Testimonials

“Thank you so much Graham. You really nailed it”

– Sean and Reda

“…Our ceremony was so full of love and laughter…”

We can’t thank Graham enough for the amazingly beautiful, funny and loving ceremony he designed with us. Graham was superb from the very first contact we had with him where he was knowledgeable and professional and immediately put us at ease with the process. His guidance throughout was fantastic and we honestly would not have had such a special ceremony without him. Our ceremony was so full of love and laughter, as well as the necessary more formal heartfelt seriousness that a wedding ceremony requires. Our guests have all said it was one of the best ceremonies they’ve been to.

Thank you Graham

– Laura Clark & John Reeve

“…it was absolutely superb…”

Dear Graham,

We wanted to thank you for the amazing wedding ceremony. It was absolutely superb – you gave just the right notes of warmth and joy while maintaining the profundity of the moment. We also really appreciated your organisational and theatrical skills in planning and rehearsing the event. It gave us peace of mind beforehand and the ceremony a satisfying feeling of ‘a plan coming together’! The main rehearsal at your house was a very emotional moment, it sounds strange but that made us fully realise what we were doing and I think gave us a unity of purpose leading up to the wedding. So thanks again for everything, we loved it and have had so many compliments from our guests.

Lots of love,

– Tom and Putri

 

“…you have a wonderful way with words…”

“A year really has flown by, we can’t believe it! We still talk about our perfect day and how you were such an important part of making it memorable. You have a wonderful way with words and your re-telling of our love story was romantic yet light-hearted and fun.”

– Kristen (sic) and Alex

“…amazingly beautiful, funny and loving ceremony…”

We had so many lovely comments from friends and family – everyone thought you were brilliant and just the right level of personal, funny and formal. We loved that part of the day and genuinely everyone really enjoyed themselves…plus we got a few tears so the meaning of it all was definitely still front and centre! Thank you for your input and making us get the most out of the service.

– Claudia de Wolff and Rob Bovington

“…we enjoyed the process of developing the ceremony with you…”

Dear Graham,

We got back from an amazing time on honeymoon last weekend. NYC and Japan were incredible. We wanted to get in touch to thank you again for the wonderful ceremony you gave us. We really enjoyed it as did everyone else there. So many people said how great you and it were. It was such a pleasure meeting you and we enjoyed the process of developing the ceremony with you so much. As I said to you on the day, it was what we enjoyed the most.

We feel sure we will meet again in the future and we very much look forward to that day. We’re already recommending you to friends who are getting married soon!

Thank you.

– Love Lucy & Joe xxx

 

“…we received so many positive comments about the ceremony…”

Dear Graham

We wanted to say a huge thank you to you for being the most amazing celebrant. We received so many positive comments about the ceremony, it was simply amazing and we loved every minute. You put so much heart and thought into our special day. Everyone asked how long you’d known us and couldn’t believe it was only a few months! Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts, it was indeed truly magical.

Thank you again

– Anna and Matt

“…All were impressed how you gave ‘gravitas’ to the occasion…”

Hi Graham,

Thanks for your email and kind words. We loved our wedding ceremony and we got utterly positive feedback from all our guests. We really enjoyed working with you, you’re very flexible & openminded and although you provided the structure and most of the text, you made us feel it was our thing. Everyone was raving about the readings, the Laurie Lee text, the text at the end I had to email the texts to lots of friends who wanted a copy. All were impressed how you gave ‘gravitas’ to the occasion whilst surrounded by stripy oarsmen and little girls, and whilst regularly being pushed forward by the tide. ”He took it all in his stride and seemed to enjoy it” …..as one of our friends said. We started with some mad ideas, but because we remained openminded and were not too precious about it, we encountered all the right people on our way, including you, who helped us pull it off. We’re very grateful for your input and we’re looking back to a fabulous day celebrating love & friendship.

Warm regards,

– Anna & David

“…Everyone loved the crowd-participation and the humour you brought to proceedings….”

Hi Graham,

The dust appears to be settling on our wedding day, so we wanted to get in touch to say a massive thank you for being a part of it. We have to say that when were looking for a celebrant we rather naively thought that anyone would do and once the ceremony was over we could get on with the main event of the eating, drinking, speeches and dancing! How wrong we were. We loved the experience and passion you brought to your role, from the first meetings to the day itself. You gave us so many great ideas, which made the ceremony so special.

We have never been to a wedding where the ceremony has been such an important and much-loved part of the day. Everyone loved the crowd-participation and the humour you brought to proceedings. So many asked us how we had found you and said that they loved the humanist elements. It was so refreshing and genuinely enjoyable compared to the dry religious ceremonies we have been to, which would not have suited us at all.

We would happily recommend you to friends and family!

Thank you again and no doubt we will see you around Forest Gate from time to time.

– Anthony and Beccy xxx

“We cannot thank you enough for your guidance in helping us to build a beautiful wedding ceremony”

Dear Graham,

We cannot thank you enough for your guidance in helping us to build a beautiful wedding ceremony. The outpouring of joy from you and our guests blew us away, even to this day. Your experienced hand and joyful performance set a perfect tone for what we’re told was ‘the best wedding ever!’

– Maddie and Tony, Shohola Pennsylvania USA

“…your process is flawless…”

“All our guests and me and Nathan thought you were fantastic, you were helpful, thoughtful so organised and made the whole process stress free – we wouldn’t change any of it, your process is flawless – thanks again”

– Sarah and Nathan


graham.downes.celebrant@gmail.com
humanist.org.uk/grahamdownes
07941 234052