie is a celebrant and former head of English with over 30 years in education across the UK and internationally. She founded Latansani, an Arabic word meaning forget-me-not, as the name for her celebrant business, and it captures exactly what she is about. Julie wants every ceremony she leads to be unforgettable, for all the right reasons. A mentor at the Academy of Modern Celebrancy, a lifelong lover of language, and a forthcoming poet, Julie brings a depth of craft to ceremony writing that is genuinely rare in the industry.

Website | Instagram

MEET YOUR HOST, LAURA CROCKETT

Laura has been an independent celebrant for 5 years and absolutely loves it. It makes her so proud seeing how far she’s come in that time. Laura feels like she’s found her calling and is so excited to keep progressing and growing her Celebrant business! Laura creates all kinds of ceremonies, including Weddings, Funerals, Vow Renewals, and Naming Ceremonies. Before she was a celebrant, Laura was a breakfast radio presenter, so her happy place is either at the front of a ceremony or sitting behind a microphone!

At home, Laura is married to Johnathan (a primary school teacher and her biggest cheerleader) and a mummy to two boys – Woody and Dougie. Laura is also a dog mum to Betty and Barney, the cockapoos! They can often be found curled up by her side when she’s writing scripts or lying by the radiator in the office when she’s on couples calls!

Website | Instagram | Facebook

💒 Beyond The Ceremony Podcast: Modern Celebrancy. Unfiltered. 💒

Everything you need to know about how to succeed as a modern celebrant. From top tips on how to create unforgettable ceremonies, to success stories from some of the best in the biz, we give you a behind-the-scenes look into life as a celebrant. Hosted by Laura Crockett, award-winning celebrant, radio personality, and host of Beyond The Ceremony.

Something significant is happening in the UK wedding industry right now, and if you are a celebrant, a couple planning a wedding, or anyone working in the wedding world, this episode is not one to skip.

The government has launched a public consultation on wedding law reform, and the initial position is that independent celebrants should be allowed to legally marry couples. That is not legislation yet, but it is the closest the celebrant industry has ever come to one of its biggest ambitions.

And the window to respond is open right now.

In this episode, host Laura Crockett is joined by two of the most important voices in this conversation: Professor Russell Sandberg, Professor of Law at Cardiff University and one of the UK's foremost experts on marriage law reform, and Sophie Easton, campaign lead at the Give Couples Choice movement, the organisation that has been championing this change since 2020. Together they walk through exactly what the consultation on wedding law reform is, what it means for celebrants, and most importantly, what you need to do before it closes.

This is potentially the biggest change to UK wedding law in 200 years. Your response genuinely matters.

"The thing that can kill this is a lukewarm reception. It needs to be underlined that this is absolutely something the government should prioritise." Professor Russell Sandberg

💡 In this episode, you'll learn:

💎 What the government consultation on wedding law reform actually is, in plain English, and why Russell describes reading it as feeling like Christmas

💎 The seven chapters of the consultation, and exactly which three Sophie says every celebrant should prioritise in their response

💎 Why volume matters as much as quality, and why even ticking through the questions without writing lengthy answers still makes a difference

💎 The one question every celebrant should be asking their couples to answer right now, question 27 (in chapter 6), more powerful than a Google review at this moment in time

💎 What the Dignity Framework is, why it matters for how you conduct ceremonies, and the food and drink question that has the whole industry talking

💎 Why authentic, personal responses based on your own experience will always land better than polished legal language or any kind of template response

💎 How long this is likely to take to become legislation, what David Lammy said on camera before leaving the role, and why the timeline depends heavily on the strength of the consultation response

💎 How to actually submit your response to the wedding law reform, online, by email, or by post, and why you can save your progress and come back to it

✨ This episode is perfect for:

Every qualified celebrant in the UK right now; this affects your business directly, and your response is needed

Aspiring celebrants and students who want to understand the landscape they are training into and why this moment matters

Couples who have had a celebrant-led wedding or are planning one; your voice carries weight in this consultation

Anyone in the wedding industry- photographers, venue owners, planners- who has ever watched a celebrant ceremony and thought: this is exactly what weddings should be

If you want the broader picture on why wedding law reform has been so long in the making, Episode 17 is essential listening. Laura Crockett explored the Give Couples Choice campaign in depth with Russell Sandberg back in Season 1, and it gives this episode the context it deserves.

After this episode, you will know exactly what to do, what to read, which questions to focus on, how long to set aside, and why filling in that consultation on wedding law reform might be the single most useful thing you do for your celebrant career this year.

And if you are ready to read more about the Wedding Law Reform Consultation (remember the most important one is #27, which can be found in chapter 6), here is a link that takes you there.

Could celebrancy be your calling?

Take our quiz to find out if you have what it takes, and whether now is the right time to start your journey!

MEET OUR GUESTS, SOPHIE EASTON AND RUSSELL SANDBERG

Sophie Easton is the campaign lead at the Give Couples Choice movement, the organisation at the forefront of pushing for wedding law reform in the UK. Sophie has been instrumental in building momentum around the consultation and mobilising the celebrant community to respond.

Instagram | Website

Professor Russell Sandberg is a Professor of Law at Cardiff University, specialising in religion and law, and one of the UK's leading academic voices on marriage law reform. He is the author of The Need for Reform on religion and marriage law.

Instagram

MEET YOUR HOST, LAURA CROCKETT

Laura has been an independent celebrant for 5 years and absolutely loves it. It makes her so proud seeing how far she’s come in that time. Laura feels like she’s found her calling and is so excited to keep progressing and growing her Celebrant business! Laura creates all kinds of ceremonies, including Weddings, Funerals, Vow Renewals, and Naming Ceremonies. Before she was a celebrant, Laura was a breakfast radio presenter, so her happy place is either at the front of a ceremony or sitting behind a microphone!

At home, Laura is married to Johnathan (a primary school teacher and her biggest cheerleader) and a mummy to two boys – Woody and Dougie. Laura is also a dog mum to Betty and Barney, the cockapoos! They can often be found curled up by her side when she’s writing scripts or lying by the radiator in the office when she’s on couples calls!

Website | Instagram | Facebook

💒 Beyond The Ceremony Podcast: Modern Celebrancy. Unfiltered. 💒

Everything you need to know about how to succeed as a modern celebrant. From top tips on how to create unforgettable ceremonies to success stories from some of the best in the biz, we give you a behind-the-scenes look into life as a celebrant. Hosted by Laura Crockett, award-winning celebrant, radio personality, and host of Beyond the Ceremony.

Learn more about The Academy of Modern Celebrancy here.

Most celebrants spend years trying to figure out their niche. Jess May accidentally fell into one of the best in the business, and almost missed it entirely because she kept ignoring the emails, and now she is leading French weddings abroad!

Here is the short version: Jess somehow ended up listed on a French wedding supplier directory, had no idea how she got there, and spent years deleting the enquiries. Then she moved to the south coast, noticed she was 20 minutes from the ferry, dug out her A-Level French, and thought: why not? That "why not" has since turned into booked weddings at châteaux, ceremonies in the south of France, and a niche that is genuinely hard to replicate.

In this episode of Beyond the Ceremony, host Laura Crockett is joined by the brilliant Jess May of Jess May's Special Days, a wedding and funeral celebrant with 13 years of experience and one of the most distinctive voices in the industry. They talk about how an accidental directory listing became a business direction, why you do not need to be bilingual to work in France, how to price destination travel without losing money or your dignity, and why your niche is probably already sitting in your inbox waiting for you to notice it.

"When you undersell yourself, you are betraying your entire industry." Jess May

💡 In this episode, you'll learn:

💎 How Jess accidentally ended up on a French wedding directory and why ignoring it for years was, in hindsight, one of the best business decisions she never made

💎 Why UK couples marrying in France often actively prefer a British celebrant, they can meet for coffee before the big day, and why that changes how you market yourself

💎 The honest truth about pricing destination travel, including all the hidden costs Laura and Jess both learned the hard way, and why "just flights and accommodation" is never the full picture

💎 Why you do not need to be fluent in French to work as a celebrant there, and how passion, preparation, and "rapidly improving French" can be more than enough to start

💎 How your niche is probably already visible to everyone around you, and why asking your couples and peers is far more reliable than trying to figure it out yourself

💎 Jess's standout piece of advice on pricing that every celebrant in the industry needs to hear, newly qualified or not

💎 Why evolving your business after years in the industry is not a reinvention; it is just growth, and why you should honour that in yourself rather than fight it

✨ This episode is perfect for:

Qualified celebrants who have been doing this for a while and are wondering what their next chapter looks like

Aspiring celebrants who are overthinking their niche and need permission to just start, then figure it out

Anyone living near a coast or a ferry port who has quietly wondered whether destination work could be part of their business

Newly qualified celebrants who need to hear Jess's pricing advice before they set their first fees

Jess started in 2013 when no one knew what a celebrant was, and there were barely any others doing it. If you want to hear how the industry has changed from someone who has lived it, this is the episode. And if you want to understand how to build a business that genuinely evolves with you over 13 years, this is also the episode.

For context on the broader destination wedding conversation, Episode 21 is a brilliant companion listen, where Laura Crockett talks to Málaga-based celebrant Marcia Bravo about building a celebrant career in Spain and what international ceremonies actually involve on the ground.

After this episode, you will understand that your niche does not have to be planned; it has to be noticed. And that the most powerful thing you can do for your business, and for the entire celebrant industry, is charge what you are actually worth.

🌟 Still exploring whether celebrancy could be your calling?

Take our free quiz to find out if this is the path for you.

💒 Beyond The Ceremony Podcast: Modern Celebrancy. Unfiltered. 💒

Everything you need to know about how to succeed as a modern celebrant. From top tips on how to create unforgettable ceremonies to success stories from some of the best in the biz, we give you a behind-the-scenes look into life as a celebrant. Hosted by Laura Crockett, award-winning celebrant, radio personality, and celebrant mentor at the Academy of Modern Celebrancy.

About the People in This Episode

Jess May, Guest

Jess May has been a wedding and funeral celebrant for 13 years, and she comes with a yawn-free guarantee. Based on the south coast of England and trading as Jess May's Special Days, she is one of the UK's most experienced independent celebrants and, by her own admission, considerably more than just the pink-haired lady. Her ceremonies are built on humour, emotional honesty, and a deep conviction that a wedding without a proper ceremony is just a party. Jess trained in 2013 with the Fellowship of Professional Celebrants, well before origin stories were a thing, and has spent over a decade cheerleading for couples and throuples who want that. She is now carving out a growing niche in the French destination market and co-hosts the Opening Ceremony podcast.

Website | Instagram

Laura Crockett, Host

Laura Crockett is an award-winning wedding and funeral celebrant based just south of Stratford-upon-Avon, covering the Cotswolds and West Midlands. She is a mentor at the Academy of Modern Celebrancy and the host of Beyond the Ceremony, the podcast dedicated to modern celebrancy, unfiltered. Laura has been working as a celebrant since 2019 and is passionate about helping aspiring celebrants find their calling and build careers they genuinely love.

Website | Instagram

A wedding celebrant in southern Spain, ceremonies at sunset, couples flying in from across the world, and the freedom to work from wherever the sun is shining. It sounds like a dream. But the real story behind how Marcia Bravo got there is even more extraordinary than the life she's living now.

What do you do when grief leaves a hole so big that a new city just won't fill it? If you're Marcia, you learn to ride a bike, start Spanish lessons on your birthday, volunteer with the Red Cross in Cádiz, sell your house the day before your flight, and start again at 49 in Málaga. Then, during the COVID lockdown, with one hour of outdoor time a day, you find celebrancy, and everything clicks.

In this episode of Beyond the Ceremony, host Laura Crockett is joined by AMC mentor and Málaga-based wedding celebrant Marcia Bravo for an honest, warm, and genuinely eye-opening conversation about what it really takes to build a celebrant career in Spain. This one is for anyone who has ever wondered if it is too late to start over, or thought that a career change of this scale simply isn't possible for someone like them.

"Celebrancy found me. I didn't find it. And we clicked." Marcia Bravo

💡 In this episode, you'll learn:

💎 How Marcia turned personal grief into one of the most courageous career changes you'll hear on this podcast, and why she says she would do every bit of it again

💎 What celebrancy in Spain actually looks like day to day, including why planners hold far more power than venues, and why that changes how you build your client relationships

💎 The one financial reality that catches almost every celebrant in Spain off guard: automatic VAT registration from day one, and what it means for how you price your ceremonies

💎 Why you do not need to speak Spanish to work as a celebrant in Spain, but why learning it gives you a real edge with planners and on ceremony days

💎 How the Spanish wedding season works, why ceremonies often start at five or six in the evening, and what August means for your diary

💎 How destination couples handle the legal side of marriage in Spain, and why the Gibraltar route is more popular than most people realise

💎 Marcia's advice for anyone sitting on the fence about training, and why she says the fact that you're even thinking about it is already your answer

✨ This episode is perfect for:

Anyone living in Spain or Europe, and wondering whether celebrancy could work as a career where they are

Aspiring celebrants who feel they have left it too late or that the change is too big; Marcia started at 49

Qualified celebrants curious about destination weddings and how the international market actually operates

Anyone drawn to the idea of building a celebrant business with a different kind of lifestyle at the centre of it

If you're interested in how celebrancy works in different parts of the world, Episode 18 is a great companion listen, where Laura Crockett explores celebrancy in Scotland with Niki Smith and digs into how regional differences shape the way celebrants work.

After this episode, you'll know exactly what building a celebrant career in Spain involves: the lifestyle, the business structure, the legal landscape, and the discipline it actually takes, so you can decide whether this path is genuinely for you.

🌟 Still exploring whether celebrancy could be your calling?

Take our free quiz to find out if this is the path for you.

💒 Beyond The Ceremony Podcast: Modern Celebrancy. Unfiltered. 💒

Everything you need to know about how to succeed as a modern celebrant. From top tips on how to create unforgettable ceremonies, to success stories from some of the best in the biz, we give you a behind-the-scenes look into life as a celebrant. Hosted by Laura Crockett, award-winning celebrant, radio personality, and celebrant mentor at the Academy of Modern Celebrancy.

About the People in This Episode

Marcia Bravo, Guest

Marcia Bravo is a vibrant, warm destination wedding and elopement celebrant based in Málaga, southern Spain. She specialises in multicultural, multiracial, and bilingual ceremonies, weaving together English and Spanish for couples travelling to Spain from all over the world. Known for her trademark earrings, bright clothes, and boundless energy, Marcia is with her couples from the very first conversation right through to their wedding day. She also offers a range of new beginnings ceremonies for couples stepping into a fresh chapter together. Marcia is a mentor at the Academy of Modern Celebrancy.

Website | Instagram

Laura Crockett, Host

Laura Crockett is an award-winning wedding and funeral celebrant based just south of Stratford-upon-Avon, covering the Cotswolds and West Midlands. She is a mentor at the Academy of Modern Celebrancy and the host of Beyond the Ceremony, the podcast dedicated to modern celebrancy, unfiltered. Laura has been working as a celebrant since 2019 and is passionate about helping aspiring celebrants find their calling and build careers they genuinely love.

Website | Instagram

Celebrancy is one of the fastest-growing careers in the UK (and world) right now, and Beyond The Ceremony is the podcast that takes you inside it. Whether you're a qualified celebrant, somewhere in your training, or just wondering if this could be the career change you've been looking for, you're in exactly the right place.

Season 2 is here. And honestly? It's going to be even better.

In this opening episode, host Laura Crockett welcomes you back for Season 2 of Beyond The Ceremony, and if you're new, she gives you everything you need to know about the show, her story, and why right now is such a brilliant time to be part of the celebrant world. 

Laura shares a candid look at the state of the celebrant industry in 2026, including a shift in couple booking behaviour that is catching a lot of wedding suppliers off guard, and why the growing number of celebrants, especially in the UK, is actually good news for everyone in the profession.

"75% of the work is done before the day itself. 25% on the day. Being somewhere that you feel creative is really, really important." Laura Crockett

💡 In this episode, you'll learn:

💎 Why couples are booking their celebrants later in 2026, and what that means practically for your wedding business and your diary

💎 Why a growing celebrant market is a sign of a healthy profession, not a threat to your bookings

💎 The 75/25 rule that every new celebrant needs to hear: how the real work of celebrancy gets done long before you stand up at a ceremony

💎 How Laura rebuilt her celebrant business from scratch after relocating, and how she went from scared to her busiest year ever in three years flat

💎 Why Laura finally trained as a funeral celebrant in 2024, and the deeply personal reason that changed her mind about it

💎 What's coming in Season 2, including more practising celebrants, destination wedding episodes, international guests, and a full episode on the power of words in ceremony writing

💎 How to get involved and shape the season, because Laura genuinely wants to hear from you

✨ This episode is perfect for:

Anyone brand new to the show or to celebrancy, this is your best starting point for Season 2

Aspiring celebrants wondering what a real, working celebrant's journey actually looks like

Qualified celebrants who want to understand what's shifting in the industry in 2026 and stay ahead of it

AMC students who want to hear from the perspective of someone who has trained, built, moved, rebuilt, and is now thriving

If you listened all the way through Season 1, welcome back, and if you're just joining us, Season 1 is well worth going back to. Episode 2 is a brilliant place to start, where Laura Crockett breaks down exactly what a celebrant's working day actually looks like, from the desk work to the ceremony day itself.

After this episode, you'll understand not just who Laura is and why she does this work, but what the celebrant profession actually looks like on the ground in 2026 and why this is one of the most exciting moments to be part of it.

🌟 Still exploring whether celebrancy could be your calling?

Take our free quiz to find out if this is the path for you.

💒 Beyond The Ceremony Podcast: Modern Celebrancy. Unfiltered. 💒

Everything you need to know about how to succeed as a modern celebrant. From top tips on how to create unforgettable ceremonies, to success stories from some of the best in the biz, we give you a behind-the-scenes look into life as a celebrant. Hosted by Laura Crockett, award-winning celebrant, radio personality, and celebrant mentor at the Academy of Modern Celebrancy.

MEET YOUR HOST, LAURA CROCKETT

Laura has been an independent celebrant for 5 years and absolutely loves it. It makes her so proud seeing how far she’s come in that time. Laura feels like she’s found her calling and is so excited to keep progressing and growing her Celebrant business! Laura creates all kinds of ceremonies, including Weddings, Funerals, Vow Renewals, and Naming Ceremonies. Before she was a celebrant, Laura was a breakfast radio presenter, so her happy place is either at the front of a ceremony or sitting behind a microphone!

At home, Laura is married to Johnathan (a primary school teacher and her biggest cheerleader) and a mummy to two boys – Woody and Dougie. Laura is also a dog mum to Betty and Barney, the cockapoos! They can often be found curled up by her side when she’s writing scripts or lying by the radiator in the office when she’s on couples calls!

Website | Instagram | Facebook