Kate Mukungu, Community Celebrant in North East England
Hello and welcome! I'm Kate Mukungu, a South Shields based celebrant for funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies and so much more.
I facilitate ceremonies across Tyne and Wear, in South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland, North Tyneside and Newcastle. I also travel to the surrounding areas of Northumberland and Durham. I am happy to discuss travel throughout North East England and beyond.
Celebrant Services At a Glance
Funerals and Memorials
I facilitate compassionate and sensitive funerals and memorial services.
Weddings and Vow Renewals
A celebrant led wedding or vow renewal ceremony is as unique as your love story.
Naming Ceremonies
I can work with you to create a naming ceremony, renaming or transition ceremony full of warmth and joy.
Community Ceremonies
I can support you to make your community event / ceremony special for everyone while taking some of the stress from you.
My Approach to Ceremonies
Are you celebrating a milestone in your own life, your family or community? You may be declaring a loving relationship, welcoming a new life or saying goodbye at the end of a life.
Whatever the milestone, you deserve a ceremony that reflects the unique lives, identities and beliefs of the people being celebrated. You deserve a celebrant who will get to know you, your family and community and put you at the heart of the ceremony.
My approach is to facilitate compassionate and warm ceremonies where people are valued and included. A good ceremony holds space for people to express their love, gratitude and loss. I welcome moments of laughter, tears, affection and emotion, whatever feels appropriate.
The logo for my celebrancy practice is a spiral symbol inspired by the Neolithic rock art in Brú na Bóinne, Ireland. This famous site, which includes Newgrange, reminds us that human beings have been conducting ceremonies for thousands of years. I think we do so because of the meaning it brings to our lives. My tagline “Unity Through Ceremony” represents my commitment to inclusive ceremonies that connect people and leave nobody behind.
What is a Community Celebrant? Are you the same as a Humanist?
I am asked this a lot. I qualified as a Civil Celebrant. People with this qualification often use the title Professional Celebrant or Independent Celebrant. I chose Community Celebrant because of my strong focus on community work. As well as carrying out ceremonies, I share information that useful to the community, particularly around funeral choices.
Some people have referred to me as a humanist, perhaps because they understand the term to describe a person not affiliated to a religion. Indeed, I am not affiliated to a religion and most ceremonies I facilitate are non-religious. Although similar, it is important to state I am not a humanist celebrant and I am not a member of Humanists UK.
Although not part of an organised religion, I am happy for religious elements to be included in a ceremony, if they are meaningful to the people being celebrated. Humanists UK ceremonies are completely and explicitly non-religious. This difference is the important distinction between me and a humanist celebrant.
What People Say
These are a sample of online reviews. You can find more positive reviews on my Google Business Profile and Facebook Page.
Naming Ceremony Testimonial
Kate was very open to our ideas for Holly's naming ceremony and also made some amazingly thoughtful suggestions too. Our meetings were relaxed and welcoming with Kate and she supported us with many aspects of our special day. Her being available for online meetings enabled us to be in touch much more conveniently. She kept things on track on the day itself and looked after our Guide Parents and Holly's siblings too! Kate is incredibly warm, genuine and passionate about her role and we highly recommend her celebrant services.
Wedding Testimonial
I am so grateful to Kate for being the Celebrant at our wedding. I had no idea the work that goes on behind the scenes before the big day when you invest in a Celebrant. We knew we wanted to have some personal touches in our ceremony but could never have achieved what we had without Kate. She met with us and learned about our story and what was important to us. She encouraged us as we wrote our own vows and made sure we both felt comfortable with the content throughout. She offered suggestions but totally understood what we wanted to achieve.
She made us feel so comfortable and reassured throughout the whole process. Not only that she brought a feeling of balance, calm and support on the day itself. Her preparation and attention to detail was amazing and she made sure the ceremony flowed seamlessly. I felt so safe having her with us throughout the process. She brought our story to life, with special attention to our loved ones and injected humour in all the right places. It was honestly amazing and I couldn't have asked for any more. Thank you so much Kate, we will remember it forever.
Kate Mukungu, Community Celebrant thank you for bringing our beautiful beloved friend Sharyn to life in the service yesterday. You helped create a space where her family and friends, including her young son could speak bravely about the truly amazing and inspirational human-being that Sharyn is to family members and the community that she so dedicatedly and fervently supported. I feel as if the gathering you so expertly and compassionately facilitated as community celebrant yesterday will be the beginning of a living legacy to the woman we all love and admire. Rest in power Sharyn.
Funeral Testimonial
Wedding Testimonial
I was asked to choose a piece of writing and read it at a recent wedding I attended, Kate was supportive both in the run up to the wedding and on the day. Her style is warm and inclusive, the ceremony was gorgeous. I would certainly recommend Kate in her role as a celebrant. Totally deserving of the 5 stars!
Affiliations and Memberships
I have been expertly trained by ICPC and achieved a National Open College Network (NOCN) Level 3 qualification. I am insured to practice as a celebrant through ICPC membership.
I am proud to adopt the Funeral Celebrant Accord, which defines the attributes and skills in an excellent funeral celebrant.
I am a proud signatory of Pledge South Tyneside, which promotes co-operation and good practice between people and businesses in South Tyneside.
Contact Kate
Would you like to talk about your ceremony? Please message me with details and I will be in touch as soon as possible. If you would like me to call you back, please include your telephone number in the message.