Beyond The Ceremony Podcast Episode 22: Brits Abroad, French Weddings with Jess May
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Most celebrants spend years trying to figure out their niche. Jess May accidentally fell into one of the best in the business, and almost missed it entirely because she kept ignoring the emails, and now she is leading French weddings abroad!
Here is the short version: Jess somehow ended up listed on a French wedding supplier directory, had no idea how she got there, and spent years deleting the enquiries. Then she moved to the south coast, noticed she was 20 minutes from the ferry, dug out her A-Level French, and thought: why not? That “why not” has since turned into booked weddings at châteaux, ceremonies in the south of France, and a niche that is genuinely hard to replicate.
In this episode of Beyond the Ceremony, host Laura Crockett is joined by the brilliant Jess May of Jess May’s Special Days, a wedding and funeral celebrant with 13 years of experience and one of the most distinctive voices in the industry. They talk about how an accidental directory listing became a business direction, why you do not need to be bilingual to work in France, how to price destination travel without losing money or your dignity, and why your niche is probably already sitting in your inbox waiting for you to notice it.
“When you undersell yourself, you are betraying your entire industry.” Jess May
💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:
💎 How Jess accidentally ended up on a French wedding directory and why ignoring it for years was, in hindsight, one of the best business decisions she never made
💎 Why UK couples marrying in France often actively prefer a British celebrant, they can meet for coffee before the big day, and why that changes how you market yourself
💎 The honest truth about pricing destination travel, including all the hidden costs Laura and Jess both learned the hard way, and why “just flights and accommodation” is never the full picture
💎 Why you do not need to be fluent in French to work as a celebrant there, and how passion, preparation, and “rapidly improving French” can be more than enough to start
💎 How your niche is probably already visible to everyone around you, and why asking your couples and peers is far more reliable than trying to figure it out yourself
💎 Jess’s standout piece of advice on pricing that every celebrant in the industry needs to hear, newly qualified or not
💎 Why evolving your business after years in the industry is not a reinvention; it is just growth, and why you should honour that in yourself rather than fight it
✨ This episode is perfect for:
- Qualified celebrants who have been doing this for a while and are wondering what their next chapter looks like
- Aspiring celebrants who are overthinking their niche and need permission to just start, then figure it out
- Anyone living near a coast or a ferry port who has quietly wondered whether destination work could be part of their business
- Newly qualified celebrants who need to hear Jess’s pricing advice before they set their first fees
Jess started in 2013 when no one knew what a celebrant was, and there were barely any others doing it. If you want to hear how the industry has changed from someone who has lived it, this is the episode. And if you want to understand how to build a business that genuinely evolves with you over 13 years, this is also the episode.
For context on the broader destination wedding conversation, Episode 21 is a brilliant companion listen, where Laura Crockett talks to Málaga-based celebrant Marcia Bravo about building a celebrant career in Spain and what international ceremonies actually involve on the ground.
After this episode, you will understand that your niche does not have to be planned; it has to be noticed. And that the most powerful thing you can do for your business, and for the entire celebrant industry, is charge what you are actually worth.
🌟 Still exploring whether celebrancy could be your calling?
Take our free quiz to find out if this is the path for you.
💒 Beyond The Ceremony Podcast: Modern Celebrancy. Unfiltered. 💒
Everything you need to know about how to succeed as a modern celebrant. From top tips on how to create unforgettable ceremonies to success stories from some of the best in the biz, we give you a behind-the-scenes look into life as a celebrant. Hosted by Laura Crockett, award-winning celebrant, radio personality, and celebrant mentor at the Academy of Modern Celebrancy.
About the People in This Episode
Jess May, Guest
Jess May has been a wedding and funeral celebrant for 13 years, and she comes with a yawn-free guarantee. Based on the south coast of England and trading as Jess May’s Special Days, she is one of the UK’s most experienced independent celebrants and, by her own admission, considerably more than just the pink-haired lady. Her ceremonies are built on humour, emotional honesty, and a deep conviction that a wedding without a proper ceremony is just a party. Jess trained in 2013 with the Fellowship of Professional Celebrants, well before origin stories were a thing, and has spent over a decade cheerleading for couples and throuples who want that. She is now carving out a growing niche in the French destination market and co-hosts the Opening Ceremony podcast.
Laura Crockett, Host
Laura Crockett is an award-winning wedding and funeral celebrant based just south of Stratford-upon-Avon, covering the Cotswolds and West Midlands. She is a mentor at the Academy of Modern Celebrancy and the host of Beyond the Ceremony, the podcast dedicated to modern celebrancy, unfiltered. Laura has been working as a celebrant since 2019 and is passionate about helping aspiring celebrants find their calling and build careers they genuinely love.
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Team AMC
Our team of writers and contributors at The Academy of Modern Celebrancy are dedicated to educating Celebrants and helping them build thriving Celebrant businesses. Our team is made up of Celebrants and Industry experts dedicated to sharing their expertise with you.
The Academy of Modern Celebrancy also has a thriving community of 5000 celebrants that we are dedicated to helping grow their businesses and taking celebrancy from a hobby to a lifestyle.
AMC host the global celebrant summit, Celebrantopia, each year, where experts from the Celebrant world share their expertise and passion for Celebrancy.
The Academy of Modern Celebrancy has trained over 1000 celebrants, and employs award-winning Celebrant Mentors who know what it takes to make it in the industry. We train the best celebrants out there across the UK, Europe and the USA.
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