Languages: French & English
Hello, Salut
My name is Hélène. I am originally from France, but I have lived in various European countries during my university studies and for professional reasons. In 2015 I had the opportunity to move to Portugal.
A few months after I arrived in Portugal, I was victim of a car accident that left me in hospital for a long time. Far away from everything I knew, stuck in the hospital thinking that I could have died, I realized my life as it was at that time was not fulfilling. That is when I decided to start anew.
I started my own activity in the field of well-being because I enjoy helping people feel better in their bodies and minds. After many months of hard work, this gave me enough stability to quit my job at the big company. From then, I started to look for new challenges that would be a better fit with my university background (foreign languages) and my desire to bring people happiness with my work. This is how I came to meet Carly and discover what a Wedding Celebrant is
What is your favorite part about being a wedding celebrant?
Having a creative and challenging role in the special day of a couple. In fact, it is difficult to say which part I like the most because I enjoy listening to the story of the couple, but I also really like the writing part of my work, and of course, there is the day of! I think I love it all because I truly appreciate being where the love is!
What is your favorite kind of ceremony?
It’s a difficult question because there are a lot of different wedding types. I loved this wedding at the beach in south France, but I also really liked this wedding on a sail boat on the Donau in Germany, as well as this other wedding in a small chapel in the middle of the countryside in Bretagne, France. While they were in very different places with different couples, I know that what I enjoyed in each of these ceremonies was that they where designed especially for the couple. Their ceremonies matched with their personalities and values.
What’s the most challenging part of creating a ceremony?
What I like about this work is that every part of it is challenging because each couple and each ceremony is different! But I would have to say, that the most challenging part for me would be that I need to use creativity to bring the perfect ceremony to life and making it as unique and personal as possible.
Parting words
As a celebrant I enjoy working with couples from my native France, but I also adore working with multicultural couples. As I am part of a multicultural relationship in a foreign country, I really identify with couples who are not afraid to go beyond cultural borders to build their lives and their happiness. I feel that being part of a couple’s wedding is an honor, so giving them their own personalized ceremony will be a commitment I will make with humility, gratitude and joy.
Hélène