Kate Etherton

Some of life's moments deserve more than a template. A wedding, a farewell, a brand-new person being welcomed into the world: each happens once, in front of the people who matter most, and my job is to make sure it feels exactly right.

My approach is simple: I listen first and build second. Before I write a single word, I want to know the story. How a couple met, what made someone laugh, what you hope for your little one's future, and what you want the people in the room to feel when they walk out.

Every ceremony I lead is written from scratch, shaped around you and the people who love you. No templates, no lines borrowed from someone else's day. My background is drama, four years of stand-up comedy and a career in communications, so I know how to read a room: when to lean into the laughter and when to let a moment breathe. My ceremonies are full of laughter where it belongs, full of meaning where it matters. That holds at a funeral, too. A celebration of life can make room for laughter as well as grief, because the best farewells sound like the person being remembered.

I believe everyone in the room deserves to feel seen: the grandparent in the front row, the friends who've travelled, the family member finding the day complicated. And whoever you are, whoever you love, however your family is shaped, your ceremony will celebrate you without caveat.

I lead weddings and vow renewals, funerals and celebrations of life, baby namings and gender affirmation ceremonies. Whatever the occasion, you can expect my complete attention. We start with a conversation, then I write your ceremony and we shape it together until it sounds unmistakably like you, or like them. For funerals, I will work closely with your funeral director, often to short timescales, with care and calm at every step. On the day I arrive prepared for anything, and all anyone will see is a ceremony unfolding exactly as it should.

I'm an ICPC-accredited celebrant based in Mortlake, South West London, and I'd love to hear your story.