Swansea Celebrant shortlisted for Welsh Wedding award

Swansea’s celebrant, Janine Hailey has been shortlisted for ‘Celebrant of the Year’ at this year’s Welsh Wedding Awards. Back for its fifth year, the awards recognise the best in the wedding industry. Photographers, make-up artists, venues and celebrants from all over Wales are nominated by the public.

Janine Hailey of Unique Life Ceremonies is a Swansea-based Celebrant working with families all over South Wales. Celebrants allow couples to have complete creative control over their Wedding day. Favouring this flexibility, over more traditional wedding plans, has led to some unusual wedding styles and settings. Wearing wellies for a waterfall handfasting ceremony, shore-side in the Gower for a sand ceremony, or in a bell tent for a circus-themed ceremony, Janine draws inspiration from her couples wishes to make their dream wedding come true.

As an official member of the Celebrant Directory, she is passionate about creating personalised and heartfelt ceremonies which capture the unique relationship between the couples she officiates. Using a celebrant for wedding ceremonies has increased in popularity in recent years. Under COVID restrictions, many couples quickly adjusted their wedding plans to host smaller, family-centered ceremonies instead of the traditional big white wedding. During times of increasing restrictions, couples choosing a celebrant for a wedding ceremony had more choice – in venue, timing and style. In the summer, Janine officiated weddings in family’s gardens too!

Being able to honour and mark the passing of their loved ones with a respectful and fitting goodbye is an important stage of the grieving process. Recent restrictions turned the usual order of many traditions upside down and has been a confusing time for the bereaved. Janine’s role as a celebrant meant she continued to hold conducting life-centered funerals for families throughout the pandemic. Often via video link due to pandemic restrictions for public gatherings, this key-worker role offered support to families during troubling, uncertain times. Some families have opted to hold memorial services in the future, when more families and friends are able to travel safely, gather and pay their respects.

The Welsh Wedding Awards 2022 look set for a memorable night in the industry for what has been an incredibly difficult year. Janine is thrilled to be nominated again for this year’s awards, to be held on March 11th 2022 in Cardiff.