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Lara The Celebrant
reviews (6) - leave a review
Available for
Countries Covered
I travel Nationally & Internationally
Languages
English, French, German, Italian
Hi, I'm Lara
I am a warm and natural independent wedding and funeral celebrant. I would describe my style as elegant, witty but above all sincere.
I came to celebrancy having already had a rich and varied life, ready and equipped to help others at key points in their life-journeys. I had already worked as a teacher, a director of film and theatre and had run a community arts venue and cinema and had a lot of experience of organising and hosting special events. In 2022 I trained with the International College of Professional Celebrants and in 2023 led my first weddings and funerals. Outside of my celebrancy work I am a travel writer, filmmaker and Air Bnb host. People, poetry, animals and words are my world.
I have an undergraduate degree in French and German and now also speak decent Italian. I would be happy to lead a ceremony anywhere of your choosing.
What's my ceremony style?
Poetic and personal. I’m skilled as a director of theatre and film and can create a world, for your ceremony, for everyone to enter into: a special place for a special moment in time. I create ceremonies that lift you out of the ordinary into a place of ritual and meaning. In the same way that a three minute song can have a profound effect on us, your wedding ceremony might only be thirty or forty five minutes long but its meaning should stay with you for the rest of your lives. It doesn’t have to be all serious but I do want to honour the tenderness and fragility of love and all that we do to nurture it. Personally I am spiritual but agnostic, constantly amazed at the happy accident of being alive.
Prices From
500
Why choose Lara?
I like to put people at ease but I’m not the life and soul of the party – I’m the one making drinks, stroking the dog and putting the music on. I absolutely love poems, books and words but I have also studied music therapy, sing and play piano regularly and believe that when words end, music starts. I’m a romantic and an optimist because optimism truly does cost you nothing. I find that most humans are generally pretty decent; the ‘rum ‘uns’ (as my grandma would have said) are few and far between, though best avoided.
What do I offer?
Weddings
I’m torn…I love a boho, intimate affair outdoors, but then a big, boisterous family party is also right up my street!
My ideal couple would probably be people who were the weirdos at school. Maybe you always had your head in a book, or liked black holes or country music, or always had to eat your peas first. Perhaps you’re a very rational, scientific person but you have something that you stick to emotionally that makes no sense at all. Such as love. You believe that love has its own power and that the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts.
It would help if you like watching Gogglebox.
£700 – all in crafting of a bespoke ceremony and ‘your story’, which I deliver on the wedding day.
£500 – crafting and delivery of a bespoke ceremony and ‘your story’ for you or a family member to deliver on the day.
£400 – a short and sweet ceremony, for those wanting a refined but restrained ceremony of twenty minutes or less.
£75+ – additional fee for a wedding rehearsal, depending on geography and travel time.
Prices From
400
Why choose Lara for your wedding?
I’m a bit of a white witch. I don’t mean that I dance around in chalk circles or have crystals and a broom, but I’m a bit of a magic finder. I help find the magic in you.
Naming Ceremonies
Baby namings or blessings, adoption ceremonies & family blending ceremonies.
Prices are bespoke. I am fair and reasonable, just talk to me. I believe people should pay what they can afford.
Prices From
250
Why choose Lara for your naming ceremony?
I used to be a primary school teacher and I love being around kids, they bring out my fun, cheeky side.
I myself am unable to have my own biological children but I am aunty and godmother to a good few children and one day may foster or adopt. I have friends who have had miscarriages, IVF, surrogates…I know the road to becoming a family is not always easy and that for some people celebrating the arrival of a new baby also means commemorating, however quietly, certain losses that have had to be suffered along the way. For others, starting a family is a chance to celebrate a new page in the history books. Everyone comes from somewhere and whatever your gender or ethnicity, I’m here to celebrate where this new person has come from and where you’re all going.
Renewal of Vows
Michelle and Barack Obama? The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh would have been nice too. Or Billy and Pamela Connolly, or Sting and Trudie Styler. Or Beyonce and Jay-Z. Or that lovely couple from ‘Call The Midwife’, the doctor and the former nun/nurse.
My ideal ceremony would be in someone’s back garden on a nice summer’s day, or in a pub on a winter’s evening, with a log fire roaring and a sing song at the bar.
Oh just talk to me. It’s such a lovely thing that you’re doing that I’ll probably be offering my services for free if you don’t stop me.
Prices From
£250
Why choose Lara for your renewal of vows?
If you have made it to renewing your vows then you have made it to being Love’s Royalty. You are the ones that inspire the next generation of lovers. It would be a privilege to work with you.
I will stop being sycophantic though in a moment, but truly – who gets a chance at a second chance? That’s the cat’s pyjamas, the bees knees, the dog’s nether-regions. All I can do is promise to do my very best to honour the love you have lived.
Funerals
I work with anyone. Grief is universal even if the circumstances of it differ so much and the individual experience can never truly be shared. I work with families, individuals, people who have lost children or babies and people of all ages and faiths.
I am happy to work with any funeral director and will meet with the family before writing a ceremony for your loved one. You can have as many revisions as you want in the allocated time before the funeral. I deliver the ceremony and the speech on the day.
I have worked with a natural/alternative funeral home before and can create ceremonies that are outside of the norm. I invite family and friends to speak if it feels right to do so, and leave space for reflection and silence.
Prices From
350
Why choose Lara for your funeral?
I lost my own father suddenly to sepsis in 2017 when he was fifty-eight, so I have some understanding of grief. I have also received training in psychodynamic therapeutic methods. Though I am not there to be a grief counsellor, I do promise to be a good listener and to represent your family and your loved one at the funeral with dignity and compassion.
Reviews for Lara The Celebrant
Total Reviews: 6
Average Rating: 5
reviews (6)
The purest soul.
If I could give above 5 stars for Lara, I would. I don’t even know where to begin…
We decided to have a celebrant because we wanted a more personal, less robotic touch that was all about us, and boy did we get that and more.
We spoke with Lara during meetings before, and she REALLY got to know us. The good and the bad. We laughed, I cried (a lot), but Lara made it all that bit easier, calmer and less stressful! It didn’t just end there though, we text, I ranted and I was never ever judged. Infact it was very much the opposite. I felt warmth and love and so so much support during a time where I felt quite alone and overwhelmed.
We decided to review our ceremony, and I balled my eyes out. Everything was so delicate and so precise and it was completely about us and our journey…I felt like I was travelling back in time and reliving our life all over again. When the ceremony came, with her amazing attention to detail, we had laughter, our daughters were fully included, and we had lots of tears from our guests (happy tears). At that moment, I knew it was as magical as I thought it was going to be. When I saw my now husband stood with Lara behind, it was like there was no one else in the room but us. It was comforting. I knew I’d be in good hands stood there because I knew I’d be supported by this incredible woman delivering my big day should anything go wrong.
We thought we knew it all, but at the end, we had an incredible surprise of a poem, a poem that was detailed to our very first days as a couple. Again, it had me and a lot of our guests in tears – that’s how special it was. The talent and time that went into writing this exquisite piece is incredible.
Lara has a great sense of humour, a wonderful listening ear, the most patience I’ve ever known someone to have, and just the purest most kindest soul on earth. We are so thankful we found her and enquired for her to be such an important part of the most special day in our lives (one I’ve waited 12 years for!)
If you’re looking for something different, but tailored entirely to you and so special, Lara is 10000% your person.
Thank you for absolutely everything. We are eternally grateful ❤️
Mr & Mrs Tate x
Total pro
Helpful, thoughtful and thorough!
Before the event: Lara had multiple calls with us, discussing our relationship, the ceremony and just getting an overall vibe check. Lara helpfully guided us by suggesting ideas of what we can incorporate in the ceremony and explain the overall flow of things on the day. She was able to answer the most minute of questions without hesitation, putting us at ease.
In the weeks leading up to the event, she shared with us the text she was planning on reading during the ceremony. It was beautiful and both my wife and myself felt it had the perfect tone and voice for what we were looking for.
On the day, Lara made sure everyone involved in the ceremony (bride, groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents) knew exactly what to do, where to sit and when to move. She patiently explained the process to everyone and made adjustments on the fly as needed. We also did a mini rehearsal a couple of hours beforehand.
As a result, the whole ceremony went by without a hitch! and we were free to focus on the moment instead of worrying about the logistics of the whole thing.
All in all, great experience – we were both highly impressed with her!
Our only regret is that we can only get married once and therefore cannot ask Lara to officiate again.
Beautiful and Perfectly Personal Ceremony!
Lara did such an amazing job with crafting our ceremony for our wedding! We met her at the Lake District Wedding Show, and my wife and I were immediately impressed by her very calm, laid back, yet professional attitude. We met up with her a few times (in-person and virtually) before our ceremony to discuss our story, bits about our own interests, and what made us right for each other. Lara listened very carefully, and was able to create a ceremony which brought tears to everyone’s eyes.
We asked rather last-minute if we could include a handfasting ritual, and Lara was more than happy to accommodate.
Lara is professional, well-spoken, confident, and also a lovely person to work with. She’s priced very reasonably, and I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking to have a more intimate, personal, and meaningful ceremony.
