Alex Hilder - Celebrant

We met Alex at a wedding fair when I was playing with the idea of being married by a celebrant and as soon as I met Alex I knew this was the route we wanted to take and have a really personal and meaningful ceremony.Alex has a great sense of humour, a warm personality but most of all and importantly, really listens and is interested in your story. Everytime we spoke with Alex we knew we were in capable hands as everything is well organised from all the pre-wedding meetings where you design your ceremony through really personal conversations to make your perfect ceremony.Our guests loved the day and everyone commented on her personal and special it was. We laughed, cried and celebrated love and life with Alex on the day.Alex really does think of everything and to now have a beautifully presented copy of our script and memory box is something we treasure forever.Thank you, Alex for making our ceremony everything we wanted and more. You are a pleasure to work with and we would highly recommend Alex if you are looking for a celebrant for your special day. Ellie and Jack x

We've been SO looking forward to writing a review for the incredible human (and Celebrant!) that is Alex Hilder because it's just another way to both relive the unbelievable ceremony that she put together for us and to thank her once again... But where do we even start?!From beginning to end, working with Alex was utter perffffffection.When we first discussed how our ceremony to be, we knew we wanted it to be a true reflection of us - at this point, we didn't even know Celebrants were a thing! We stumbled upon Alex at a Rustic Wedding Fair. She was actually the second Celebrant that we spoke to that day but she massively stood out because of an instant connection, her informal and friendly approach and her authentic want to know our story right from the get go. Plus, she was an-ex teacher... you can't go wrong with those! We left knowing that a Celebrant-led ceremony was going to be the way to go for us, and Alex was going to have to form part of our story.To say that we didn't know what to expect from the process, was an understatement. We didn't know how much could be changed from the 'typical' ceremony (it turns out LITERALLY everything!), how something outside of the norm would be received by our guests and how a person we'd just met could bring it all together! From the first meeting to the last, Alex held our hands effortlessly and helped alleviate any worries before creating the most perfect (very US) ceremony.She listened intently to our MANY stories, she captured the essence of our relationship and she created something sincerely magical at the end.In one of our final meetings, Alex pulled out a bunch of post-it notes and wrote on them all the different elements of a ceremony. She explained in detail what each one meant, could look like and then encouraged us to choose the bits that we wanted to form part of our day (or if there was anything extra we felt was missing). This helped us to really start to think outside the box and after this, the day really started to take shape.Alex told us about some of the traditions for different types of ceremonies (hand fasting, sand ceremonies, etc) and, although at first thought, we were a bit cautious about the ceremony becoming too hippy-y (which wouldn't have reflected our relationship or characters as much), we came up with our own spin on a sand ceremony and Alex obliged! In the end, we had one of our guests create a sand vessel - as part of our ceremony we and some of our nearest and dearest poured their sand into the handmade vessel and the rest of the guests added their contributions afterwards. This keep sake will remind us of their support forever and we are so grateful that Alex helped us weave our idea into the day.Another element that we decided on, which wouldn't have been possible in a 'traditional' ceremony was our vows to each other. We opted to have individual vows and a joint one and we were so happy we did! We each set about writing our odes to each other while Alex beavered away at creating the most 'us' joint vows which exceeded our expectations by MILES. The personal touches that these brought just can't be compared with what would've been had we opted for a registrar.We wouldn't be able to count the number of people who, post ceremony, commented on how truly special and reflective of our relationship the whole ceremony had been. Alex, with her relaxed but hilarious manner had woo-ed all of our guests and made the most fun, loving and memorable experience for us all. We are SO glad that we chose her and wish we could do it all again!In case you've not already realised by now - we couldn't recommend a celebrant led ceremony more and Alex truly is the best of the best.Our advice to couples planning their day?! Give Alex a call now! Rip up the 'rule book' and create something truly YOU. It was the MOST well spent money in all of our wedding spending.We love you Alex and we are SO grateful that we could have you as part of our day which will forever be in our memories. Thank you, always.Ian & Jada ❤️

We can't recommend Alex highly enough. Her dedication to our ceremony made us feel like we were the only couple she was working with and the end result was a beautiful, moving and completely bespoke and personalised ceremony which left us and our guests with and experience like no other. The time, effort and dedication Alex put into everything was above and beyond and the written presentation of the ceremony and our promises is beautifully packaged as a momento of our day. We met Alex purely by chance and thank goodness we did...fate at its best!

* Why did you have a celebrant led wedding?We met Alex at a wedding fayre. Before meeting Alex we hadn’t considered or thought about a celebrant, however after talking to her we soon realised just how special and personal she could make our ceremony and instantly knew we would love to work with her.* Was it always planned that way? Did you have any hesitations?After our initial conversation and first zoom call we had absolutely no hesitations and knew we’d made the right decision in Alex.* How did you find me?At a wedding fayre at the Barnyard- our venue!* Why did you choose to work with me to be your celebrant?Alex made us feel at ease and so relaxed from the get go. She has such a calming presence and this was so lovely to have on the day. Alex took so much time getting to know us individually and as a couple and captured our story so beautifully- there was absolutely nothing we would change about the whole process.* What did you like best about working with me?From start to finish Alex made the process so special- which we wouldn’t have had if we had used a registrar. Alex was such a calming presence on the wedding day for both of us. Nothing was too much to ask!* Which parts of your wedding ceremony still stick out in your mind and you are really grateful that you did?The hand tying was so special and we are so pleased we included it- we also love the gift box with the ribbon inside that Alex provided along with the beautiful print out of the ceremony script and certificate.I wanted to say a huge thank you to Alex for reading a letter I wrote to my late father during the ceremony. Alex read it so beautifully and it was such an important and special moment.* What was the reaction from your guests and which parts of your ceremony do people still talk to you about?Having a celebrant!! None of our guests had ever been to a wedding like it! Every single person commented on the ceremony saying how unique and special it was. So many guests told us ‘it was the best ceremony we’ve ever heard!’* What is the most important thing people should know about working with me?All of your worries will be put aside! Alex is so passionate about making your ceremony as personable as possible and really has a gift for story telling.* What advice would you give to other couples planning their wedding?Take time throughout the day to look around and at one another and take it all in- it went by so quickly! We both tried to relax as much as possible on the day and enjoy every single moment- it was the best day of our lives!* Would you recommend my services? If so, why and to whom?We would recommend Alex 100% without any hesitation!! Our ceremony was the most special part of our day and something we will cherish forever. Thank you Alex for giving us such a wonderful gift.

To put it simply, Alex is so so very good at what she does! I knew what our plan was in terms of how we wanted to get married, but I did not realise that it could be made to be as special as it was. The time, effort, thought, empathy and love Alex put into every part of the process from start to finish (and even now 3 months on) was genuinely so far beyond any expectation that I had. If you’re reading this without speaking to Alex, I can’t urge you enough to speak with her and learn about how she approaches the day and the lead up to it. If you’ve already booked her, well done, you (and every one of your guests) are going to be blown away. In the lead up, her approach made me and my wife look back and think about the real reasons we are where we are and what brought us to be here. That alone was worth it, but to see how she pieces it all together in the woods end was so special. I am so grateful we had Alex there to deliver our ceremony and the countless compliments from friends and family backed that up. Alex, we can not thank you enough, you’re amazing, thank you!

My goodness, where to start. Alex was, is, an incredible woman, we always knew we wanted an intimate celebrant lead wedding where we could be handfasted in the woods and she delivered! Working with Alex has been an absolute pleasure and despite reading similar reviews of her work and her coming highly recommended she exceeded them all. The amount of effort she put into to our own personal ceremony and her enthusiasm is just incredible and it is clear than this is not just a job for her, its her passion. Having someone light up for you and feel as deeply for this day as you do is the most beautiful experience and our guests absolutely, loved it. We have been married a month now and our family and friends are still approaching us and telling us just how honoured they were to be part of our special day. The day after the wedding my best friend came into my kitchen with tears in her eyes and told us how special it was to be there with us and share our special day with us. So I couldn't recommend Alex enough and also cant thank her enough for making our day so special for not only us but all our loved ones as well.

After seeing a few friends get married with a celebrant and how personal their ceremonies were, we knew that is how we wanted to get married. It also meant our legal ceremony could be done a few days before, which took the pressure off the big day and allowed us to invite elderly grandparents who may not have made the big day.We spoke to a few celebrants but we knew Alex was the one when she really listened to what we wanted and made us feel relaxed.We wanted something personal but still light hearted/funny and safe to say Alex absolutely nailed the brief. We had 2-3 chats with her over zoom where she asked us a whole range of questions, and came back with a script that covered everything we wanted. She included anecdotes about all the different groups of friends and family in the room and got plenty of laughs (and tears) from everyone there!Ahead of the day Alex also guided us through all the options for custom vows and gave us lots of examples which helped us to write our own.On the day - it was so nice to see a friendly face at the end of the aisle! And she prepared a pack with our script and vows printed out which we can keep for the future.Highly recommend working with Alex to anyone who wants a celebrant lead wedding - thank you again Alex, we wouldn’t change a single thing!!

My niece and new husband used Alex for their wedding and I was incredibly impressed by Alex and her ability to create such an intimate and meaningful ceremony. It was, by far, one of the best ceremonies I have ever witnessed. (In fact, I would consider flying her to California to do my daughters!). You could tell she took the time to write a personalized ceremony that perfectly reflected their partnership and personalities.

Twelve weeks ago (as we type this review) Alex created the most magical ceremony for us, the memory of which will stay with us and our guests forever!We knew we wanted a Celebrant-led wedding (we planned to have the legal bit done separately) as neither of us are particularly religious and wanted something that was special and personalised to us. We had booked calls with 5 Celebrants , Alex being the first one we spoke to on Zoom, and we just knew straight away we wanted Alex to be part of our day and so we cancelled our calls with the other Celebrants.Alex invested a lot of time in getting to know us in the lead-up to our big day. We had Zoom calls, regular WhatsApp messages and were lucky enough to meet in person a few weeks before our wedding.When we heard about the homework I think we both dreaded it a little bit, but really it was so much fun and a good way to think about why we were getting married, what marriage means to us and why we chose each other. From the homework Alex was able to weave in all of our anecdotes, little sayings and funny stories, there is a real skill here and Alex's way with words is magical.Alex really cares about making the ceremony as unique and personal as possible. During our calls Alex came up with some great ideas and also prompted us to explore our thoughts and ideas too.Alex spent time guiding us through the flow of the ceremony and how it would work on the day and this really helped us figure out how and when to involve guests. Our guests loved being involved in the handfasting and readings.You can see Alex's genuine enjoyment in doing what she does. Her style is warm, calm and inclusive - it's like she is giving you a big hug with her words and our guests all said how amazing she was. There were cheers, tears and everything in between - a real roller coaster of emotions.We will cherish the beautiful copies of our vows, ceremony script and homework Alex made for us.If you are considering a Celebrant-led ceremony please check-out Alex, we have no doubt your experience will be as wonderful and special as ours.