Sandra McAuliffe | Wedding and Funeral Celebrant

Hi I’m Sandra McAuliffe and I’m your Family, Wedding and Funeral Celebrant in Oxfordshire.

I live and work as a Celebrant across Oxfordshire. My greatest passions are travelling and football. I enjoy immersing myself in the culture of a country and have lived and worked abroad on multiple occasions; most latterly in Thailand as a Science teacher.

Asia is a great place to learn about the importance of family and friends be humble and thankful for all the people in our lives, rather than material things.

I even attended a number of football matches where locals applauded me for loudly singing celebratory songs when goals are scored; a great social event and atmosphere, with the entire family, young and old, attending to support their local team.

My working background has mainly been within the area of Science and Health, initially in training and then qualifying as a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Psychotherapist, a Reiki Master, and also a Sound Healer.

This has allowed me to work with clients of all ages, helping and supporting them through various personal difficulties and pressures in order to move forward with confidence to be able to thrive again and enjoy life.

As a celebrant, I have found this to be a role where my own life experiences and skills are best used to help others; from empathy, listening and communicating in addition to public speaking, creativity, planning and organisation.

My friends describe me as a warm and caring person, a good listener, with a wicked sense of humour, who can seemingly stay calm when all around is chaos. This means that the approach taken to my work is not only of the highest commitment and dedication, but also with a good dose of fun.

Bringing a smile to the faces of others is so important; as I have learned in Asia, that a smile can go a long way into making the World a better place.

As a celebrant, working across Oxfordshire, I have the absolute privilege and honour to be invited into the people’s lives; at times of extreme happiness and also times of great sadness.

My purpose is to create a uniquely tailored ceremony which reflects what you want; whether it be for a Wedding, Renewal of Vows, Naming Ceremony or the Funeral of a loved one.

Every ceremony starts with an initial meeting when we talk and get to know each other. We discuss the aspects you would like to include in the ceremony, together with those special touches which have meaning for you and your loved ones.

With all your information, I can then create and write the entire ceremony from start to finish, which I then conduct on the day.

Weddings and all the arrangements in the ‘run up’ to the day itself can be a particularly stressful time, as the focus is on making such a special day truly memorable for the right reasons.

That’s why part of my job is to ease those nerves and any feelings of stress, by creating a fun and relaxed environment from initial meeting to rehearsals and the beautiful event itself, so that you can feel relieved and comfortable that the ceremony is in safe hands.

We can incorporate special elements (discussed at the initial meeting) into the Wedding Ceremony which can create your unique memorable occasion.

I also write and conduct Funeral ceremonies; cremations and burials, including natural burials.

My belief is that every human story is unique, no matter how short or long the life is. Working with you from the initial meeting to the day itself, we can create a ceremony together, which honours, in the best way, the memory and life of your loved one.

Celebrating a life can also help you to start the process of coming to terms with the magnitude of your loss and allow you to say a very special ‘goodbye’.