Dorothy Cooper

family and funeral celebrant based in Lancashire

My role as a celebrant is not about me, but about you. It is about using my skills in writing and performance to enhance your ceremony; to collaborate with you (because the ceremony is truly a collaborative effort) to make your day special. I want to honour your beliefs, traditions and intentions to create as memorable an event as possible. However, I am sure you would like to know a little more about me and how I came to be doing this amazing job.

I live in Bolton with my wonderful husband and cover most of the UK for weddings and a radius of about 40 miles for funerals.

I come from a large family (which is still growing) and over the years have witnessed and participated in every sort of ceremony possible – some great, some not so great – which set me thinking about how I would organise the same things. How could they be better? How could they truly represent the people that they are for?

There were two things that really set me on this path. The first was a wedding where the focus was more on the Celebrant than the couple who didn’t appear to have much choice in what happened on their special day. The second was having the opportunity to conduct my mother’s funeral.

Sitting through one and conducting the other made me realise that I have the skills to be able to offer a personal, tailored, meaningful ceremony that can be remembered and treasured, rather than a standard, impersonal offering.

I attended Bretton Hall College in West Yorkshire (many years ago), obtained a degree in English, Drama and Music, and since then I have always performed in some way, either acting, public speaking, or singing. I have been a teacher for many years, both Primary and Secondary school, and I continue to tutor privately, mainly in English for GCSE and A-level students. One of the things I love most of all is writing (which comes in handy for this job).

I relax by having friends round and cooking for them. I have also been known to have the odd glass or two – usually red wine, prosecco or gin. My hair is unruly, curly and subject to colour change on a whim (to cover up the grey). I have hundreds of books, love Shakespeare and Monty Python. I would like a dog (preferably a golden retriever), but don’t yet have the life style to accommodate one.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet you, get to know you, and have the privilege of helping to create your unique ceremony.