A wedding solemniser and family celebrant, based in Castletown, has beaten off stiff competition to win three major wedding industry awards.
Reverend Brenda O’Grady won the WeddingSuppliers.ie Awards ‘Wedding Celebrant of the Year 2023’ award, and was runner-up in the individual ‘Wedding Celebrant of the Year’ category at the Brides of Munster Wedding Suppliers Awards 2023.
As a testament to her skills, Brenda was also chosen as Weddingsonline ‘Wedding Celebrant of the Year 2022’ and is a finalist in the Weddingsonline ‘Wedding Celebrant of the Year 2023’ the results of which are due to be announced on March 23.
She was recently featured in the Irish Independent and on the Moncrieff show on Newstalk in relation to divorce ceremonies, which she offers as part of ‘ceremonies for all of life’s occasions.’
Brenda is a native of Abbeyleix, and worked for twenty years in the legal field with her husband Tom (Tom O’Grady Solicitor) in Mountrath, and also as a mediator.
She trained as marriage celebrant here in 2016 and has been creating and performing ceremonies since 2006.
In 2017 she took a leap of faith and went to the UK to study with the One Spirit Interfaith Foundation with whom she was ordained as an Interfaith Minister in 2019.
Given the uncertainty around the implications of Brexit, she has now joined One World – a group of Irish Interfaith Ministers, who have nominated her to the HSE Register of Solemnisers of Marriage.
As a solemniser, Brenda creates bespoke ceremonies nationwide for persons of all beliefs and none.
She has no agenda, so a ceremony can be as humanist, spiritual, secular or atheist as a couple chooses, and may use language, music and readings of their choice.
Brenda has quickly risen to the top of her field. “I’m blown away at receiving these awards considering the relatively short period that I have been a Wedding celebrant,” she says.
“A large portion of that period included the Covid pandemic. What I love most about being a wedding solemniser is meeting couples, getting to know them, learning their stories and crafting a special ceremony to celebrate their wedding day.
“I love that they trust the process I use to create their ceremony and share their likes and dislikes about each other and their innermost secrets.
“I love that I have the privilege and honour of being a part of this special time in their lives and seeing their faces as their ceremony unfolds.”
Aside from her celebrancy work, Brenda is very involved in her community in Mountrath and is currently chairperson of Mountrath Development Association and Mountrath Town Team.
She is an active member of Mountrath Tidy Towns and Mountrath Youth Theatre.
