Corkman: My mission is to banish boring wedding days

A TOGHER man who moved to the UK and took up a career as a wedding and funeral celebrant has won a coveted award for his work.

Stewart O’Sullivan was named National Wedding Celebrant of the Year 2022 across the whole of the UK at The Wedding Industry Awards (TWIA) Ceremony in London last month. He is the first male to win the award in its 10-year history.

TWIA was established to recognise and reward sector excellence in the wedding industry in the UK, and . Stewart’s work was scrutinised by a panel of industry experts.

He said: “This award feels like the icing on the (wedding) cake. 

"I have poured my heart and soul into carving my path in the wedding world and this is proof it’s paid off. TWIA is so highly regarded, I’m honoured to have their seal of approval.”

Stewart has always remained proud of his roots and is flying the Cork flag high across the wedding industry in the UK. He will return to Ireland later this year to conduct his first ceremony on Irish soil.

Born in Togher, he went to Glasheen B.N.S and then Deerpark C.B.S. (now Colaiste Eamann Ris)

He said: “Mam and Dad have always been incredibly supportive of everything I have achieved and are always wondering what I will do next!”

Stewart moved to London at 18 to pursue a career in Performing Arts, having attended CADA here in Cork for many years under the direction of Catherine Mahon Buckley.

Swapping the stage for the runway, he a job as a flight attendant at British Airways, where he has enjoyed 20 years of flying and seeing the world.

His time spent travelling the world, meeting people from all backgrounds, all with differing beliefs and outlooks on life, gave him a wealth of knowledge about the world: What connects people… what makes us all the same…and how we can appreciate our differences.

Stewart’s skills as a a people person led him to learn about the role of a Celebrant and he trained with The Fellowship of Professional Celebrants in 2018.

“The whole point of a ‘Celebrant’ is that we ‘CELEBRATE’ all of those life events that deserve celebrating, be that in love or loss,” he says. 

“We have come such a long way now from tradition, people want to have ceremonies that reflect them!

“If you as a couple are not religious, why would you choose to get married in a church - just because that’s what your parents did?!

“The same can be said for funerals, they should all be focused on the person, what we learnt from them, what we loved about them, and what we will miss about them.”

In the past few years, Stewart has conducted close to 300 funeral ceremonies, and calls it “an incredibly rewarding role” that he carries out with great pride. His funeral work can be followed on Instagram: stewart_the_funeral_celebrant

Alongside all of this, he has built up the wedding side of his business with tremendous success. He gets to know his couples well so that on the big day, “it should feel like an old friend conducting the ceremony”.

Stewart believes no two wedding ceremonies should be the same, because no two couples are ever the same. His focus is on fun, energy, the sharing and spreading of love, and involving all of the guests.

“A good wedding should be a bit like a rollercoaster, one minute you should be laughing... then you should be crying... then you should be laughing again! And if I can get people laughing and crying at the same time - I know I’ve done my job!”

He has gained a huge following on Instagram (stewart_the_celebrant if you’d like to follow him) and all of this has been down to his personal hashtag #goodbyeboringwedding

So where did ‘goodbye boring wedding come from?...

“‘Goodbye boring Wedding’ is exactly what I aim to achieve with my couples. The only rule with a Stewart the Celebrant ceremony…is that there are no rules!”

He has conducted weddings in every venue from manor houses to a brewery, stately homes, and even at Hampton Court Palace in London.

A particular stand-out wedding for Stewart was that of a gay couple who lived in Hong Kong and were coming to London to have their wedding.

“These guys had been together 20+ years, long before same sex marriage was even legal, it was such a wonderful celebration as they had invited all the people they had crossed paths with down the years, so the result was almost a reunion/wedding combined!”

The other big change in the way that we live our lives, is that all of the planning for this ceremony was done over Zoom, with Stewart only meeting the couple in person the day before the ceremony for a rehearsal.

That couple, Brian and Chris, said: “Stewart was simply awesome from the get-go, not only as a Celebrant, but as a mediator, encourager, and constant voice of reason.

“As soon as we heard laughter coming from the room where everyone had gathered, we both relaxed. He set the tone for the day with his amazing words, his suggested readings, and the various unique elements of the ceremony.”

One of the things Stewart likes to do is called ‘secret vows’, where the couples write their own vows to each other, send them to him, and then they are only heard by the couple for the very first time on the day!

“Keeping the element of romance and surprise alive - even for the couple!” explains Stewart.

“We should no longer have to say. ‘To have and to hold...’ if that does not suit you as a couple!”

Music is also a big part of every ceremony for Stewart and he says: “I have had couples do their first dance right in the middle of their wedding ceremony… and why not?! Remember what I said about ‘no rules!

“The wedding ceremony should not be what happens BEFORE the party… the wedding ceremony should BE the party!!!

Stewart also has a wardrobe of fabulous suits he wears to his ceremonies, another trademark of his business that has gained attention.

See www.stewartosullivancelebrant.co.uk