Hello, I’m Sarah
I’m a celebrant trained by Humanists UK, and I create meaningful, joy-filled wedding ceremonies tailor-made to each and every couple.
I’m based in Petworth, West Sussex, near Chichester, and cover a wide local area, including Hampshire, Surrey, London and East Sussex, but travel all over. In (almost) the words of Meatloaf: I will go anywhere for love!
I trained as an actor and have a Masters in Creative Writing, so storytelling is my bag. Like many of my compatriots, I came to celebrancy through a fairly round-about route.
My first experience of a humanist ceremony was a wedding on a clifftop in Dorset about a decade ago. It was unlike anything I’d experienced before. My own wedding was in a church and (I’ll be honest), I found it quite boring and ‘insert-names-here’-ish. This ceremony captivated me from the start, and even though I’d arrived not really knowing the couple, by the time they walked back up the aisle, I felt like their best friend! The sheer delight of each moment and the ‘real-ness’ was so welcoming to everyone there.
Later on, I wrote my cousin’s wedding ceremony and something clicked. Telling their story, sharing it with their most loved friends and family and celebrating their love felt incredible. I loved being able to express the things they wanted to articulate. I wanted more…
Fast forward a few years and here I am, sharing in all the love and joy of other couples. It’s a very happy job!
Storytelling
The thing I love most about being a wedding celebrant is finding the essence of each of the couples I work with, and telling their unique story. There’s a beautiful specificity in love - all the tiny particular, peculiar details that make this person YOUR person.
Something I sometimes hear from couples is that they’re worried there’s nothing interesting for us to say about them. I promise you, there’s going to be plenty to talk about and celebrate, laugh about and tear up about. It’s my job to tease it out and craft it into a story we can share and cherish.
“Sarah listened so carefully and somehow turned everything we told her into the most beautiful ceremony. It felt so natural, so personal and so full of ‘us’ that it was hard to believe someone else had written it.”
“What makes Sarah so special is that she genuinely invests in getting to know you and creates a ceremony that feels completely authentic. Her warmth, kindness and ability to tell your story make everyone feel included, and she has a way of making the whole ceremony feel effortless.”
Because you want a ceremony that celebrates YOU in the most personalised and intentional way possible.
I trained with Humanists UK as it was such a fit for what I find important both in the ceremonies I want to conduct and for the values I hold.
I feel quite sad that I didn’t really know that celebrant-led weddings were a thing when I got married. I missed out, and I want to make sure no one else does!
From conversations I’ve had, I know some people are a bit confused about what humanism actually is. It’s simply an ethos of living a non-religious, kind, joyful life that cares for people, animals and the planet, without the need for a higher power to tell you the difference between right and wrong.
When they look into it, lots of people discover they have a humanist outlook without having realised it! You can find out more and do a quiz on the Humanists UK website (link opens in new tab).
In any case, you don’t have to be a card-carrying or even self-identified humanist to have a humanist wedding ceremony, or to find a humanist ceremony meaningful and moving.
CREATIVE FREEDOM
A humanist ceremony gives you the green light to create the wedding celebration that means the most to you. While church weddings are great for those who believe, civil ceremonies are very restricted in terms of what you can and can’t say, the words that must be used, the location you must hold it in and even the length or time of day of the ceremony.
A celebrant-led ceremony allows you to create a celebration that is as unique as you are. To build a ceremony that completely reflects who you are as a couple and celebrates your family and friends as well.
It also allows you to choose the place you wed. No need to worry about licenses - if you fancy saying your vows in the café you had your first date, halfway up a mountain, in the theatre or atop a sand dune, we can make it happen (subject to landowner permission!). And if you are marrying in a traditional venue, it opens up all the spaces, rather than just the licensed ones.
We’re also set free from the world of registrar time frames. I can marry you at any time of the day or night - sunrise vows, here we come?
Why choose a humanist celebrant?
Set the ceremony wheels in motion
If you’d like to find out whether I’m the wedding celebrant for you, the next step is to get in touch, either via the form opposite or drop me an email at hello@sarahwhitworthcelebrant.com.
If you prefer to WhatsApp or actually talk on the phone (old school!), email me, or Insta message me to ask for my number.