About Me
Hello, I’m Michelle
I’m Michelle (she/her), celebrant, ceremony creator, storyteller and the person behind Oak & Thorn Ceremonies.
I’m based in North Essex, although I hail from the Midlands and have proudly managed to hang on to enough of my Brummie roots for them to make themselves known every now and again.
I’ve been creating and delivering ceremonies since 2011. It started when my husband, who was a wedding photographer, suggested I join him as his second photographer. There was one fairly obvious problem: I can’t take a photo to save my life!
Luckily, I knew my talents lay elsewhere.
I love people, I love stories, I love writing. And I love creating those moments when a group of people come together and everything else seems to disappear for a while.
Ceremony turned out to be exactly where I belonged.
Creating ceremonies is where my heart lies
There is something incredibly powerful about holding space for people.
It might be while two people make promises to one another. It could be welcoming somebody into a family or community or helping someone recognise who they have become. Or it might be standing alongside a family as they say goodbye.
The emotions are different, but the reason for the ceremony is remarkably similar.
“This matters. Let’s mark it”.
That’s what I do.
A Pagan path
I’m an eclectic Pagan and have a deep love of outdoor ceremony, nature, the seasons and the rituals that humans have used for centuries to help make sense of change.
I love creating handfastings and ceremonies that draw on Pagan traditions, the elements, seasonal cycles and the natural world.
But you absolutely do not need to be Pagan to work with me.
Your ceremony is about your beliefs, not mine.
It can be deeply spiritual, gently symbolic, completely secular or somewhere wonderfully too difficult to label.
Oak & Thorn
Oak & Thorn feels like a natural home for the way I now work. Grounded. Earthy. A little wild around the edges.
It gives me space to create ceremonies that honour nature and spirituality while still embracing all the humour, individuality and glorious weirdness that makes people who they are. Because meaningful doesn’t have to mean solemn and spiritual certainly doesn’t have to mean beige.
Sustainable by nature
People and the planet sit at the centre of how I live and work.
As an accredited member of the SWA, sustainability isn’t something I add to a ceremony because it happens to be fashionable; it’s part of the choice I make in my business and my own life.
I’m a firm believer in taking the memories home and leaving as little behind as possible.
That means thinking about waste, materials, travel, locations and the rituals we include, particularly when we’re working outdoors.
A little more about the person behind the ceremonies
Outside celebrancy, I’m owned by three gorgeous wigglebutt dogs. And yes, I’m firmly in the camp that believes our pets own us rather than the other way around.
Which is probably useful information if you’re wondering whether I’ll understand your idea for a woodland handfasting involving dogs, fantasy references and something slightly unconventional.
Chances are, I probably will.
Experience matters
Over the years I’ve created and delivered hundreds of ceremonies.
I’m also a celebrant trainer and my work has been recognised with several industry awards. But awards aren’t what make a ceremony good; listening does. Getting to know the people you’re writing about does. Understanding when something needs laughter, when it needs silence and when it’s best just to let the moment breathe, does.
Is Oak & Thorn right for you?
I’m probably your kind of celebrant if you want somebody who will listen to your ideas rather than tell you how it’s normally done.
Someone happy to work outdoors, who is comfortable with spirituality, Paganism, alternative lifestyles and people who don’t fit neatly into boxes. Someone who understands that a ceremony can be heartfelt and funny, meaningful and unconventional, sacred and still completely you.
What are your plans?
