From Corporate Work To Multilingual Humanist Celebrant - Mair Garland on Building a Career With Languages

Today I talk to Mair Garland who after 10 years shifted from the corporate world into leading non-religious baby naming ceremonies, weddings and funerals ceremonies as a humanist celebrant.

Mair shares how she grew up in Wales speaking both English and Welsh. After studying French and Linguistics at the University of Oxford, which included a year abroad in France, she found work at an international organisation where she could pursue a career with languages. What started as a part-time side project, her work as a celebrant has become a business she loves which brings many referrals through word-of-mouth.

Key Takeaways

• Her decade-long corporate career allowed her to integrate language skills in unexpected ways, building a career with languages within a multinational company.
• As a humanist celebrant, Mair now blends languages and cultural traditions to create deeply personalised ceremonies for weddings, funerals, and baby naming ceremonies.
• Her work is highly collaborative and creative: she co-creates scripts with couples or families, crafting personalised stories, vows, and symbolism.
• There is growing demand for multicultural and multilingual ceremonies, even outside Wales and France, especially among mixed-background couples and families.

About Mair Garland

Originally from Wales, Mair is a proud native speaker of Cymraeg (Welsh) and works as a humanist celebrant in London, offering non-religious baby naming ceremonies, weddings and funerals. Mair specialises in bilingual ceremonies in both Welsh and French.

• Website: www.garlandceremonies.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garlandceremonies

About Sonia Kampshoff

Sonia is a translator turned multilingual digital marketer specialising in paid media, and now also a podcaster. Growing up bilingual, languages have been a constant in her life.

In 2025 she launched a podcast where together with her guests she explores the huge variety of jobs and career opportunities open to people with language skills. She is available to speak on podcasts and stages about marketing, languages, work and podcasting.

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workingwithlanguages
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniakampshoff/
• Website: https://moreperfect.digital/

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