EXPERIENCE

I create warm, truthful and sensitive ceremonies with a cosmopolitan touch. By carefully listening to your personal story, your ideas for the day and your views on life, love and death, I create and deliver unique and memorable ceremonies for any life-event.

When I work with a couple on their wedding ceremony I take them on a journey, identifying what makes their relationship meaningful, what makes their love unique, and what it means for them to get married. This typically results in a warm, moving and heartfelt event, with room for both laughter and tears. I work closely with wedding planners, photographers, venue managers and other suppliers on the day to ensure a smooth an relaxed ceremony.

I believe that a good funeral provides a space for the living to acknowledge a death, to pay tribute to a life lived, to release emotions that come with a loss, and to find continuity in the relationship with the person who has died. A funeral does not have to be sombre. There are many ways to make it an uplifting, comforting and meaningful experience. I meet families in person and will take the time that's needed to get a sound understanding of their ideas, and of whom the deceased was. I provide guidance and support, liaise with funeral directors, crematoria staff and other suppliers to ensure that the funeral service honours the family's wishes.

In addition to wedding ceremonies and funerals I do baby-namings, renewal-of-vows and any other tailor-made rituals for everyone who wishes to mark a transition in their life. In June 2018 I even conducted a ceremony for a building!

In 2018 I won the National Celebrant Award for Outstanding Funeral Celebrancy. I was Runner Up Celebrant of the Year for the Good Funeral Awards 2016 and a finalist in 2017. I am a member of the Fellowship of Professional Celebrants, member of the Good Funeral Guild and supplier member for the National Association of Funeral Directors. I have had spotlight interviews with wedding blogs Engaged & Ready and Girl Gets Wed and regularly write blogs or articles on ceremonies and rituals.

I have professional backgrounds in theology, consultancy and learning & development. I play the piano, write, and love taking photos of the things that make me smile or cry. In 2015 I wrote and self-published a children's book. Born and bred in the Netherlands I now live in London with my husband and two children.

CEREMONY STYLE

Being Dutch and fascinated by rituals from around the world, many of the couples I work with have an international or multicultural background. We work together to find a fun, relaxed and fitting way on how to incorporate multiple traditions within the wedding or baby-naming ceremony. I have conducted weddings in Morocco, France, and the Netherlands and have spoken Dutch, French, German and even Rumanian and Korean at ceremonies.

I have designed tailor-made rituals for couples to reflect what their relationship meant to them. Examples are a modern interpretation of the Jewish Seven Blessings for a multi-faith couple, a food ritual for a couple of whom the bride was a nutritional therapist and a symbolic ring cleansing ritual for a couple that renewed their vows.

The funerals I conduct are about the person who has died and provide a space for the living to say their farewells in a way that feels right for them. Funeral services I conduct may contain religious or multifaith elements, or none. I encourage families and, if they wish, children, to actively participate in the service and inspire them with creative and meaningful ideas to say their farewells.