My Story

Born and brought up in Ayrshire, just a few miles from where Robert (Rabbie) Burns himself was born, I became a fan of his poetry from an early age, and can vividly remember as a wee girl, being taken to visit the Brig O Doon in Alloway… the setting for the poem Tam O’Shanter, where my dad would sit us down on the bridge and animatedly recite the story of Tam as he tried to flee the witches and warlocks in “Alloway’s Old Haunted Kirk”. And then he would tell us that if we closed our eyes and listened carefully, we might be able to hear the ghost of Tam’s horse Meg, galloping over the cobbled stones as she and Tam tried to escape capture. Of course, I was convinced I heard them every time! 

In 1992, after having my two children, I joined the Scottish Ambulance Service, where I worked my way up from Care Assistant to Ambulance Technician, to Paramedic, until in 1999 I became Scotland’s first female Helicopter medic. In 2004, I left the Ambulance Service for pastures new, and after completing a 4 year Psychology degree at the University of Glasgow, followed by a Postgraduate qualification in Mental Health Recovery, I began my Coaching & Professional Speaking business. 

In 2015, while working as a lecturer in Edinburgh, I was asked by friends to conduct their beautiful forest wedding in Dumfries & Galloway and it was such a wonderful experience that I made the decision to retrain and become a full-time Celebrant, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I absolutely love it! And as they say in Scotland… “You can take the lassie out of Ayrshire but you can’t take Ayrshire out of the lassie” and so as you might have noticed, there’s a wee bit of Scottishness running through my work!

In late 2017, I began a 2-year spiritual training programme with the Interfaith Foundation, and in July 2019, I was ordained as an Interfaith Minister, which might sound a bit pious, but it’s not meant to be. To “minister” just means “to serve”, and as an Interfaith Minister I conduct ceremonies for people of all faiths and none. But what do I believe? First, let me tell you what I DON’T believe. I don’t believe in a God who has form. I don’t believe in a God who sits on a cloud taking notes for later. I don’t believe in a God who wilfully allows people to suffer. I don’t believe in a God who tells people its’ wrong to fall in love with someone of the same gender. I don’t believe in literal resurrections or virgin births. I don’t believe in the eternal fires of hell. I don’t believe any of the holy scriptures are divine. I don’t believe ministers (or any other type of clergy) are able to have any more of a direct relationship with God than any other person. In short, I don’t believe in any of the man-made ideas of God that have been the cause of so much pain and suffering in the world. 

But I do believe in magic & mystery. I believe in parking angels and faeries, witches and wizards, and I definitely believe in UFOs and Jedi Knights! I believe in something beyond this world that we don’t have words for… a feeling of something bigger than us that we just can’t explain. A presence that exists within and around us that we don’t have the language to describe, but that pulls us in and allows us to see the world, and humanity at its very best. And if you want to call it God, I’m absolutely okay with that. But I’m also okay if you call it Love, Spirit, the Diving, the Universe, Mother Earth, the Sacred, or if you’re a Star Wars fan, The Force.

I also believe that promising your life to another is a sacred commitment between two people, and that they should be allowed to enter into this commitment in the presence of God, Grace, Peace, Love or whatever word a couple wants to give to the idea that they are being witnessed by a higher power when exchanging their vows with each other.

More than anything in this world, I believe in Love. 

When I’m not ministering, I enjoy spending time in the beautiful village of Abernethy in Perthshire, and can usually be found with my adorable grandsons Lochie & Finlay! And of course my love of all things Scottish, including Robert Burns stays with me, and to this day Tam O’Shanter is still my favourite poem. 

Copyright Aye Do Ceremonies 2018.

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