Meet the Mentor: Sonal Dave – A Trailblazing Voice in Modern Celebrancy

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    “Dare to dream, dare to be different. The world is your stage.” 

    These powerful words serve as Sonal’s guiding philosophy, perfectly encapsulating the spirit of a woman who has consistently broken barriers and redefined possibilities throughout her remarkable career. As one of only three Asian female celebrants currently practising in the UK, Sonal brings an extraordinary blend of talents to her role – from her multilingual abilities to her background in performance and public service.

    As part of our ongoing series introducing the exceptional mentor team at The Academy of Modern Celebrancy, we’re delighted to spotlight Sonal Dave, whose remarkable journey and diverse talents have made her an invaluable guide for aspiring celebrants.

    Sonal Dave: From Child Star to Civil Service Leader

    Sonal’s journey began on the prestigious stages of London, where at just 12 years old, she performed with the English National Opera and Sadler’s Wells. “I was a child performer… so I was on stage being that naughty kid in various operas like Carmen Louise and sang on albums as a child singer,” she recalls. This early start in performance would lay the foundation for a life spent connecting with audiences.

    Her professional path led her through an impressive 25-year career in the civil service, where she rose from an administrative role to become a Deputy Director at the Home Office. During this time, Sonal faced and overcame significant challenges, including discrimination. As she remembers, “When I went for my kind of senior promotions, I was asked ‘who did I sleep with?’ … people just didn’t expect Asian women to rise through the ranks quickly and get to senior positions.” Yet Sonal refused to let others’ prejudices define her path. 

    “I always knew I was different,” she reflects. “I always knew that I was not going to be that person that was going to let people get in my way, or even barriers get in my way… if somebody put up a barrier, I’d be looking for a way to get around it, or smash it down and get through it.” This unwavering determination to pursue her dreams, regardless of others’ expectations, would become a defining characteristic of her entire career journey.

    The Artistry of Performance Meets Celebrancy

    Sonal’s artistic journey has profoundly shaped her approach to celebrancy, bringing a unique theatrical flair to every ceremony she creates. Her impressive performance credentials include appearing on Netflix’s Love is Blind UK, professional acting work as an Equity member, Singer and performer and multilingual performances that span English, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, and Swahili. This rich performance background, combined with her roles as a public speaking coach and magistrate of over 20 years, brings extraordinary depth to her work as a celebrant.

    “I was already a performer,” Sonal reflects. “I was always somebody who was quite comfortable speaking, singing, and networking. It wasn’t like a hard thing for me from when I was young.” This natural ease in the spotlight translates into ceremonies that flow with professional polish while maintaining a genuine emotional connection.

    Her theatrical mindset influences every aspect of her work, from ceremony design to mentorship. When guiding new celebrants, she emphasises the importance of viewing ceremonies through a performer’s lens: “Think about it like a theatrical production. What are your steps to the sides? Where does the reading happen? Think about those as kind of stage directions.”

    This performance-based approach brings several unique advantages to her ceremonies:

    – Masterful storytelling that captivates audiences

    – Seamless integration of multiple languages and musical elements

    – Confident handling of unexpected moments

    – Natural ability to build emotional resonance

    – Professional stage presence that puts couples and guests at ease

    Her background allows her to thoughtfully orchestrate each element, from the placement of ritual elements to the flow of music, ensuring every moment feels intentional and meaningful. “Apart from the live music really filling the air… it removes that white noise,” Sonal explains, describing how her understanding of performance dynamics helps create immersive ceremony experiences.

    Creating Harmony Through Language and Music

    What sets Sonal’s ceremonies apart is her ability to weave together different cultural and linguistic traditions. “I speak English, Gujarati and basic Hindi. But I’m also a singer, and I sing in all of those languages, as well as Punjabi, Swahili and lots of other languages,” she explains. This linguistic versatility allows her to create truly inclusive celebrations that honour multiple cultural traditions.

    Her ceremonies often feature live music, thanks to collaboration with her husband’s professional band. “Live music really fills the air, doesn’t it? It removes that white noise,” Sonal shares. “What I love about what he does is there’ll be specific music that a couple want for different elements of the ceremony, but he’ll also have some really soft music just playing in the background through the whole ceremony.”

    Breaking New Ground in Multicultural Celebrancy

    Sonal’s path to becoming a leader in multicultural celebrancy wasn’t immediate or obvious – even to herself. “I launched as a luxury wedding celebrant,” she recalls with a laugh. “I didn’t even contemplate my multicultural [niche] and you’ll laugh at this – I and Dan [her husband] are a multicultural couple. But it didn’t even dawn on me that was my niche.”

    It was only after six months of working as a celebrant that Sonal noticed a pattern emerging: the majority of her inquiries were coming from multicultural couples. This revelation led to a pivotal conversation with her husband about repositioning her services. “As soon as I realized what my niche was…the majority of my weddings are now multicultural or LGBTQ+.”

    However, recognising her niche was just the beginning. Sonal then faced the challenge of educating her community about celebrant-led ceremonies. “It took me probably a good year of awareness into the Asian community because they didn’t know what a celebrant was – if I didn’t know what a celebrant was, they didn’t know what a celebrant was,” she explains. For years, the community had relied solely on religious ceremonies, following the guidance of priests, grandparents, parents, and traditional customs.

    Through patient education and advocacy, Sonal has emerged as what she calls a “beacon of choice” for couples seeking to honour their cultural heritage while creating personally meaningful ceremonies. “If you were religious, you could still have a Priest… but if you were not religious, then you had a choice,” she explains. “You could have a celebrant wedding. You could still have the rituals, but they would be expressed in a more spiritual way, rather than a religious way.”

    Her experience serves as a valuable lesson for new celebrants about the importance of authenticity and patience in building a successful practice. “Sometimes it’s just about awareness,” she reflects. “Whether for me it was awareness in the Asian community… it could be for them, awareness in their communities. It could be they’ve not really understood their niche properly, so therefore, they’re not attracting the right clients their way. There is so much more to business than ‘I’ve done the training course, and there’s a queue of people wanting to book me.'”

    Mentoring with Purpose and Passion

    As a mentor with the Academy of Modern Celebrancy, Sonal brings a wealth of transferrable skills from her diverse career journey to guide and inspire new celebrants. Her mentoring philosophy is shaped by her unique combination of civil service leadership, performance expertise, and entrepreneurial success.

    Her core principles for new celebrants reflect this rich background:

    1. “Imagine you cannot deliver the ceremony,” she advises, encouraging celebrants to create scripts that anyone could follow – a lesson in thorough preparation drawn from her years of public service documentation.

    2. “Look at it like a stage performance… think about the detail that would happen even in a theatrical production.” This theatrical mindset, honed through years of performance, helps celebrants craft more engaging, polished ceremonies.

    3. “Always think about being inclusive” – from font sizes in ceremony scripts to physical accessibility at venues. This emphasis on inclusivity stems from her own experience navigating both visible and invisible disabilities.

    Drawing from her successful transition from civil servant to celebrated celebrant, Sonal emphasises the importance of business acumen alongside ceremonial skills. “The hardest part is being in the real world,” she notes, encouraging mentees to invest time in understanding marketing, professional communication, and business development.

    Her approach to mentorship is both practical and inspirational. She guides mentees to:

    – Maintain unwavering professionalism in all communications

    – Think creatively about business growth and development

    – Consider outsourcing and collaboration opportunities

    – Focus on developing their unique voice and niche

    – Embrace technology tools while maintaining personal touch

    “For a lot of people, they can just buy the courses and do them,” Sonal explains, “whereas those people who really need it… when you’re doing the one-to-one work, it is intensive and you spend more on it.” This understanding of different learning needs influences her flexible, personalised approach to mentoring.

    Perhaps most importantly, Sonal brings the same determination and barrier-breaking mindset that propelled her own success to her mentoring relationships. She encourages mentees to think beyond conventional limitations and find their own path to success, just as she did in breaking new ground in multicultural celebrancy.

    A Legacy of Leadership and Innovation

    Whether she’s crafting a multilingual wedding ceremony, mentoring new celebrants, or advocating for greater inclusivity in the industry, Sonal brings the same determination and creativity that helped her break barriers in the civil service. “I always knew I was different,” she reflects. “I always knew that I was not going to be that person that was going to let people get in my way, or even barriers get in my way… if somebody put up a barrier, I’d be looking for a way to get around it, or smash it down.”

    Embracing Change, Inspiring Others

    Sonal’s journey from child performer to senior civil servant to celebrated multicultural celebrant demonstrates the power of embracing change and following one’s authentic path. Her work continues to open doors for others, showing that when we dare to be different, we create space for authentic celebration of life’s most precious moments.

    “I suppose my mission is telling people to stop following what everyone’s telling you to do and stop living lives by the expectations of others,” she says. “Follow your dreams, follow your passions.”

    Through her unique combination of talents, experience, and cultural understanding, Sonal Dave isn’t just conducting ceremonies – she’s transforming the landscape of modern celebrancy, one celebration at a time.

    If you want to follow Sonal’s Journey or find out more about her work, visit her website at Sonaldaveevents.com or visit her over on the Celebrant Directory.

    Begin Your Own Celebrancy Journey

    Inspired by Sonal’s remarkable story? Ready to embark on your own path to becoming a celebrant? The Academy of Modern Celebrancy offers comprehensive training programs supported by exceptional mentors like Sonal, who bring real-world experience, diverse perspectives, and genuine passion to their mentoring roles.

    Whether you’re drawn to the creative aspects of ceremony creation, inspired by the possibility of working with multicultural couples, or excited about building a business that aligns with your values and accommodates your lifestyle, our training programs provide the foundation and support you need to succeed.

    Discover how you can start your celebrancy journey with the guidance of inspiring mentors like Sonal. Check out our celebrant training programmes today and take the first step toward your new career as a modern celebrant.

    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 2.8k 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 600 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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