Hi, I'm Leilia

Image of Leilia Dore

I’m a Humanist wedding celebrant based in Bristol, working across the Southwest (where I grew up) and often further afield, too. I create ceremonies for weddings, elopements, commitment ceremonies, vow renewals and more.

If you want your wedding ceremony to be the most joyful, meaningful and connected part of your day, you are in the right place.

Bringing people together is my thing. I create unique moments of celebration for the milestones that mean the most to you.

Everyone should have access to the joy of a personalised wedding ceremony – whoever you love, whatever you believe, and whatever marriage or partnership means to you.

I firmly believe that people need opportunities to come together to create shared meaning and to mark the big transitions in life. Humans have been doing this for thousands of years. Two people committing to loving each other and sharing a life is a beautiful opportunity for communities (tiny or huge) to come together in celebration!

I love working with couples like you to enable you to bring your whole selves to your wedding ceremony, whatever that looks like. My goal is to create a safe, caring and fun space for you so that your ceremony feels like home – from the moment we start working together until the last piece of confetti has fallen (and let’s be honest – long after that).

Whatever you want your ceremony to say, and however you want to say it – I will help you find beautiful words and meaningful symbolic acts to do so in a way that perfectly reflects who you are. Having lived and worked in many countries around the world (including Rwanda, Kenya, Switzerland and Lao People’s Democratic Republic), I love to incorporate the different traditions that matter to you – and to create new ones that represent you.

My passion for ceremonies has brought me to work with Humanists UK to manage their network of wedding, funeral and naming ceremony celebrants to bring non-religious opportunities for meaning and connection to more people across the UK. Outside of work, I travel, sing in a Georgian folk music choir, write, get muddy on my allotment and go cold water swimming at every opportunity (you can see my adventures on Instagram at @swimmingthroughtheseasons).

If you would like to chat about how I can help you create your perfect ceremony, get in touch - I can't wait to hear from you!

Leilia formed and performed the most beautiful wedding ceremony for us this summer. We booked her on the spot after seeing her run a wedding ceremony last year and are so glad we did. She told our story in a way which was humorous but sincere, and represented us perfectly as a couple. The planning sessions were fun and well-structured and she discussed lots of options with us to ensure that we could build the ceremony which felt perfect for us. On the day, she provided such a calm and loving atmosphere to the ceremony that all our nerves left us and we were able to truly enjoy the ceremony and take it all in. It was a wonderful moment, full of love and happy tears. People loved the ceremony - there were laughter, tears and cheering! I cannot emphasize enough how special it was to have Leilia as our celebrant - she was absolutely fabulous. We love Leilia - thank you for our wonderful ceremony!

— Will and Sarah

Leilia worked collaboratively with us to create a flexible and meaningful ceremony, perfect for our small and intimate elopement. She was able to adapt when things didn't go to plan and her communication throughout was second to none. Thank you for all your hard work Leilia, I would thoroughly recommend you as a celebrant to anyone planning a wedding.

— Orla and Martin

Leilia was fantastic as our celebrant in February. We were delighted to find someone who also enjoys wild swimming (we even met up for a 4 degree swim prior to the wedding!) and who understood our love of the outdoors. She has a great way with words so captured our story and values perfectly with her script. She was relaxed, friendly but also amazingly organised. She guided us through the process and gave us a clear timetable for planning the ceremony. She also thought of things we hadn’t considered (e.g. where we should sit for the best lighting for photos), and kept everyone organised on the day. She was great at suggesting ideas and helping us make decisions that felt right for us. We also appreciated the personal touches like printing our vows on beautiful paper and we were delighted that she joined us after the ceremony for our beach walk. It genuinely felt like having an extra friend at our wedding. Thank you Leilia!

— Lydia and Chris

Working with Leilia has been an absolute delight! At first we weren’t really sure what we wanted for our wedding ceremony as we already had our legal marriage last year. Meeting with Leilia couldn’t have been easier and she was super lovely in supporting and guiding us and she produced the most personal and perfect ceremony we could have wished for! Having met and spoken with Leilia only a few times, she completely grasped the spirit of what we were trying to create with our wedding celebration and we were just blown away when we received the first draft. Leilia had captured and told our story so perfectly and in such beautiful detail. The day ran so smoothly and the ceremony was just perfect- so many of our friends and family commented on how much they loved it and we certainly did too. It was a pleasure to have Leilia both construct and then conduct our wedding ceremony and we would whole heartedly recommend her to anyone looking for the most warm and charming celebrant.

— Anna and Ant

Our wedding ceremony was so meaningful and beautiful, this is all thanks to Leilia. We knew from reading the first script it was going to be fab but it really did exceed our expectations. It was so personal yet funny, just the perfect balance. All our guests were raving about the ceremony afterwards. Thank you! We would highly recommend Leilia 🤍

— Hannah and Tom

Leilia is a brilliant celebrant & a truly special person. She is full of warmth & creativity & came brimming with ideas about how to make the ceremony unique & memorable. On the day she was a wonderfully calming presence & delivered the ceremony so beautifully, I really couldn’t fault it. It’s clear to see that Leilia deeply cares about her couples & the ceremonies she creates. I would recommend Leilia in a heartbeat!

— Natasha

If you’ve started planning your wedding, you know that it can be stressful. There are so many decisions to make, suppliers to coordinate, and timings to unravel. In the midst of all of this, Leilia was a beacon of calm competence and warmth. She’s also lightning-fast and impressively organised. We always knew when we were meeting next and often she’d get back to us well ahead of schedule. Thanks to Leilia, the part of the wedding that was most important to us was also the easiest.

— Lawrence

We don’t think our ceremony would have been as personal, heartfelt, or memorable without Leilia. We feel so fortunate she was our celebrant and we cannot recommend her highly enough. We received so many compliments from friends and family on the ceremony. Best of all, we’re going to get to see Leilia in action again: some friends were so impressed that she’ll be marrying them next year!

— Katherine

I was lucky enough to attend the wedding of friends for which Leilia was the celebrant, and I can’t think of much higher compliment than that my partner and I said we wished we were getting married now so she could be our celebrant. In her hands the ceremony wasn’t the bit of the day you rush through to get to the reception – it really was the heart and the highlight of the whole thing. I couldn’t recommend her more highly.

— Maddy

What a wonderful celebrant Leilia is: attentive, thoughtful, kind and always supporting the stars of the day to shine their brightest. I attended a wedding where she was the celebrant and other than having us all weeping with joy, I know that she made the bride and groom feel particularly special and cared for on what can be an incredibly stressful day.

— Hannah

Image of Leilia Dore

Leilia Dore

Where I work

I work in Bristol, across the South West and beyond - drop me a line to chat about a ceremony wherever you live!

Fees from...

£650 for 2025

How to contact me
Email

leilia.dore@humanistceremonies.org.uk

Phone

07564 804978

Website

humanist.org.uk/leiliadore

Instagram

leilia_the_celebrant

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.