Mark Your Occasion

Name: Mark Your Occasion
Address: 14 Green Lane, Addingham, Ilkley, LS290JH, GB
Telephone: +447928829773
Rating: 5

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Mark Your Occasion

Mark Your Occasion | Celebrant, Entertainer and Master of Ceremonies

Providing bespoke celebrancy,

05/09/2025

At the end of 2023, I asked my community in Addingham whether anyone could remember a big quiz night held in the village hall when I was a child. I had several responses from people I knew and people I didn’t know, and from there I did some research.

I met up with the man who ran the quizzes, who now lives in Silsden, and got some excellent tips and advice from him. He encouraged me to pursue the idea and bring the quiz back to the community – something he had done for almost two decades back in the 80s and 90s.

Fast forward almost two years, and we’re here! Tomorrow, the 2025 edition of the Addingham Village Quiz will take place. The questions are ready, the scoreboard is ready, and the trophy (pictured) is ready. Eight teams will battle it out 1v1 in a knockout competition until only one is left standing.

The whole thing is being run for charity to support causes in the local community. Aside from that, I’m just doing for the fun of it and to give something back to the community that raised me.

If you’re around and fancy popping down, it’s FREE entry, starts at 3pm on Saturday 6th September at Addingham Memorial Hall, there’s a licensed bar with alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, and snacks, and several ways to raise money for charity including a raffle and fundraising games.

Plus you get to watch people try to answer questions under pressure! What’s not to love?!

See you there!

04/09/2025

I’ve sung the first line of a brilliant song from this year, but I’ve changed one word. Which one is it?

28/08/2025

Next month, it will be six years since we said goodbye to my mother, Jane, and simultaneously six years since the seeds of my celebrant journey began.

My mum died on 6 September 2019 from lung cancer. She was 64. Two weeks later, I delivered the eulogy I had written at her funeral.

A few days later, I was encouraged by a local funeral director to pursue a career as a celebrant, given the job I had done at mum’s ceremony. At the time I had no idea this was even a thing! But after a bit of research, I realised it was something I would really enjoy.

During the COVID lockdowns in 2020, I did an online course and ‘graduated’ almost a year to the day since mum passed away, booking my first funeral shortly afterwards. I didn’t book my first wedding until the summer of 2021, and I did it for free!

Fast forward five more years to the present day. This week summarises just how far things have come since those early days. This week I was a singo bingo host at a hen party (thanks for the booking), a singing waiter with alongside , a funeral celebrant, a quiz host, a wedding host at in Hampshire, and tomorrow I’ll be a bilingual wedding celebrant for an English-Ukrainian couple.

Given the location of yesterday’s wedding in Whitchurch, I thought I’d take some time to research my roots. My mum was born in Andover, and while she didn’t spend much of her life here, while I was in the area I decided to pop in and see where it all began, and it has given me a chance to reflect upon everything she gave me, and her influence on my life and career today.

It’s a strange one to come to terms with, really, because part of me wonders whether I would be doing what I’m doing now if she hadn’t died. I love my job so much, and it’s bittersweet to think it began in the depths of such grief and sadness.

But I know that she’d be very proud of what I have built so far, and excited to see what’s next.

Love you and miss you, mum, and I will be forever thank you for your parting gift of a fulfilling, challenging, and amazing career.

18/08/2025

C A Z – A N D – M E G

There is always a sense of added joy and excitement when you get asked to lead a wedding ceremony for someone you know.

Meg and I went to school together in Addingham, and although we weren't in the same school year or really knew each other that well, we were aware of each other's existence! (And also her mum runs a great cafe in the village, The Ginger Plum. Because she's ginger and her surname is Plummer. Genius.)

So for Meg to ask me to marry her to her wild Cornish fiancé Caz, who swapped Cornwall for Yorkshire for university and has (rightly) never looked back, was an honour. And here's what they had to say afterwards:

"Thank you for being there before to keep everyone calm in the lead up and for keeping us and everyone else laughing during the ceremony! We appreciate all the time and effort that went in to our story and helping with our vows and everything else involved in putting everything together for us."

Thank YOU, Caz and Meg, for trusting me to be part of your big day. A photo is attached, in which you can see the beautiful setting of in Otley and my magnificent tan from Corfu. 🤣🤣

14/08/2025

QUIZ NIGHT MEDAL TABLE!

After a two-week break for the summer holidays, I have returned to my regular Tuesday night quiz gig at the Robin Hood pub in Silsden, and alongside our usual regular features (Joker Poker and Play Your Cards Right), this year, until the end of July 2026, we are also having a cumulative medal table!

Basically, each week, the teams that come first, second, and third, will be awarded three, two, and one point respectively, and be added to the medal table. At the end of the season (in July next year), the team at the top of the medal table will be the winners of a fabulous prize!*

Get yourself down next Tuesday at 8.30pm for a chance at immortalising yourself on our medal table!

*We don't know what the prize is yet.

08/08/2025

D E S T I N A T I O N – Z A N T E

The first photos are coming in from the three destination weddings I was lucky enough to be a part of this summer. have absolutely NAILED the images from Mark and Heather's wedding in Zante in early June, and I was delighted to be part of their big day, not just because Heather, as , is a good friend that I've met since joining the wedding industry five years ago, and makes exceptionally good wedding cakes (just in case you need one). Mark's alright as well, I guess.

Here's a shot of us having a whale of a time post-ceremony on Cameo Island that definitely wasn't posed for at all!

Getting married abroad? I can help. Get in touch.

01/08/2025

Enjoying a well-earned break this week with the family in Corfu. See you next week!

25/07/2025

What a pleasure it was to host a Sportsman’s Dinner at last night with special guest .back, who was so generous with his time and energy throughout the course of the evening. Arrived early to mingle pre-dinner, gave a thoughtful and inspiring talk, answered loads of questions from the room, and was probably one of the last out at the end of the night as well. I remember watching him and the lads win the 2003 World Cup Final at my grandparents’ farm in Surrey; it definitely brought back some memories for me to meet him tonight, chat to him, and share some wonderful stories. Being the one hosting him on the stage was simply the icing on the cake!

17/07/2025

F U N – F A C T

Here's something you may not know about me – as a child, I was TERRIFIED of dogs.

I had a good reason – I was out with my mother delivering leaflets for the local Scout Auction, and was putting one through a letter box when a dog bit me on the finger.

Since then, I've always been cautious and wary of people's canine friends, because of the chance of that happening again.

But I genuinely think I'm over it now. It was a fear that I chose to work on since moving back to the UK in 2020, and through contact with various dogs belonging to various people, I think I've cracked it.

I was delighted to be part of John and Sammy's wedding in Lolland, Denmark last month, and found myself drawn to this adorable creature pictured – and apparently some of the pets I was giving were caught on camera! I never thought I'd be so comfortable around canines, but I also never thought I'd be able to earn a living singing and speaking in front of other people – yet here we are.

Don't let your fears paralyse you, folks! A lot of the time they're simply not worth it.

Congrats John and Sammy, and apologies that the first piece of content from your pictures was about your dog and not you both, but hey – we all know you love her more than you love each other! 🤣🤣

16/07/2025

Masked ball vibes last weekend in Hunton; pictured here with the fabulous organisers Vicki and Emma. Over £6,000 raised for charity. Smashed it.

Address

14 Green Lane, Addingham
Ilkley
LS290JH

Telephone

+447928829773

Website

http://www.markyouroccasion.com/

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I will happily answer any questions you have whenever I’m available. Feel free to drop me a Facebook message, an email on [email protected], a WhatsApp message to +447928829773, or give me a call. If I’m free, I’ll answer. If I’m not I won’t! But I will get back to you as soon as I can. I look forward to hearing from you, and starting this memorable journey together!