I was fortunate to have a lovely article all about me and my path to becoming a Celebrant in Lancashire Life recently, so if you haven't seen it, here's what it said.
My Working Life: Celebrant Vikki Harris reveal's how sing-a-longs, Play Your Cards Right, and trying not to cry form part of her working day.
When you were a child, what was your dream job?
When I was at school I thought I wanted to pursue a career in law. I loved literature, was very creative and really enjoyed performing which really set me up for what I do now.
What was your first job? (part-time, weekend job)
My very first job was working as a Saturday girl in a clothes shop. I really loved being in customer service and was fascinated by the retail world and the marketing of consumer goods, which led me to changing my mind on what I wanted to study at University. I switched my applications from law into a Retail Marketing degree which I hoped would give me broader business skills, and in hindsight this suited me much better than law would have done.
What did you do when you left education?
After I graduated from University in Manchester, I went to work for an advertising agency. My very first clients were not very glamorous, and included sewage pumps, hydraulic braking systems for planes and industrial gas suppliers. Being a small agency I spent a lot of time shadowing the Directors and learnt a huge amount in a short space of time and I am forever grateful for the experience I gained there.
From there I set up a business with my best friend, and we operated a chain of hospitality venues in Manchester, along with a publishing company and an advertising agency. We were both in our twenties so it was a brilliant time to be an entrepreneur, living and working in Manchester City Centre.
How direct or meandering was the route to your current career?
Becoming a Celebrant has been a real evolution of the skills I have honed throughout my career, and there’s a little bit of everything I have done as a building block towards being able to bring wedding ceremonies to life.
When we sold the business I went on a solo trip around the world and then moved to Oman in the Middle East where I was Brand Services Director for a marketing agency. Our team rebranded and relaunched the national airline and country into Europe. I moved back to the UK and I worked in destination marketing in Yorkshire and led on the promotion of the Tour de France when that came to the UK in 2014, before working at Manchester United as Senior Venue Marketing & Planning Manager. I currently work full time during the week as the Marketing and Partnerships Director of Marketing Lancashire promoting Lancashire as a place to live, work, visit, invest and study, and so I bring decades of experience into my weekend Celebrant role of event management, networking, planning, public speaking and creativity.
How do you spend the majority of your day?
There’s three distinct parts to being a Celebrant, the bit that everyone sees is me at a venue performing a wedding. I really love that side of the job, calming nerves and delivering awesome ceremonies. It’s always such a huge privilege to be asked to lead the biggest bit of the big day, and I really love bringing it all to life.
There’s a lot that goes into delivering a brilliant ceremony though as they are all entirely bespoke, and I spend the majority of my time preparing for the weddings, meeting the couples, finding out about their story and then coming up with unique ideas and weaving it all together.
I also spend quite a few Sundays at wedding fairs, networking with other suppliers, meeting new couples and talking to them about what their wedding ceremony could be like. It's very sociable and I love spending time with other businesses and bouncing ideas off each other.
What’s the best thing about your job?
I adore being right in the heart of such a momentous occasion in someone’s life. I love the adrenaline right at the start of a ceremony when the music starts and I get goosebumps without fail, every single time.
And the most challenging thing?
I build up such a connection to my couples I often have to desensitise myself to their music so that I don’t get emotional in a ceremony. There’s often beautiful reasons why a couple have chosen a particular piece of music and I have to listen to it over and over again so that I don't cry in a ceremony. I’ve only been caught out a couple of times - it’s always harder to keep it in if the music is being played or sung live.
What's something that people might not realise about your job?
When I am chatting to recently engaged couples at wedding fairs it always surprises me that people haven't come across a Celebrant before in a wedding context. People are very familiar with what a Registrar or Vicar does, but not someone like me, and they are always pleasantly surprised when I tell them about some of the lovely things I have done in ceremonies to make it really personal to that couple. From leading sing-a-longs and playing rock paper scissors to decide who goes first with their vows to making cocktails and having dog ring bearers - there are literally no limits to what we can include.
What’s the work achievement you are most proud of?
I know it sounds cheesy, but I am proud of every ceremony I lead. I’ve just been awarded North West Celebrant of the Year for the second year running at The Wedding Industry Awards which I am really proud of too.
Strangest/funniest thing that's happened to you in your role?
All my ceremonies are different as they are bespoke to each couple and include lots of really special moments. A recent stand out moment has been playing a game of ‘Play Your Cards Right’ part way through a ceremony involving all the guests to decide who went first with their vows. We did it in honour of the bride’s father who had recently passed away and it was a brilliant light-hearted way to include him in the ceremony in a really uplifting way.
Any advice for someone interested in doing what you do?
Just be yourself - if you are your authentic self with your social media presence and at wedding fairs then like-minded couples will gravitate towards you. It’s quite daunting when you first start out, but other wedding industry suppliers are so lovely you’ll soon have a brilliant network around you.
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