Celebrant shortlisted for award for second year running

A WEDDING celebrant from Nettlebed has been shortlisted for a national award.

For the second year running, Suzi van der Mark, 48, is a regional finalist in the Wedding Industry Awards.

She is in the running to be named best celebrant and is one of two finalists in the south central region.

Mrs van der Mark trained as a wedding celebrant in 2023 and began delivering ceremonies last year across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

She went on to win best newcomer in the region in the 2024 awards. Mrs van der Mark said: “To be shortlisted for a second time is an extra bonus, particularly in such a competitive area. There are lots of fantastic wedding celebrants so it’s really lovely to be nominated again.”

Before training to be a wedding celebrant, she worked for 25 years in corporate communications.

Mrs van der Mark said: “I was a little fatigued and then, unfortunately, I lost a very dear friend and, when we were looking into his funeral arrangements, I got to thinking about who these people were and what qualifications they had.

“I was looking for something new and wanted to be able to apply my skills of storytelling and writing for a living. From the moment I meet my couples, every single interaction I have with them I’m gathering information about them, their personalities and their relationship. All of that forms the body of what I shape for their ceremonies.

“I just love meeting so many different people. It keeps me young and fresh, finding out all sorts of things about what’s going in various businesses, sectors and in people’s lives.

“I get such a high from delivering a ceremony and meeting friends and family afterwards. It’s just the raw emotion of everybody after a ceremony — there’s nothing quite like it.” Mrs van der Mark’s clients register their marriage with a council registrar at the register office in advance of their wedding day celebrations, giving them the flexibility to create a service without restrictions.

She said: “All my ceremonies are so unique. We had one ceremony where a barn owl was our ring-bearer. The bride was a real fan of Harry Potter so we thought ‘Hedwig’s cousin’ would be a good addition. It was just magical.”

Mrs van der Mark will attend a regional awards ceremony at Froyle Park near Alton on November 26. If she wins in her category, she will be invited to attend the national final in London in January.