My story actually began in May this year when my beautiful Nan passed away aged 91.
We were the best of friends and she was my favourite person in the whole world. I was able to be with her when she passed which was such a privilege and afterwards I had the responsibility of arranging her funeral. My family live in Australia and due to covid they were unable to travel back to the UK. Within this time, I came to realise that every single person I had contact with, whether it be the hospital, the registrar, removal company, the carers and funeral directors, they were all so caring and supportive and made the whole process a lot easier for me. It turned out that a lovely lady called Sophie who was the funeral arranger knew my Nan which to me was everything. I felt like I could talk openly about Nan and at the saddest time of my life she was there and nothing was too much trouble. Over those 3 weeks before the funeral, I felt like Sophie was part of the family and I will always be forever grateful to her. I was also put in touch with the lovely Reverend Mary, such a wonderful woman who took time to listen to the stories I had of Nan and after the funeral Mary contacted me to check I was OK. After this, it got me thinking how important these people were to me and how their kindness got me through the worst time in my life.
Having been furloughed from my job as a travel consultant, I had plenty of time to think about the next step in my life and I realised I wanted to be there for people at the most important and special times of their lives. I wasn’t ready to train in funerals and so decided the best thing for me to do was to train to become a wedding celebrant and it is the best decision I have ever made!
When I first told my family and friends that I was training to become a celebrant they were all so lovely and supportive, saying how amazing I would be which was a massive confidence booster I must say! So this is how my journey started, and Nan, this ones for you!
Photo by melanieeastphotography.co.uk
