Hi, I'm Kathryn

Image of Kathryn Palmer-Skillings

Congratulations! It is so exciting that you’re planning a wedding!

I’m a people-loving, equality-loving, ‘love’-loving humanist wedding celebrant in London, marrying and civil partnering couples far and wide.

I specialise in creating warm, joyful, unique wedding ceremonies for couples who want to start their celebrations in a way that’s so much more personal, considered, meaningful, and enjoyable than ‘just another template’ ceremony. You deserve a wedding or civil partnership ceremony that’s more than a tick-box same old template, or one which makes you feel like the proverbial square peg. As your wedding celebrant, I’ll make sure that instead of feeling constrained by tradition, expectation and/or the patriarchy(!), your celebrant wedding is full of warmth, fun, sincerity and joy, reflecting what matters to you both.

I became a London wedding celebrant because I love people, weddings, and people at weddings. I’m passionate about ensuring that every couple can enjoy a wedding ceremony that is personal and unique. I love getting to know you both and learning what matters to you. Those gorgeous memories of your lives together so far, those little quirks you have that you love about each other, and those pesky irritations about each other that just occasionally drive you up the wall. I weave all of these, along with ideas for readings, music, and meaningful wedding rituals, into a bespoke wedding ceremony that could only and would only ever be yours.

I work with couples who have chosen a celebrant wedding because they want to enjoy their ceremony, who want a heartfelt wedding with just a sprinkling of humour, that reflects and celebrates them! Couples just like you, who are: 

Planning personal touches across their day celebrating the real them; honouring their quirks, interests, love story and communities.

Keen not to follow the crowd whilst still wanting their celebrant ceremony to feel familiar and sincere with real meaning.

Challenging wedding traditions that don’t feel right and making meaningful choices that reflect them.

Instead of the same old, standard template, you want a bespoke wedding ceremony that’s special, wholehearted, and fun. My role as a wedding celebrant means I’m here to help you have a wedding ceremony that’s less of ‘the usual’, and a whole lot more YOU!

“Everyone's been raving about how beautiful and unique the ceremony was. And we've had several guests tell us it's the first time they haven't zoned out during a ceremony (high praise! 😂). Thank you so much for making it so special and meaningful for us.”

— Naomi & Vicky - South West London

“The ceremony was so warm and romantic. You're like a close friend, with the calm confidence to bring everyone together!"

— Dennis & Katie - West London

Kathryn was an incredible wedding celebrant, so helpful & fun! She wrote the most perfect ceremony that captured us both so well, it fit perfectly! Kathryn understood us from the get-go and tailored her words as if she'd known us forever.

— Danielle & Ian, North London

..Like seeing a friend at the end of the aisle, thank you for being our wedding celebrant!

— Gita & Sergei, Central London

Thank you so much for the incredible ceremony you put on for us! (Undaunted by the rain!) You really understood our characters and the nature of the ceremony we wanted and allowed us to share those and our story beautifully with our friends and family.

— CJ & Saleema - Kent

Where do we start?! Working with Kathryn from start to finish was an amazing experience. From our initial conversations to getting to know each other, to crafting our ceremony, Kathryn was there for us every step of the way. By the time the big day arrived, we had such a good bond, and it was a great feeling knowing she was going to be waiting up at the front for us, supporting us throughout.

Kathryn is so generous with her time and very reassuring - no question is too big or small, and she is genuinely happy to help share advice on any an all aspects of putting together a wedding. Spending time talking through our story with Kathryn meant that our ceremony was absolutely perfect. We had so many compliments from all our guests throughout the day. It was personal, meaningful and very very… us!

Kathryn massively helped to calm our nerves on the day. It was relaxed, fun, and full of love. She helped us both slow down with our vows and the ring exchange, the photos were fantastic of this bit! It was so special for us as well as for everyone else, this day will live with us forever.

It would be an honour for anyone to have Kathryn as their celebrant, we really mean that! We cannot recommend Kathryn enough - if you want a genuinely personal and meaningful ceremony and someone you can count on throughout - Kathryn is your person!

— Gina & Dom - South London

We knew Kathryn was going to be our celebrant after reading her website and seeing that we had a ridiculous number of similarities. From the first meeting, Paul and I felt uplifted and joyful that we'd found someone we instantly clicked with. Kathryn has a lovely way of chatting to get to the heart of your ceremony. We wanted sincerity and laughs and she seemed to be able to verbalise what we wanted when we didn't have the words. It was such a pleasure to collaborate with Kathryn. She's truly the most warm, kind and positive person. Not to mention up for a laugh, Kathryn conducted our guests to sing us back down the aisle out of the venue! If you're considering booking Kathryn then do it now. Do it yesterday in fact!

— Tara & Paul - South London

Kathryn was brilliant. She took the time to really get to know us and created a ceremony that truly represented who we are and what we're about. She's also super lovely and patient, and really guided us through the whole process. We'd recommend her 100%!

— Charlotte & Marcus - South London

Kathryn was a joy to work with and brought such a unique, caring approach to our ceremony. It was important for us not to have a conventional wedding and Kathryn understood our needs. Her contribution set the tone and the values for the rest of the celebration. Highly recommended!

— Jasmine & Dai - East London

Kathryn was amazing from the first conversation to our wedding day itself (even loaning her tripod so we could FaceTime someone in who couldn’t be there), to afterwards. Kathryn was warm, caring and very insightful, taking the time to get to know us and creating a beautiful ceremony. She met us over video and in person, ensuring she knew our story and what we wanted from our wedding. She found us the perfect poem and also helped us with our vows! So many people commented on how sincere and fun the day was, and we loved every moment, knowing that we were in great hands with Kathryn.

— Maria & James

Kathryn was brilliant from the very start- she is such a friendly and understanding person. Reading our ceremony script over and over before the wedding just made me so happy!

We have had so many compliments from our guests about how wonderful the ceremony was and how great Kathryn was! My mum and my brother were raving about her! My mum commented on how Kathryn had a lovely, warm aura around her :)

Kathryn- I'll never be able to thank you enough for making our ceremony so beautiful and personal, I absolutely loved working with you and would recommend you to everyone I know!

— Nic & Rich - Kent

Image of Kathryn Palmer-Skillings

Kathryn Palmer-Skillings

Where I work

I regularly work across London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex and Hampshire. I am also happy to travel further afield in England.

Fees from...

£1100

How to contact me
Email

kathryn.palmer-skillings@humanistceremonies.org.uk

Phone

+44 0 7432341375

Website

www.celebrantkathryn.com

HUMANIST CEREMONIES™ is the network of more than 550 celebrants, trained by national charity Humanists UK to a gold standard to provide memorable and meaningful humanist ceremonies to non-religious people. Operating throughout England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, we deliver authentic, tailor-made and heartfelt ceremonies for life’s key moments. They are always inclusive and welcoming, regardless of the beliefs of those attending.

You can trust Humanist Ceremonies celebrants: We are DBS-checked, fully insured, and regularly peer reviewed for quality assurance. We are committed to a code of conduct, and have a transparent and robust complaints process in the rare case of a problem. We all pay a monthly fee to Humanists UK to further support the work of the charity, and are part of a regional network for like-minded celebrants for support and learning.

Humanist weddings

A humanist wedding ceremony is a wonderful option to celebrate your wedding in the way you choose: without religion but with meaning, and totally true to the two of you. They are uplifting and heartwarming occasions, personal to each couple to reflect your personalities and interests, and your love story. Sincere and significant, your ceremony will be crafted to create an occasion which is unique and fitting to you both.