About Suzie Simmons Celebrant

My story,
the short version
and the long one.

Hello, I'm Suzie. If we haven't met yet, here's a bit about me and how I ended up here, writing and leading ceremonies for the loveliest people across Hampshire and beyond.

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How I became a celebrant]

From mud pies
to
meaningful moments

I grew up in Lymington with my big sister, climbing trees, swimming in the sea, causing havoc (mostly me, not her) and making mud pies. An idyllic start that I'm still grateful for.

From early on I wanted a career in hospitality, and I got one. For years I ran weddings and events in luxury country house hotels, which I loved, although I was permanently exhausted. Then life did what life does and had other plans.

After travelling the world, I volunteered for a youth development charity in Namibia. It was life-changing in the truest sense, and it's where I first noticed what I was really good at.

Supporting people through big, emotional, sometimes unbearable moments.

Where Compassion Became My Craft

The path
that led me here

The twenty years that shaped the celebrant in me

For two decades I worked with a variety of health charities. Adult and children's hospices, hospital charities, medical research organisations. I learned how to sit alongside families on the hardest days of their lives. How to listen properly. How to make people feel genuinely at ease in a room, not just politely tolerated.

Those years taught me compassion, sensitivity, and the quiet skill of holding space without making it about you. They are the bedrock of everything I do as a celebrant now.

Where I am today

I'm a certified family celebrant, trained and accredited by the Academy of Modern Celebrancy. I conduct weddings, vow renewals, naming ceremonies, adoption celebrations and funerals across Hampshire, Dorset, Surrey, Wiltshire, Sussex, Berkshire and the Isle of Wight.

I love weaving together stories, memories and meaningful moments into ceremonies that actually sound like the people they're for. Everyone has a story worth celebrating, and it genuinely is a privilege to help share it.

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Life outside ceremonies

The life that runs alongside the work

I live in Winchester, running around after my two children and probably driving my husband slightly mad. I volunteer for various local charities. And when the mood strikes, which is surprisingly often, you'll find me swimming in a freezing cold river in the middle of the winter.

I say yes to most things. I laugh at most of my own jokes, someone has to! I cry easily at other people's love stories and I'm not remotely embarrassed about it.

River Swimming
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Let's start your story

What it feels liketo work with me.

Warm, relaxed, and completely unpretentious. I'll ask a lot of questions because the best ceremonies come from the stories you nearly forgot to tell me. I'll send a questionnaire, yes, but only to get us started. The real magic happens in conversation and I am always happy to chat.

By the time we reach the day itself, I'll feel a bit less like your celebrant and a bit more like a friend, someone who knows your people. That's intentional. It's how you get a ceremony that feels like yours and no one else's.