My best friend got married in the middle of a desert rain and windstorm. On the morning of her wedding, I was running around securing the tents and trying to keep the flower petals from blowing off their stems. But then I saw my friend, felt her anxiety and the pressure of trying to keep it all together, and I knew where I was needed most.
With some aromatherapy provisions in hand, we located her car and zipped her off to a quieter place. While her guests and vendors took care of the logistics, my friend got to spend the hours right before her wedding landing in her body. Moving and breathing through some yoga poses; taking a steam shower; receiving a forearm and shoulder massage; making a few final tweaks to her vows; meditating from her heart. In place of chaos and dust, we created for her a pocket of peace and presence. And you know what happened after those few conscious hours, supported by so many nervous system settling techniques? My friend was ready to BE at her wedding. To really, fully be there. Settled in her nervous system. Open to the beautiful possibility that resides in the unknown. Available to let the moments that followed really imprint in her mind and heart as the beginning of her life’s sweetest adventure.
After years of serving as a yoga and meditation guide, I want to be your wedding day doula because there is no feeling I love more than supporting someone who is in a state of dysregulation – be it minor stress or raucous anxiety – by helping them find regulation again. I understand the mechanics of the central nervous system and the brain, and I know what happens when we get stuck in a cycle of fight and flight. It’s a physiological and neurological response – our brains go about surviving, and we miss the deeper life that’s happening right under our feet.
I want you to feel your feet on your wedding day. I want you to experience every part of your glorious ceremony and reception. And I want to help you do it with the full capacity of your senses and conscious self. Let’s work together so that you can really be there for the best day of your life – grounded, open, and ready to fully receive.
What’s it like to work with me?
The liminal space before a wedding is distinct and fragile. With Ashley as my guide and doula, that space was transformative. I was invited to come back into my body, my breath, my intentions, and the purpose of that beautiful day. Ashley led me through yoga, grounded my body with her healing touch, and held space as I cried, fretted, and felt the weight of the threshold. I felt affirmed, connected back to my inner power, and fully supported.
The foundation Ashley set carried through the rest of the day; I was able to be fully present and comfortable being the center of attention (and my partner, too of course), which were my biggest fears going into the experience. We had the best time regardless of the wind, rain, and mid-morning panic.
I know that the wedding planning process is so full of hard decisions and it’s necessary to discern what’s worth the money and time and effort. I mean it with every cell in my body that the time with Ashley is invaluable. While I don’t necessarily recommend getting married outside in monsoon season, I one-million-percent recommend hiring Ashley as your wedding day doula.
– Sinéad M., Client