Introducing Maddie, the vibrant and creative force behind Maddie The Happy Celebrant, and a recipient of the Build Your Business grant. With the support of the Build Your Business programme and a successful application for a £2000 start-up grant, Maddie has transformed her passion for creating personalised ceremonies into a thriving business in Northamptonshire. Hear from Maddie as she shares her start-up journey from training to becoming a sought-after independent celebrant.
What is an independent celebrant?
Until recently, when two people got married, the wedding ceremony was a fairly formal occasion, where a specific set of words was used with very few options to add a few personal touches, and ceremonies were only able to take place in a few authorised locations. The same was true of funerals and remembrance ceremonies, which tended to follow ‘unspoken rules’ as to how and where the event should take place.
An Independent Celebrant is here to provide options, so that your important day goes ahead exactly the way you want it, the rule-book can be thrown out of the window…and the sky’s the limit on choices and options! As an outgoing, fun-loving and creative individual, the concept of a celebrant really appealed to me, so I did lots of research online and decided to invest in training to become a wedding celebrant with a reputable company, one where all the training took place on-line -and I took to it like a duck-to-water! My final assessment took place in my back garden, where thanks to friends and family, I performed a vibrant mock-ceremony that was live-streamed to my assessor, and I passed with flying colours. Since then, I’ve not looked back, I’ve conducted wedding and vow-renewal ceremonies and now I’m even taking bookings for 2026!
Then a friend asked me if I would conduct her mum’s funeral -but not a typical-wearing-black ceremony, the family wanted to celebrate the life of a wonderful woman, who had filled her life with the things she loved and with people who were precious to her, they wanted a real celebration of life. I performed that very first end-of-life celebration and found my niche, now people are seeking me out online for colourful way I am able to capture the happy memories and to conduct end-of-life celebrations for their loved ones, the feedback has been amazing and I’m proud of what I have been able to do, to help families at such a difficult time.
So, whether you want your ceremony to take place in the middle of a woodland, your local pub, the top of Northampton Lift-tower, or anywhere in between, I can help! And although I’ve been fortunate enough to have conducted ceremonies in beautiful, historic buildings, my favourite ceremonies are those that take place in a location that is meaningful to my client -and that’s not just for weddings, but for funerals and memorial ceremonies too!
I stumbled upon the BIPC Northamptonshire quite by accident, when my self-employed hairdresser told me about a grant that was available for start-up businesses in Northamptonshire. I looked into the criteria and realised that the grant application process was very in-depth, and I had to meet a very rigid criteria but support was available to help with the process. At the time, I was a brand-new business, I had barely finished my training, and had only conducted a handful of ceremonies, I felt quite overwhelmed and had no idea how to write a business plan -but I knew how I would spend any grant money! So, I became very focused on working with BIPC Northampton and they were amazing! There was a whole mass of support available, with both on-line and in-person workshops, 1:1 meetings, and access to so much material via the library service -and most importantly, it was all free!!! (And what’s more, I still have access to all the BIPC Northamptonshire materials and training and can ‘dip’ into these whenever I like!)
I subsequently applied for the grant and was one of the lucky 50% of applicants whose application was approved. So, then I got to enjoy spending all that money! I was able to purchase a new laptop and printer, buy hours with a website creator to build my fabulous colourful website, but my favourite purchase was the marketing wrap that was professionally designed and installed onto the tailgate of my car! I am absolutely thrilled with it; I just think of all that free advertising I am enjoying as I drive around Northamptonshire and beyond on my way to work with clients!
The team at BIPC Northamptonshire have gone out of their way to support us, and thanks to them, I feel more confident. I have a better understanding of how to be a successful sole-trader and I have learnt about different aspects of running a business that I would not have otherwise considered. In January 2025, I also got to enjoy a very special grant-winners networking meeting, it was here that I forged new business connections and I’m excited about plans to liaise with several of the other grant-winners as we move forward and develop our businesses together.
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Website: thehappycelebrant.co.uk
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